Home-court advantage: State volleyball returns to Boise for the first time in 27 years

For the first time in 27 years, Treasure Valley high school volleyball teams won’t have to worry about uncomfortable hotel beds, bad food or long bus rides during the state tournament.

All six double-elimination state tournaments will be contested at Valley schools Friday and Saturday. District Three last hosted state volleyball in 1991, when Northwest Nazarene held the two largest tournaments. Since then, the tournaments have traditionally rotated back and forth between the northern and eastern parts of the state.

The Idaho High School Activities Association approved a plan in 2015 to add District Three to the state volleyball rotation. Under the current format, Northern Idaho will host the tournament in odd years. Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls will rotate hosting in even years with the next trip back to Boise scheduled in 2024.

[Related: 5A to 1A state volleyball scores, brackets]

“You want to give teams and schools an opportunity to play in their home area if at all possible,” IHSAA Executive Director Ty Jones said. “That’s what it basically came down to.”

First-round matches start at 9 a.m. Friday at Ridgevue (5A), Rocky Mountain (4A), Mountain View (3A), Capital (2A), Skyview (1A Division I) and Borah (1A Division II). Only Capital and Borah were open the last time state volleyball was played locally.

“It does take a toll on your team to have to travel,” said Columbia coach Cathy Curtis, who is in her 30th year coaching in Idaho. “It will be nice to be able to mix it up so that every year we’re not having to travel, pay all that extra money, stay in hotels, eat bad food and compete.

“It’s giving (teams outside District Three) an opportunity to feel that same sting that we usually feel.”

Did you know?

▪ Skyview won back-to-back titles at the 4A level in 2016 and 2017 and will now try to win state for the first time in the 5A classification. A District Three team hasn’t won the 5A tournament since Rocky Mountain in 2010.

▪ Sisters and coaches Kamille Crawford and Kandice Compas lead their respective teams to state appearances in separate classifications. Crawford is in her third year as Middleton’s head coach, while Compas has coached at Parma since 2013. Both sisters guided their teams to regular-season and district titles earlier this month, and both have daughters playing for them. Jozie Crawford is the Vikings’ senior libero, and Katie Compas is a freshman setter for the Panthers.

▪ BYU is the top-ranked college volleyball team in the nation, and three players from Idaho are currently committed to the Cougars. Skyview claims two of those players: Senior libero Morgan Bower and junior setter Whitney Bower. They are sisters. Makayla Tolman, a junior right side from Burley, also is committed to BYU. All three play club for Idaho Crush.

▪ Columbia qualified for state for just the second time in program history. The Wildcats’ only other state appearance came as a 4A school in 2009.

▪ Bonneville has won the past two state titles at the 5A level, but the Bees dropped down to the 4A classification this season. They’re the District Six champion and open tournament play against Twin Falls at 9 a.m. Friday.

▪ Sugar-Salem (3A) and Nampa Christian (2A) are both two-time defending champions in their respective classifications with a chance to make it three in a row in 2018. The 1A Division II bracket will feature two defending champions. Horseshoe Bend claimed the 1A Division I title last year, while Watersprings won in 1A D-II.

▪ Horseshoe Bend coach Sharsti Moore has won a state title with the Mustangs as both a player and coach. Moore played on the Mustangs’ title team in 2008 and coached them to the win in 2017.

This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 11:07 PM.