State volleyball recap: Skyview, 3 other Treasure Valley teams win championships
Disappointed in herself after allowing a kill off her block, Gabby Buckley had tears in her eyes during Skyview’s final timeout.
But the senior middle blocker channeled that frustration onto the court, setting up a block to tie the match at 12-all.
The Hawks never faltered from then on, closing out a marathon match with a 25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 15-12 victory over three-time defending state champion Madison in the 6A volleyball state tournament title game Saturday at Capital High School.
“It means everything, honestly. I mean, Gabby was a little emotional, because I know how much she wanted it, and she knows how much we all wanted it,” Skyview senior outside hitter Bellamie Beus said.
“She wanted to go out there and do everything that she could for us, and that really speaks to how unselfish our team is. We really wanted it for each other and not for us as individuals.”
It was the seventh state championship in program history for the Hawks and the fifth in the past six seasons. It came a year after finishing as the runner-up to the Bobcats at state.
“I was just thinking, I don’t care who it’s against, as long as we win,” Skyview coach Kevin Murphy said. “But after playing them, it feels really good. And no disrespect, but the fact that it’s probably the best team we’ve ever beaten to win a state title, it just makes it feel really good.
“We absolutely earned it. We didn’t get any breaks.”
Skyview (29-6) defeated previously unbeaten Madison (36-2) in four sets in the semifinals of the double-elimination tournament. The Bobcats then swept Timberline to set up a rematch for all the marbles.
With neither team able to gain much traction in the tightly contested match, Skyview earned victories in the first two sets before losing two in a row to force a decisive fifth set.
Madison led 12-11 in Game 5 before Buckley’s big block, and then freshman outside hitter Rachel Bower played the hero, getting kills on the final three points of the match.
The first was a hit off the block, the second a hammer down the line, and match point was a cross-court shot as a big celebration ensued.
Bower broke both her shoelaces in the opening set and had to borrow replacements from her dad and her coach to finish out the match.
It’s no wonder her laces gave way. The 6-foot freshman had 79 hitting attempts in the championship, totaling 25 kills with 20 digs, three blocks and two service aces.
“I think people underestimate Rachel Bower,” older sister and Skyview libero Lizzy Bower said. “I think Rachel Bower has a cannon of an arm, and she will always put the ball away. We can always rely on her to put the ball away.
“She really came in clutch. … Regardless of how tired she was, it didn’t matter. She put the needs of the team in front of her own.”
Beus, a Kentucky signee, led the Hawks with 27 kills on a whopping 99 attempts, adding 13 digs, three aces and two blocks.
Junior setters Lyla McClure and Chloe Lin combined for 47 assists, Lizzy Bower totaled a team-leading 29 digs, and junior middle blocker Jill Deatherage chipped in six kills, five blocks and three digs.
“In the locker room before every single game … we were just talking about how we need to come together as a unit and play together and not to turn on each other, but to turn to each other,” Beus said. “I think that having those pre-game talks really helped in those moments.”
TIMBERLINE TAKES THIRD: The Wolves (25-11) earned the third-place trophy on Saturday, dispatching Rocky Mountain in five sets in an elimination match before losing to Madison in the semifinals.
Junior outside hitter Lily Merservier totaled 18 kills, seven digs, three aces and one block in the two matches. Senior Hazel Goetz contributed 14 kills and 14 digs, senior middle blocker Lynley Nixon had 13 kills, and junior setter McKenna Satterfield finished with 47 assists, 12 digs, four kills and two blocks.
“It’s big. We would not have dreamt of this in August that his was where we would be,” Timberline coach Carol Klein said. “We had girls that just bought in and got better every day. … They’re a really special group of girls, really cohesive.”
ANOTHER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR FRUITLAND
Eva Wall went soft with her first attempt for a state championship-sealing kill, trying to place the ball into a hole in the Bear Lake defense. When that didn’t work, the junior powered her second attempt through a pair of blockers, securing the Grizzlies their second state title in the past three years.
The 4A tournament went the full distance at the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls. Bear Lake edged Fruitland for the title last year, and it rallied through the elimination bracket after a Friday loss to the Grizzlies to force an if-necessary game Saturday.
But No. 4 Fruitland (18-8) outlasted the No. 1 Bears (38-5) in their third battle of the tournament, scoring a 25-21, 25-21 victory in the best-of-three tiebreaker.
Individual stats were not reported.
AMBROSE WINS FIRST STATE TITLE
Sophomore Kate Clausen racked up 23 kills in the decisive match for the 3A state championship Saturday. But none were more important than the last one.
Clausen delivered a powerful spike that bounced harmlessly off a Malad (30-10) defender to cap a five-set victory (25-11, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 17-15) to bring home the first state title in program history.
Ambrose also received 30 kills from junior Anna Campbell, according to a web broadcast from the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls. Stats were not reported to the Idaho Statesman.
The victory capped a breakthrough season that saw Ambrose finish 30-4. Its only losses came to 6A and 4A programs, and the Archers didn’t drop a set at state until the five-set marathon in the championship match.
HORSESHOE BEND ADDS TO TITLE HAUL
Horseshoe Bend dropped the first two sets of the 1A state championship match to No. 4 Rockland on Saturday at Coeur d’Alene High School.
But the Mustangs rallied for a 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-13 victory and their fourth state title in the past five seasons.
Horseshoe Bend (24-5), which finished the season on an 11-game winning streak, won the title with just seven players on its roster. The Mustangs feature two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.
“Volleyball runs in our blood at Horseshoe Bend,” Horseshoe Bend coach Sharsti Moore said. ”It starts young. Those young girls, these freshmen, have watched their sisters, relatives, cousins and siblings. They just watch it from a young age, and they want to be a part of that. They love the game. They’re invested.”
Sophomore setter Malia Goff tallied 65 assists, 16 digs, two kills and one block in the title match. Junior outside hitter Kimber Jones amassed a team-best 31 kills with 26 digs and four aces, freshman outside hitter Brooklyn Hess totaled 36 digs, 29 kills, one ace and one assist, and junior rightside Celeste Wilson added 13 digs, 12 kills, two aces, one block and one assist.
This story was originally published November 1, 2025 at 9:06 PM.
