For the week of October 22 - 28, 2003

Spikers take aim
on SCIC title

Volleyball finale in Kimberly

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Rarely challenged during the regular Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference season, the Wood River High School volleyball team geared up for a real battle during tonight’s final matches of the SCIC tournament.

Nikki Calzacorta (hitting, at right) along with teammates Jessica King (left) and Charli Lindley (center) get down and dirty during Wood River’s "Senior Night" home win over the Declo Hornets last Tuesday at the Hailey gym. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Championship match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Kimberly High School, with an "if necessary" match of the double elimination tournament set for 8 p.m. on the same floor.

Top-seeded Wood River (27-10) faced off against #2-seeded Gooding Tuesday night at Kimberly in the feature semi-final match of the six-team tournament, with the winner gaining an automatic berth to the State 3A tournament Oct. 31 at Coeur d’Alene.

Coach Tim Richards’ highly-regarded Wolverines had beaten Gooding twice during the season, but coach Jolene Toone’s Senators were expected to come out with their guns a-blazing. Gooding beat #3 Buhl 25-9, 25-27, 22-25, 25-21, 15-8 Saturday.

Wood River’s top hitter, senior Jessica King, drills a winning point against the Jerome Tigers during the three-game Wolverine victory Oct. 14 in Hailey. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Meanwhile, Wood River handled #6 Kimberly 25-17, 25-23, 25-17 in its tourney opener Saturday. Jessica King led the Hailey squad with 16 kills and 14 service points including 2 aces. Rachael Richards had 15 assists and Liz Rippon added 11 services (2 aces).

Much is riding on Wednesday’s title match because of state seeding.

The SCIC champion has its opening state match Oct. 31 against the playoff-determined runner-up team from the First, Second and Third districts. The SCIC runner-up will meet the Fifth District champion, usually the stronghold of volleyball powers Preston and Bear Lake.

The Wolverines have won three straight SCIC tournament titles and boast of eight league volleyball championships in nine years. But this is Hailey’s last year competing at the 3A level. They move to 4A next fall.

Last Tuesday on "Senior Night," Wood River clinched the regular-season SCIC title and the tournament’s top seed with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-13 home victory over Declo. A little later in the evening, Wood River out-classed Jerome 25-8, 25-19, 25-12.

Jessica King (11 kills, 2 blocks, 17 serves) and Natalie Green (10 kills, 5 blocks) were standouts against Declo. So was Emily Smith (4 kills, 12 assists, 14 serves). Smith added 9 kills, 3 blocks, 15 assists and 6 serves in the three-game blowout against Jerome.

Wood River had some great serving streaks to put Jerome in the hole—King serving 9 straight winners in the first game, Nikki Calzacorta baffling the Tigers with 7 straight service points in the second game and Syringa Stark building the lead in the third.

Statistics from those two matches:

Declo: Kills—Jessica King 11 on 23 attempts, Natalie Green 10 on 15 attempts, Emily Smith 4. Blocks—Green 5, Charli Lindley 3, King 2.

Assists—Smith 12, Rachael Richards 10. Serves—King 17, Rachael Richards 15, Smith 14 with 2 aces, Liz Rippon 12 with 2 aces.

Jerome: Kills—Emily Smith 9 on 13 attempts, Jessica King 8 on 18 attempts, Natalie Green 5 on 14 attempts, Charli Lindley 4. Blocks—Green 3, Smith 3. Assists—Smith 15.

Serves—Nikki Calzacorta 14, King 12 with 2 aces, Green 11, Syringa Stark 8 with 3 aces, Koree Hawkes 6, Smith 6, Lindley 5 with 2 aces.

Thursday night in a meaningless league match, host Buhl downed Wood River 26-24, 25-17, 26-24—handing the Wolverines (9-1 SCIC) their only league loss of the season.

 

 

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