The defending state champion Grace Lutheran volleyball team dropped their third straight match Thursday night, falling to Mackay in a 1A Rocky Mountain Conference sweep at home, 17-25, 18-25, 21-25.

Sarah Krause led the Royals with seven kills to go along with two aces, one block and 11 digs. Maleah Iverson distributed 22 assists while adding two aces and three kills, and Rebekah Miller contributed seven kills, two aces and two digs for Grace Lutheran (5-6, 4-3).

POCATELLO 3, TWIN FALLS 0

The Thunder (17-8) handled defending Class 5A state champion Twin Falls with a 25-5, 25-13, 25-23 sweep Tuesday on the road.

Abby Lusk led Pocatello’s balanced attack with 15 kills, five aces and 14 digs, while setter Josie Haymore distributed 19 assists and added four aces, eight digs and two blocks. Libero Addy Gregory anchored the defense with 15 digs and three aces, Lainey Rogers added six kills and three digs, and Taylee Silcock recorded four kills and four blocks in the impressive road victory.

HIGHLAND STRUGGLES AT THUNDERBEE VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC

The Rams (9-10, 1-1 6A High Country Conference) managed just one win in six matches at the ThunderBee Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday at Bonneville High School in Idaho Falls.

Highland’s lone victory came against Bishop Kelly (25-20, 25-20). The Rams fell in straight sets to Bonneville (17-25, 19-25), Hillcrest (10-25, 20-25), Bear Lake (17-25, 16-25) and crosstown rival Pocatello. Highland also dropped a three-set match to Boise (16-25, 25-23, 13-15).

Kennedi Winder led Highland with 33 kills, 15 digs and two aces across the tournament. Jaycie Homer tallied 55 assists and two aces, while Brinley Homer added 32 digs and five kills. Alivia Blad contributed 31 digs, six assists and two aces, Arianna Williams had 11 kills, and Britt Reno recorded 16 digs, eight assists and four aces.

SNAKE RIVER SHOWS FIGHT AT THUNDERBEE VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC

The Panthers (13-10, 1-1 4A South East Idaho Conference) posted a 2-5 record at the ThunderBee Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday at Bonneville High School in Idaho Falls, but made their wins count against quality competition.

Snake River swept defending Class 5A state champion Twin Falls (25-17, 25-17) before doing the same to Class 6A’s Boise (25-17, 25-23). The Panthers were swept by Rigby (16-25, 19-25), defending Class 2A state champion Butte County (21-25, 14-25), and Bonneville (15-25, 22-25), while dropping three-set matches to Capital twice (25-23, 16-25, 9-15) and (17-25, 26-24, 7-15).

Aydyn Anderson was all over the court for Snake River with 20 kills, 81 digs, 45 assists and eight aces. Grace Gilbert added 30 kills, 42 digs, five aces and eight blocks, while Samantha Goodwin contributed 21 kills and 12 blocks. Emma Cook anchored the defense with 55 digs and four aces, London Lee distributed 39 assists with 15 digs, Sanorah Garza had 19 kills and nine digs, and Mayleigh Carter chipped in six kills and eight blocks.

BEAR LAKE HAS STRONG SHOWING AT THUNDERBEE VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC

The defending Class 4A state champion Bears (23-3, 2-0 4A South East Idaho Conference) dominated their competition with a 7-2 record at the ThunderBee Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls.

Bear Lake knocked off South Fremont (25-16, 25-13), Class 5A’s Vallivue (25-10, 25-13), Class 6A’s Thunder Ridge (25-22, 25-19), Class 6A’s Boise (25-16, 25-20), Class 6A’s Highland (25-17, 25-16), Class 6A’s Rigby (26-24, 18-25, 15-13) and Class 5A’s Idaho Falls (25-21, 25-9). Their only losses came to three-time reigning Class 6A state champion Madison (15-25, 20-25) and Class 5A’s Hillcrest (14-25, 25-20, 15-17).

Halle Wells led the Bears with 54 kills, 42 digs and 11 aces, while KortLyn Skinner added 58 kills and 36 digs. Emmie Sharp orchestrated the offense with 164 assists to go with 33 digs and seven aces. Avery Hunter posted 39 kills, 37 digs, 14 blocks and six aces, Londyn Lufkin had 20 kills and 17 digs, and Sharli Lufkin recorded 36 digs.

POCATELLO SHINES AT THUNDERBEEN VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC

The Thunder (record) posted an impressive 5-3 mark at the ThunderBee Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday, sweeping Highland, Capital, Fruitland and Skyline while splitting with Malad and falling to Capital, Rigby and Thunder Ridge in straight sets.

Abby Lusk powered Pocatello’s attack throughout the tournament with 93 kills while anchoring the defense with 48 digs and 12 blocks. Josie Haymore ran the offense with 147 assists and added 10 kills, seven aces, 40 digs and 10 blocks.

Libero Addy Gregory was steady in the back row with 63 digs and four aces, while Lainey Rogers chipped in 42 kills, eight aces and 31 digs. Taylee Silcock was a force at the net with 22 kills and 19 blocks for the Thunder.

ROCKLAND SUFFERS DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP

The Bulldogs faced tough competition from higher classifications Sept. 17 at Butte County High School, falling in straight sets to defending Class 2A state champion Butte County (18-25, 14-25) and 3A Ririe (18-25, 16-25).

Rockland bounced back Saturday by sweeping both Clark County and Challis at Clark County. The Bulldogs (13-4-2, 7-0 1A Rocky Mountain Conference) remain unbeaten against 1A competition this season.

BEAR LAKE 3, SNAKE RIVER 0

The Bears cruised to a 25-12, 25-17, 25-22 Class 4A East Idaho Conference sweep Sept. 17 at Snake River High School.

KortLyn Skinner and Halle Wells each tallied 14 kills to lead Bear Lake’s balanced attack. Emmie Sharp controlled the offense with 41 assists while adding three aces and three blocks, Sharli Lufkin anchored the defense with 10 digs, and Avery Hunter chipped in five kills and six digs.

For the Panthers, Aydyn Anderson and Grace Gilbert each had eight kills, with Anderson also dishing out 12 assists. Samantha Goodwin led the defense with seven blocks, while Emma Cook (10 digs), Gilbert (10 digs) and London Lee (13 digs, seven assists) rounded out the effort.

HIGHLAND 3, CANYON RIDGE 0

The Rams captured their first 6A High Country Conference victory of the season with a dominant 25-13, 25-22, 25-12 sweep Thursday on the road.

Kennedi Winder led the attack with 12 kills and eight digs, while Brinley Homer was everywhere for Highland with eight kills, two aces, 13 digs and 20 assists. Alivia Blad anchored the back row with 16 digs, and Britt Reno added 13 assists in the balanced victory.

ABERDEEN 2, MARSH VALLEY 1

The Tigers (1-10, 0-4 3A South East Idaho Conference) broke through for their first victory of the season, rallying for a 20-25, 25-23, 15-13 triumph on the road Sept. 17 in nonconference action.

Kimberly Tinoco powered Aberdeen’s attack with six kills, while Ariana Hernandez led the defense with nine digs. Emily Shackelford delivered both offensively and defensively with four kills and six digs, and Karlee Brown added four digs in the breakthrough win.

HIGHLAND 3, CENTURY 0

The Rams dispatched their crosstown rivals 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 on Sept. 16 on the road.

Kennedi Winder paced Highland with 12 kills and nine digs, while Brinley Homer added nine kills and a team-high 19 digs. Jaycie Homer distributed 18 assists, Alivia Blad recorded 17 digs, Mylee Stucki posted six kills and two blocks, and Audrey Soderquist served up three aces for the Rams.

GRACE 3, GRACE LUTHERAN 0

The Royals dropped a 17-25, 18-25, 8-25 nonconference match on the road Sept. 16.

Giana Maag tallied one ace, one kill, one block and three digs for Grace Lutheran, while Sarah Krause added two kills, two blocks and two digs in the loss.

CROSS COUNTRY

HIGHLAND SWEEPS TEAM TITLES AT CHALLIS MILE HIGH CLASSIC

Highland Sweeps Team Titles at Challis Mile High Classic

Both the Highland boys and girls cross country teams captured team championships Saturday at the Challis Mile High Classic.

The Rams boys dominated with 18 points behind individual winner Cody Christensen, who crossed the line in 16:52.11. Highland packed the front with Spencer Smith placing second, Josiah Barton fourth, Reed Olsen fifth, Cole Morris sixth, Miles Olsen seventh and Cooper Merica eighth.

The Highland girls edged Jerome by a single point, 32-33, for their team title. Makenzie Tucker paced the Rams with a second-place finish, followed by Leigh Ellis in sixth, Burklee Tingey eighth and Megan Waldron ninth.

Other area finishers included Blackfoot’s Sailor Tomazin (fifth) on the girls’ side, while Owen Gregory placed third and Dylan Bench 10th for the boys.

SNAKE RIVER PLACES FOURTH AT DANI BATES INVITATIONAL

Snake River junior Paetyn Polatis led the Panthers with a sixth-place finish at the Dani Bates Invitational in Twin Falls on Friday, helping the girls team place fourth out of 19 teams.

The Snake River boys also claimed fourth place behind a 13th-place showing from Graham High.

MALAD BOYS, HIGHLAND GIRLS CAPTURE TITLES AT PIRATE CHALLENGE

Malad swept to the boys varsity title while Highland edged Malad by nine points for the girls championship at the Pirate Challenge Thursday at West Side High School.

The Malad boys cruised to the team title with 31 points behind a 1-2-6-8 finish from their top four runners. Boston Burbidge led the Dragons with an individual victory in 16:38.02, followed by teammate Jace Nalder in third (17:17.62). Levi Angell placed sixth (17:41.15) and Braun Nalder eighth (17:45.71) to complete Malad’s scoring.

West Side’s Ethan Willis finished second overall in 17:01.64, while Pocatello placed fourth as a team with Collin Christensen (fourth, 17:27.05) and Ethan McKee (seventh, 17:45.41) leading the way. Highland finished sixth with Micah Looney placing 15th (18:33.77), and Marsh Valley took fifth behind Lukas Stanger’s 10th-place finish (18:06.80).

On the girls’ side, Highland captured the team crown with 52 points, narrowly beating Malad’s 53. The Rams were led by Brynli Knudsen (fourth, 21:04.65), Paige Sanford (fifth, 21:10.13) and Tacee Knudsen (ninth, 22:09.93).

Pocatello’s Katie Boyle claimed the individual title in 19:59.80, while Malad’s Aezlyn Summers was runner-up in 20:47.80. Marsh Valley placed fourth as a team with Brynley Peck (eighth, 22:01.11) and Sophie Sorensen (10th, 22:15.01) both cracking the top 10. West Side finished fifth, paced by Jacie Johnson’s 11th-place showing (22:40.79).

GIRLS SOCCER

HIGHLAND 7, RIGBY 0

The Rams (7-3-1, 3-0 6A High Country Conference) remained perfect in league play with a convincing win Tuesday night on the road.

Lexi Vawdrey led Highland’s offensive explosion with a hat trick and two assists. She opened the scoring in the first half with help from Devree Bell (2-0), then added back-to-back goals assisted by Lauren Flores to put the Rams up 4-0 at halftime.

Ashlynn Hale got Highland on the board first with an assist from Vawdrey, while Taryn Roth added two second-half goals — one assisted by Laynie Kunz and another unassisted. Kunz capped the scoring with a goal off a corner kick from Vawdrey.