For the week of November 5 - 11, 2003

Hailey spikers bring home state silver

Wood River wins Sportsmanship
Trophy in lake region

---

By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Wood River High’s talented and hard-working volleyball team traveled to Coeur d’Alene last week in search of the first-place trophy in the State 3A volleyball tourney.

They didn’t win the championship but coach Tim Richards’ Wolverines carried home more hardware than they expected. They won three matches for the second-place trophy and also earned with the Sportsmanship Trophy.

Wood River (31-14) became only the fifth team in the 28-year history of Hailey volleyball to make the championship match of the state tourney. They joined the 1982 and 1997 Hailey squads as winners of the state runner-up silver trophy.

The aptly-named Sugar-Salem Diggers of Sugar City defeated Wood River 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-16 in Saturday’s title match at Lake City High School to win the eastern Idaho school’s first state crown.

"We were where we wanted to be—in the championship," said coach Richards. "We had some real close games against Sugar-Salem, games that could have gone either way.

"I couldn’t believe how many swings we took against Sugar-Salem. We played incredible defense, and Sugar-Salem played great defense as well. It was close both ways."

Wood River entered the two-day, eight-team state meet with a clear focus after placing second to Gooding in the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference tourney. The Wolverines won their first two matches Friday.

Jessica King (12 kills, 21 service points) and junior Rachael Richards (20 assists, 20 services) sparked Wood River to a 25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 26-24 triumph over Fifth District champion Marsh Valley (27-8).

Later Friday, Hailey’s balanced offense was too much for Priest River in a 25-19, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21 Wolverine victory. King (11 kills), Charli Lindley (10) and Natalie Green (10 kills, 3 blocks) led the attackers, while Emily Smith had 27 service points. Liz Rippon added 5 kills and 3 blocks.

Richards said, "The girls played really well Friday. They had played a first day at state before and knew what to expect. We didn’t want either match to go to five games, so we stepped up and won in four."

It wasn’t a good Friday for Gooding. The Senators went home early with losses to Priest River (in five tough games) and Marsh Valley (four).

Saturday’s semi-final against Sugar-Salem turned on a tightly-played second game which the Diggers won 30-29. The decisive point was a questionable line call that went against Wood River, according to coach Richards.

"We were serving for the game and Sugar-Salem hit a ball that was six inches long—and the referee called it good. They took a game away from us, a game we had worked very hard to get back into," said Richards.

The Wolverines (8 service errors, compared to the team’s per-game average of 4) didn’t serve particularly well in the 25-21, 30-29, 25-19 semi-final loss to Sugar-Salem. But they fought very hard for each critical point.

"I think we missed three serves after that second game was tied 24-24. Yet the girls came back after each missed serve and fought it out. It was a great game, but it was sad to have it end on a line call," Richards said.

Wood River might have won the Sportsmanship Trophy for sucking it up and not making a big deal about the missed call, but the Wolverines also showed their true mettle in Saturday’s loser-out match against South Fremont of St. Anthony.

In a real barnburner, Wood River held off the Cougars 25-16, 21-25, 29-30, 25-16, 19-17. Coach Richards said the Wolverines could have easily given up after falling behind two games to one after yet another 30-29 loss, but the Hailey girls showed a lot of heart.

The coach said, "It was a fun match. We fell behind 10-3 in the fifth game then the girls showed how much they wanted to play in the championship. It was just a matter of our focus.

"We decided to take risks. We said that if we didn’t take a little risk, if we didn’t go out on a limb, we weren’t going to get the best of the fruit."

Leading the attack were King (15 kills, 3 blocks), Lindley (15 kills), Green (11 kills, 20 serves, 4 blocks) and Rippon (29 service points).

"Natalie Green hit another level at state," coach Richards said. "She was so consistent, playing almost error free. Liz Rippon was phenomenal. She really believed we could win."

The win over South Fremont sent Wood River into the championship match against Sugar-Salem and its tall twin senior sisters Tammy and Tanya Harper. "They were good players," said Richards. "We didn’t match up heightwise, but we hung in there."

Wood River, fresh from its win over the Cougars, grabbed the first game 25-21 but Sugar won the final three 25-23, 25-17, 25-16. "A lift call at 24-23 gave Sugar-Salem the second game," said Richards. "It would have been tough to win six games from them, though."

Jessica King (20 kills in the two Sugar matches) led the attack with 10 kills on 36 swings and Charli Lindley (22 service points, 3 blocks) added 8 kills on 36 swings. Natalie Green (3 blocks) added 7 kills on 26 swings while Rachael Richards (3 blocks) had 13 assists.

"The girls were pretty positive the whole tournament," said Richards.

The team banquet is Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school commons area. Wood River’s state statistics from Coeur d’Alene follow:

Oct. 31, opening-round match (WR won 25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 26-24 over Marsh Valley): Kills—For WR, Jessica King 12 on 23 attempts, Natalie Green 7 on 13 attempts, Charli Lindley 7 on 20 attempts, Emily Smith 4 on 15 attempts. Assists—Rachael Richards 20, Emily Smith 8. Serves—Jessica King 21, Rachael Richards 20. Blocks for points—Liz Rippon 2.

Oct. 31, second-round match (WR won 25-19, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21 over Priest River): Kills—Jessica King 11, Charli Lindley 10, Natalie Green 10, Emily Smith 6, Liz Rippon 5. Assists—Rachael Richards 17, Emily Smith 15. Serves—Emily Smith 27, Rachael Richards 20, Natalie Green 18. Assists—Rachael Richards 17, Emily Smith 15. Blocks for points—Natalie Green 3, Liz Rippon 3.

Nov. 1, semi-final match (Sugar-Salem 25-21, 30-29, 25-19 over WR): Kills—Jessica King 10 on 45 attempts, Charli Lindley 10 on 25 attempts, Natalie Green 7 on 30 attempts, Liz Rippon 3 on 19 attempts. Assists—Rachael Richards 19, Emily Smith 11. Serves—Emily Smith 14, Rachael Richards 12, Natalie Green 11, Jessica King 10, Liz Rippon 10, Charli Lindley 9. Blocks for points—Rachael Richards 1, Natalie Green 1.

Nov. 1, loser bracket final match (WR 25-16, 21-25, 29-30, 25-16, 19-17 over South Fremont): Kills—Jessica King 15, Charli Lindley 15, Natalie Green 11. Assists—Emily Smith 19, Rachael Richards 19. Serves—Liz Rippon 29, Natalie Green 20. Blocks for points—Natalie Green 4, Jessica King 3, Nikki Calzacorta 2.

Nov. 1, championship match (Sugar-Salem 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-16 over WR): Kills—Jessica King 10 on 36 attempts, Charli Lindley 8 on 36 attempts, Natalie Green 7 on 26 attempts, Liz Rippon 5 on 19 attempts. Assists—Rachael Richards 13, Emily Smith 9. Serves—Charli Lindley 22. Blocks for points—Rachael Richards 3, Charli Lindley 3, Natalie Green 3, Liz Rippon 2.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.