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ORDER GAME PHOTOS
Saturday saw six different volleyball teams clinch state championships in northern Idaho. Some teams finished off undefeated, dominant campaigns. Others survived a loaded field filled with quality contenders. Here is a complete rundown of what happened on Saturday at the various state volleyball tournaments.
CLASS 5A
There was no question that the Skyview Hawks would be celebrating with the first place trophy.
The only question was how dominating would their performance be? Pretty dominant, as it turned out.
In the undefeated semifinal Saturday morning against Madison, the Hawks dropped their first (and final) set to an Idaho team in 2021, but maintained their focus to pick up a 3-1 win by scores of 25-15, 26-28, 25-17, 25-9.
When Madison faced the Hawks again for the 5A title a few hours later, Skyview left no doubt, sweeping the Bobcats 25-16, 25-15, 25-13 to win their fourth state crown in six years.
BYU commit Eden Bower led the way in the title match with 21 kills, nine digs and three blocks.
Earlier Saturday, Eagle moved past Post Falls in four sets 25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21 to advance to the third place match. Madison then defeated the Mustangs in four sets 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21 to advance to the title match.
CLASS 4A
In perhaps the most wide-open, competitive tournament of the weekend, the 4A title match went the distance, as Twin Falls outlasted Bonneville 3-2 to earn their first state volleyball championship in school history.
The Bruins fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the match, but stormed back to win by scores of 22-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 15-10.
Before Twin Falls could play for the championship, though, they had to get past District 4 foe Wood River in the undefeated semifinal match on Saturday morning. One week after the Bruins toppled the Wolverines for the District 4 title, they knocked off Wood River once again in a sweep, 30-28, 25-17, 25-13.
Wood River, the top overall seed, never recovered, falling to Bonneville 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 in the third place match. Bonneville defeated Moscow earlier in the day 25-21, 25-18, 25-11 to advance to the third place match.
CLASS 3A
Sugar-Salem clinched their third consecutive state championship, and fifth title in the past six years, by sweeping Parma 25-13, 25-21, 25-14.
The Diggers finished their undefeated season in style, as they dropped only six sets all season en route to a 39-0 overall record.
Katie Miller paced the Sugar-Salem attack in the championship with 15 kills, 12 digs and a block.
The Diggers also turned back Kimberly in the undefeated semifinal 25-19, 25-21, 25-21. Kimberly then fell to Parma in the third place match in four sets 25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 25-16. Parma also dispatched District 3 rival Fruitland earlier in the day 25-18, 15-25, 25-23, 25-20 to advance to the third place showdown with Kimberly.
CLASS 2A
The West Side Pirates claimed the crown for the second year in a row, sweeping Melba 25-22, 25-16, 25-11 in the title match.
Melba earned their spot in the championship match the hard way. After being upset in the first round by West Jefferson, the Mustangs ran through Ririe and Cole Valley Christian on Friday to advance to the fourth place match on Saturday.
Once there, Melba swept Declo 25-11, 25-17, 25-20 to meet a familiar face in the third place contest: District 3 rival Nampa Christian.
The Trojans had just fallen to West Side in the undefeated semifinal 19-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-19. The Mustangs outlasted Nampa Christian in a five set thriller 25-22, 25-16, 23-25, 13-25, 15-10 to advance to the title match.
CLASS 1AD1
The Troy Trojans exacted revenge not once, but twice on Saturday and grabbed their fourth state crown in the past six years with a 3-0 win over Grace. The Grizzlies knocked off Troy in last year's 1AD1 championship match, which left the Trojans plenty motivated to return the favor in 2021.
Troy swept Grace by scores of 24-15, 25-12, 27-25 in the undefeated semifinal Saturday morning to clinch their spot in the championship. Then, after the Grizzlies fought back through the consolation bracket to meet up with the Trojans again, Troy produced another sweep, this time by scores of 25-12, 25-15, 25-12.
Jolee Ecklund finished a perfect 15-for-15 in service for Troy, while Eastern Washington University commit Morgan Blazzard tallied 17 kills. Blazzard also served out the final six points for Troy in the win.
Earlier in the day, Genesee dispatched District 2 rival Potlatch 25-18, 25-13, 25-15 to advance to the the third place match, leaving Potlatch with a fourth place finish. Then, Grace defeated Genesee 25-14, 25-23, 25-15 to advance to the championship.
CLASS 1AD2
Horseshoe Bend capped off an undefeated season with a sweep of Rockland in the 1AD2 championship. The Mustangs defeated the Bulldogs 25-10, 25-19, 25-20 to earn the title.
Earlier in the day, Horseshoe Bend defeated their District 3 rival Council in the undefeated semifinal 25-23, 25-6, 25-16. That sent the Lumberjacks into the third place match against Rockland, where Council simply ran out of steam, falling four sets 21-25, 27-25, 25-17, 25-19.
Council finished the year with six losses; five came against Horseshoe Bend, while the sixth was against Rockland for third place at state.
Speaking of Rockland, a week after falling to Mackay in the District 5-6 championship, the Bulldogs exacted revenge with a five set win over the Miners in the fourth place match. Rockland won 25-15, 15-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7 to begin their journey to the championship match.
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