Lady Tigers go two and out in district tournament action

The volleyball season came to a disappointing close during the District III 4A Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Tigers went the minimum two matches, getting swept by Emmett and Kuna.

Emmett 3

Mountain Home 0

The Lady Tigers went into the district tourney as the number seven seed, and opened at Emmett last Monday against the second-seeded Lady Huskies.

After Mountain Home led early, 3-2, in game one, the Lady Huskies went on a 10-0 run to go up, 12-3. The Lady Tigers were not able to get any closer after that, losing 11-25.

In game two, Mountain Home led much of the way early, with their biggest lead two points, the final time at 11-9, before an 8-0 run by Emmett put the lady Huskies up, 17-11. They outscored Mountain Home 8-2 the rest of the way for a 25-13 win.

The Lady Tigers started slow in game three, and a 9-0 run by Emmett midway through the game put the Lady Huskies up, 19-4. It ended up, 25-8, Emmett, as the Lady Huskies won in three straight.

Mountain Home Lady Tiger volleyball coach Sarah DeVore was disappointed in their performance against Emmett.

"I would definitely feel a little better if Emmett had done something to really change our momentum, but we never stepped out and had control of the game at all. Our passes were off, and once that fell apart, everything else went with it.

"I definitely know that these ladies have fight and they want to win, it just did not show tonight. Hopefully, we can regroup and move on, because I don't want the season to end, and I hope they don't either, so we've got more to play, and I don't want to end on a note like tonight."

Brandie Riggs was 8/9 on serves, with three service points, an ace and six assists. Sara Baldridge was 7/7 serving with four service points, two aces and seven digs. Hannah Zamora had 16 digs, Chantell Crane had four kills and a block, and Emily Moranda had five blocks.

Kuna 3

Mountain Home 0

The loss to Emmett put the Lady Tigers in the consolation bracket, facing Kuna in a loser-out match last Tuesday night at Kuna. The Lady Kavemen, who went into the tourney seeded third, were upset by six-seeded Middleton in the first round.

Mountain Home grabbed the lead early in the first game, building up a 7-4 lead, and led for the last time, 10-9, before a 7-0 run by Kuna put the Lady Kavemen in control, 17-10. Kuna went on to win the game 25-15.

Game two saw Kuna break away from a 2-2 tie to take control, shooting out to a 18-9 lead. The closest Mountain Home got after that was within six a couple times, with Kuna winning 25-17.

The third game saw Kuna go on a 10-0 run to build up a 14-2 lead. A short 5-0 run brought the Lady Tigers within eight, at 21-13, but Kuna took the game 25-16 and the match, 3-0, ending the season for Mountain Home.

Hannah Zamora was 10/11 serving, with five service points, and an ace. Brandie Riggs was 8/9, with three points, an ace and 13 assists. Katie Price was 9/9 serving, with four service points and 15 digs, Chantell Crane had nine kills, Sara Baldridge had 16 digs, and Sarah Cantrell had five kills and two blocks.

"It's obviously a hard way to end the season, losing out of a tournament the way we did," said Coach DeVore after the match.

"There were definitely moments of fight and that's what we've been battling all season long, getting those moments compacted into games, matches and a season effort.

"You know, you end the season thinking of the negatives, and certainly this is going to leave a bitter taste in a lot of our mouths, but at the same time, it's still emotional and hard to say goodbye to nine seniors that have worked all season long. You know they made sacrifices, I just wish that things would have gone a little differently for them.

"We lose some dedicated players. It's definitely hard to rebuild around a setter, and not having Brandie Riggs back next year will definitely be a hard one to replace.

"I can't say enough about Hannah Zamora, Katie Price, Chantell Crane brings so much energy, and energy's hard to replace on the court. We saw things out of Melinda Spagnolo â€" heart, soul and spirit. Stephanie Bowen came out this first year, as well as Emily Moranda, some first year seniors, but they got a chance to play at the varsity level, and it was a pleasure to have them.

"Tawni Downen struggled with knee surgery and came in first year varsity, as well as Holland Nichelson, so we got to see a bunch of new faces on varsity this season, and it was a great privilege to coach them."

Coach DeVore hopes to build next year's squad around the four returners.

"We were able to bring some sophomores up, and Sarah Cantrell is the lone junior. We had Nickayla Skinner, Sara Baldridge and Charde` Huntington all experience what varsity level competition looks like, and honestly, it begins in the off-season. We really need those four returners and the upcoming sophomores and JVs to put in their time, and hopefully, our season will start way before August comes along and translate into success for us."