Pocatello bests Burley, reigning champ Twin Falls in home doubleheader

POCATELLO — The Pocatello Thunder opened their home schedule Tuesday night, with a doubleheader against the Twin Falls Bruins and then the Burley Bobcats.

After hanging to secure a 3-2 victory over the reigning 5A state champion Bruins (0-1, 0-0), Pocatello (7-2, 0-0) asserted its dominance in a straight-set sweep of the Bobcats (2-5, 0-0).

The Thunder were led by the stellar play of senior Abby Lusk, along with key contributions from junior Lainey Rogers and a pair of sophomores — Taylee Silcock and Maeve Rollins. That combination of veteran power and promising youth has head coach Paige Leatham very excited about her team’s potential this season.

Leatham called the Twin Falls match, which they trailed 1-0 after the first set, “a roller coaster ride,” with the two state title contenders swapping runs of awe-inspiring play followed by flurries of errors.

“But we put it all together against Burley,” she said.

Leatham admitted that the struggles thus far — through the weekend’s Peg Peterson Tournament and Tuesday’s double-dip — are based primarily on communication issues. But those were to be expected, with a team that graduated eight of its 10 players last year.

“We are, pretty much, a brand new team trying to figure out our rhythm, it shows in our communication and our flow with each other,” Leatham said, adding that she is very excited to see this unit grow.

One thing that was for sure even before Pocatello took the court this season was Lusk. A two-time All-State selection, Lusk will be the anchor for this Thunder squad. And she was that and more Tuesday.

After recording a match-high 19 kills against Twin Falls, the 6-foot-2 right-handed outside hitter tallied 16 more kills in the second match of the night. She added five blocks and an ace across the two matches.

Lusk offered the same assessment as her coach, when asked how she felt her team played Tuesday.

“We had our ups and downs, but we came in in the end and had fun, which is going to be key to our team this year,” she said.

Behind, one set to nothing, and even, 16-16, in the second set, Lusk took matters into her own hands rather than allowing her team’s ebb to correct itself.

The senior was responsible for six of the match’s next eight points, recording a block and four kills to give Pocatello a 23-17 advantage.

Rogers offered a similar display in the third set when, with the match tied 1-1 and the Thunder already ahead 9-4, the junior recorded four of seven points as Pocatello surged out to a 15-5 lead. She finished with 19 kills, one block and one ace on the night.

Leatham spoke about the Lusk-Rogers duo.

“It is so dangerous, especially if we can figure out our rhythm and our flow, we are going to be really good on the outside, just like we were last year,” the coach said.

While that tandem carried the load for the Thunder, Silcock and Rollins added in huge contributions as well.

Silcock finished the night with 10 kills and four blocks between the two matches, while Rollins recorded one kill and three blocks.

“They are stepping into the role as our middles, and they’re super-exciting because Taylee can put away a ball and they’re both really great blockers,” Leatham said of the sophomore duo.

Lusk believes, like her coach, that this Thunder team is a serious contender to end a 35-year volleyball state championship drought at Poky.

“I think that we’re special in our own way, and I think that if we piece it together … I do think we have a chance at state,” Lusk said. “There’s no way we can get counted out.”