The Wood River High School volleyball squad captured another important conference win with a 3-1 defeat of the Minico Spartans Tuesday in Hailey.
The victory boosted the Wolverines to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in Great Basin Conference West. The Burley Bobcats, undefeated in conference play, remain in the driver's seat for the conference tournament, but Wood River coach Tim Richard isn't counting his team out yet.
"There's still things up in the air," Richards said Wednesday.
Tuesday's action saw the Wolverines defeat the hapless Spartans (1-10, 0-6) in four sets with scores of 25-6, 22-25, 25-14, 25-15.
"We won another game—that's all you can ask for—to win games," Richards said.
Wood River junior Kaylee Baker sparked the Wolverine onslaught with 12 kills, while seniors Hannah Gove and Lauren Morgenthaler chipped in nine apiece.
Richards also gave credit to the play of junior Haleigh Hall who held down the center and made some nice assists. Also, senior "Hannah Ward served the ball well and had three aces," he said.
The Wood River junior varsity squad also fared well, defeating its Minico counterpart in two sets.
The varsity squad's next challenge is the Borah Invitational, which starts at 3 p.m. today in Boise and resumes Saturday with play starting at 8:30 a.m.
Twenty-one 4A and 5A teams from throughout Idaho will compete in the tournament.
"We've done pretty well over there in the past," Richards said. "So we're trying to see what we can do against some of the bigger schools."
The Wolverines travel to Burley on Tuesday, Oct. 9, for a season rematch against the Bobcats. Game time is 6 p.m.
Richfield continues Northside dominance
The Richfield Tigers continued their dominance of the Northside Conference with a 3-0 victory over the Carey High School Panthers Tuesday in Richfield. The Tigers also defeated the Mackay Miners 2-1 in non-conference tri-meet action.
The Carey girls also fell to Mackay 3-0.
The losses snuffed the Panthers two-game winning streak. Last week Carey defeated Northside Conference rivals Camas County and The Community School. The Panthers are now 5-13 overall and 3-5 in league play.
Richfield (16-2, 9-0) dominated the tri-meet with set wins of 25-15, 25-14, 25-19 over Carey. The Tigers then defeated Mackay 25-23, 21-25, 15-6.
Carey fell to Mackay 18-25, 25-23, 15-13.
"Yesterday wasn't our best day for us," said Carey JV coach Dick Simpson, explaining that the team earlier in the day attended a funeral for the mother of a junior varsity player.
"We were a little shaken up by that, but you have to play anyway," Simpson said.
The Panthers get a week off before hosting Dietrich for "Senior Night" at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
Carey JV lookin' good
Meanwhile, the Carey junior varsity squad is in good shape for a conference championship, even with a loss in three sets to the Richfield JV on Tuesday.
It was the junior varsity's first conference loss of the season. The team now stands at 7-1 in league play and 15-3 overall.
The squad added to its win column Tuesday by defeating Mackay in two sets.
"They've been playing pretty decent this year," Simpson said. "We've got a chance. As of right now we're still number one with one game to go."
The Panther JV plays its final season matches in a tri-meet Thursday, Oct. 11, in Shoshone against the conference-rival Indians and Glenns Ferry.
The Northside Conference Sub-District tournament is set for Saturday, Oct. 13, in Fairfield.
Wood River?s Kaylee Baker pushes one over the net, surrounded by teammates Lauren Morganthaler (#14), Hannah Gove (#13) and McKenna Murphy (#3). Baker led the team with 12 kills as the Wolverines defeated Minico 3-1 Tuesday in Hailey for another important Great Basin Conference West victory. Photo by David N. Seelig
