Volleyball season ends with loss to Priest River

By ROBERT JAMES

Managing Editor

If someone had told coach Janis Tucker that her team would end the season with a loss in the first round of the league tournament and would have a losing record, she would've have thought they were crazy.

It's a crazy world, however, this year in the Intermountain League, as the league's balance wreaked havoc on the Badgers' expectations.

Bonners Ferry's season ended with a 3-1 loss to Priest River. The match was extremely close, as Bonners Ferry actually led games three and four but couldn't put the Spartans away. The Badgers lost 19-25, 25-16, 26-24, 27-25.

"You knew every game we played was going to be tough," Tucker said of the league this year. That sentiment was illustrated by Bonners Ferry's final two matches of the season, both against Priest River.

On Oct. 10, the team traveled to Priest River and picked up its first IML win of the year, beating Priest River in five games.

After dropping the first two games, including a 25-6 drubbing in the second game, Bonners Ferry roared back to win three straight, 25-20, 25-13 and 15-10 to claim the win.

The 25-6 game was the only game of the season where the Badgers were blown out, Tucker said. Ironically, it came in the only league win of the year.

The same Priest River team then turned around and beat Bonners Ferry in the league tournament, and went on to beat Kellogg to advance to the tournament finals.

"It would've been nice if that was us," Tucker said of Priest River's tournament run. "It just goes to show how anyone can beat anyone else in this league."

"(My players) have to realize that no matter how good you are, you can be beaten by or beat anyone else," she said.

Momentum is the key in volleyball, Tucker said. Getting it is essential to winning matches because of the scoring system in place. Teams get on rolls and rattle off 10 or 12 straight points, so no lead is safe.

Once you lose the momentum, it's difficult to get it back, Tucker said.

While the season was disappointing, Tucker praised her players for their effort and dedication in dealing with adversity.

"I just told them that I was proud of how they dealt with each other," she said. "A true measure of a player is how you deal with defeat. I cannot ask for better kids as far as being respectful and supportive of each other."

The team will return nine players from this year's varsity team, all of whom have seen court time. The three seniors, however, will be hard to replace. Kaitie Poston and Becky Lowther, along with Lucy Kim-Brown helped anchor the Badgers on the court.

"Right now there's a void for Becky, Kaitie and Lucy," Tucker said.

Her players have to set some goals for next season and decide what kind of team they want to be, she added.