HIGH SCHOOLS: Moscow soccer beats Sandpoint to earn district title

SANDPOINT - The Moscow High boys' soccer team lost the regular-season crown, but the Bears got the title they really wanted.

Moscow defeated Sandpoint 2-1 on Thursday to claim the Idaho Class 4A District I-II championship, and the accompanying state berth, the team's first in three years, its coach said.

Moscow's Jacob Helmke scored on a penalty kick in the 16th minute, after a handball by the Bulldogs. And 50 minutes later, the Bears' Max Mortimer gave his team a 2-0 lead on a goal teammate Mark Eldrige set up.

Goalkeeper Finn Benson of Moscow (9-7) had nine saves and held Sandpoint scoreless until the 83rd minute, when the hosts scored in extra time. The Bears led 1-0 at the half.

"They were stellar," Moscow coach Richard Gayler said of his players, in particular his defensive unit. "Second half, (Sandpoint) changed up some things, put us under pressure, it was a lot of duress we were under - they had something like 15 corner kicks to our zero, but our defensive line was just solid. Mason Burke, he was just outstanding and Riley Paine just cleared the ball."

Added Gayler, "Sandpoint's a big team, they've got some kids well over 6-foot-3, and that's one of their strong points, heading balls in the area. But our defense was just solid and for 83 minutes, we held them."

No box was available.

VOLLEYBALL

Troy stays dominant

TROY - With a jam-packed gym for Senior Night, Troy "stepped up and played very well," in the words of Trojans coach Deborah Blazzard. That culminated in a three-set takedown (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) of nonleague adversary St. Maries.

Troy (21-8, 12-0 Whitepine League) got strong showings from its seniors, including a combined six blocks from Taya Johnson and Ryleigh Clemm. Jordyne Fredrickson helped spearhead the offense with seven kills and went 10-12 in service, recording one ace.

"There were a number of rallies that could've gone any way," Blazzard said. "Offensively, we did really well, and defensively, we pursued the ball."

JV - Troy def. St. Maries, 2-1.

Colton gets league sweep

COLTON - Jordyn Moehrle collected eight kills, 10 digs and seven aces to power Colton to a sweep of Prescott in a Southeast 1B League match.

The scores were 25-8, 25-15, 25-7.

Abby Kelly and Rylee Vining tallied 13 and 12 assists for the Wildcats (10-4, 4-4), and Addison Kinzer furnished two blocks.

"We had some good hits, and we served really well," Colton coach Kelli Dahmen said.

Pomeroy steams ahead

POMEROY - Pomeroy rebounded after a relatively sluggish start, then never looked back in its three-set (25-17, 25-15, 25-5) leveling of Southeast 2B foe St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse.

The Pirates (21-1, 9-1) were led by Nikki Halbert's nine kills, Sydney Smith's 16 assists and four blocks, and Maddy Dixon's seven blocks.

Midway through the first set, Pomeroy got an explosion of momentum, then cruised the rest of the way behind "smart volleyball," said coach Amy Smith.

Bears falls to Bulldogs

MOSCOW - The Moscow Bears concluded their regular season with a 4A Inland Empire League loss to Sandpoint. The scores were 25-15, 25-17, 25-22.

Kaily Wilson notched six kills and nine digs for the Bears, Izzy Burns added six kills, Ellie Gray had seven digs and Peyton Claus 20 assists.

"Sandpoint is a really good team, and that was obvious tonight," Moscow coach Toni Claus said. "I did like the way we competed to the end."

Moscow opens its postseason at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lakeland.

JV - Moscow def. Sandpoint 25-22, 25-19.

Tigers win a pair

KOOSKIA - Eliza Olson racked up 23 kills and Ellie Cope added 15 as Kendrick beat two nonleague opponents in Kooskia.

The Tigers defeated Clearwater Valley 25-22, 25-10, 25-13 before downing Grangeville 27-25, 25-23, 25-21.

Cassidy Lustig contributed 11 kills for Kendrick (15-1), and Mya Brown played exceptionally on the back row, coach Ann Munstermann said. The coach was also pleased with "great overall team play."

Orofino whoops Kamiah

OROFINO - Sporting pink, Orofino logged 26 aces to notch a three-set sweep of Kamiah (25-11, 25-8, 25-14), but the Maniacs also raised a chunk of change in the process on "Dig for a Cure" night.

"It wasn't about volleyball tonight," Orofino coach Shannon Erbst said. "It's exciting for the girls to be playing for something much more important."

The Maniacs (11-4, 3-1 Central Idaho League) got eight kills and four aces from Clara Peterson, five aces and six kills from Nicole Sparano and 11 assists and seven aces from Cooper Thomas on 16-for-18 serving.

"We were hitting our spots later in the game," Erbst said. "Early on, we were missing some, then the girls got tuned in and served aggressive."

JV - Orofino def. Kamiah 25-18, 25-20, 15-13.

Colfax defeats Gennesse

COLFAX - Anni Cox chalked up seven aces and 16 digs as Colfax swept Genesee in an interstate match. The scores were 25-18, 25-22, 25-16.

Kylie Kackman logged 13 assists for the Bulldogs, and Kierstyn York had seven kills.

Prairie tops Highland

CRAIGMONT - With districts right around the corner, Prairie coach Julie Schumacher said she was glad to get a match in to "help us clean up a few things." Her team obliged, prevailing over nonleague foe Highland of Craigmont in four sets (25-17, 13-25, 25-9, 25-16).

The Pirates (11-4) were led by Alexis Hiler, who finished with 13 kills and three aces, and Kristyna Krogh, who logged 20 assists, five kills and another three aces.

"I'm kind of speechless to be honest," Schumacher said. "I'm just glad we had a game to play and won it. We had three (games this week), and it was nice to have those instead of five days of practice."

JV - Prairie def. Highland 2-1.

GIRLS' SOCCER

WV 4, Pullman 0

SPOKANE - Allowing a goal in the third minute and coping with a player shortage, Pullman dropped a Great Northern League verdict to West Valley.

Already short-handed, the Greyhounds suffered an injury in the first half, fielded only 10 players for a 10-minute stretch and trailed 3-0 at halftime.

"That's never happened before - that we're so injured and so beat up that I chose to play short," longtime Pullman coach Doug Winchell said. "I could have canceled the JV game, but we're also trying to ... develop younger players."

In the second half, "We sucked it up and buckled down," he said. "We didn't throw in the towel, and played pretty effectively."

The Hounds are 3-9-1 overall and 0-9 in league.

Pullman 0 0-0

West Valley 3 1-4

West Valley - Morgan Roijas, 3rd min.

West Valley - Frankie Shade (Roijas), 21st min.

West Valley - Shade, 38th min.

West Valley - Maddison Carr, 67th min

Shots - Pullman 4, West Valley 12

Saves - Pullman: Jocelyn Gross 8, West Valley: Gary 1, McGlothlen 2.

SWIMMING

Webb nabs three wins

Ally Webb won two individual events and anchored a relay victory as Clarkston split a double dual swim competition at the Asotin County Aquatics Center.

The Bantams defeated Grandview 56-24 and lost to Prosser 82-39.

It was the final home meet for Clarkston seniors Webb and Christine Gibler.

Next up for the Bantams is a district meet Oct. 26-27 at Gibb Pool in Pullman. Clarkston's qualifiers are Webb, Gibler, Madalynn Wallace, Liza Higgins and Emma Ulrich.

Team scores

Prosser def. Clarkston 82-39; Clarkston def. Grandview 56-24.

Clarkston placers

200 free - 1, Ally Webb 2:14.51.

100 free - 3, Christine Gibler 1:17.50.

500 free - 1, Webb 5:56.60.

200 free relay - 1, Clarkston (Liza Higgins, Emma Ulrich, Madalynn Wallace, Webb) 2:11.94.

100 back - 2, Higgins 1:30.19. 3, Jordyn Sawyer 1:52.10.

400 free relay - 2, Clarkston 5:00.87.