District 5 tournament quick set: Pocatello, Rockland snatch semi spots; Malad, Bear Lake survive and advance

EASTERN IDAHO — The Rockland Bulldogs and Pocatello Thunder will play in Saturday’s semifinal rounds following hard-fought victories Friday.

After Friday afternoon losses, both Malad and Bear Lake bounced back with elimination game wins, earning spots in Saturday morning’s knock-out round. West Side, Preston and Snake River were all eliminated in a busy Friday slate of state tournament games.

Here is what happened Friday in Idaho High School Volleyball State Championship action:

5A

No. 2 Pocatello (24-13) pushed its current winning streak to six straight matches with a 3-2 quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Lewiston (16-12) at Post Falls High School.

The Thunder recovered from a lost first set, winning the five-set marathon 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 15-19. They move on to the semifinals, where they will face No. 1 Idaho Falls (31-9) at 11 a.m.

The Tigers swept Pocatello on Sept. 29, the only time the two teams faced each other this season.

4A

Both Preston and Bear Lake lost their afternoon matches Friday, falling into the elimination rounds at Lake City High School.

No. 2 Bear Lake (30-6) rebounded from a loss to No. 3 Cole Valley Christian (22-8) to sweep No. 8 Sugar-Salem (18-17), 25-17, 25-18, 25-17, and secure a matchup with No. 7 Fruitland (15-8) in a Saturday morning elimination game.

The Bears swept Fruitland in Thursday’s opening round.

No. 5 Preston (15-12) could not do the same, losing 3-2 to No. 1 Kimberly (31-6) before falling again, 3-2, to Fruitland. Their season has come to an end with the two losses.

No. 6 Snake River (21-16) also saw its season come to an end, losing 3-1 to Fruitland Friday after losing 3-0 to Cole Valley Thursday.

3A

No. 6 West Side (18-16) lost twice Friday, bowing out of the tournament after a round-one victory at Lewiston High School.

The Pirates went down 3-1 at the hands of No. 2 Kellogg (17-1), then lost 3-0 to No. 4 Malad (25-12).

The Dragons followed up a 3-0 loss to No. 5 Nampa Christian (18-9) on Thursday to beat No. 8 Buhl (8-16) and West Side, both by way of sweeps.

Malad will face No. 1 Ambrose (26-1) Saturday at 9 a.m. The two teams have not yet met this season.

1A

No. 1 Rockland (22-3) extended its consecutive sets won streak to 15, sweeping No. 5 Mackay (25-3) at Thunder Ridge High School. They had to overcome a massive challenge from the Miners in the opening set, but eventually came out on top 30-28.

RELATED | Rockland survives Mackay scare, secures state semi spot

The Bulldogs moved to within two wins of a state championship and will take on No. 2 Horseshoe Bend (20-9) in Saturday morning’s semifinal. The two teams did not see each other during the regular season.