‘Winners know how to win’: Bear Lake dominates Preston despite being slowed by illness

PRESTON — The reigning 4A state champion Bear Lake Bears continued to exert themselves as favorites once again, sweeping a game Preston squad Wednesday despite some health limitations.

With the win, Bear Lake (24-3, 3-0) now owns two wins against its closest 4A South East Idaho Conference competitor, Preston (14-4, 1-1) — though only Wednesday’s match counts as a conference win, with the other coming during the Cokeville Invitational tournament.

Though they never faced any real threat of a set loss, the Bears struggled to put away the scrappy bunch from Preston.

Head coach Stephanie Birch was quick to point out some deficiencies after the 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 sweep.

“I don’t think we played very well tonight,” she told EastIdahoSports.com after the match. “Honestly, tonight was one of our worst performances all-around, but we were able to persevere and get through it. … Winners know how to win.”

Birch explained that a flu bug has knocked down several of the Bears, limiting them for practice and stifling some of their athleticism.

When faced with limitations, the coach said, it is important to be hyper-focused on “small details,” which has been her rallying cry during recent practice sessions.

It took a while for Bear Lake to settle in, though, going back and forth with Preston through the first half of the first set. At the midway point of that first set, no team had seized any control, with the Bears holding the slimmest of advantages in a 13-12 lead.

With five straight points, though, Birch’s team grabbed the first sizable lead and forced a Preston timeout.

The Bears rode that momentum to a first-set win.

Preston remained up to the challenge, riding a hot hands from senior Tayla Wakley seemingly every time she rotated into the front row.

Wakley also found some offense at the service line, finishing the night with six aces to go along with 11 kills.

Bear Lake had multiple answers for Wakley, in the persons of senior KortLyn Skinner and junior Halle Wells. The duo was identified by Birch prior to the season as attackers who would need to carry the offense this season.

Wells was part of the run Bear Lake used to create separation in the first set, scoring two of her 12 kills in that stretch. And she was there throughout the match, serving as the option opposite Skinner.

Birch said that Wells personifies the team’s intent to win, saying she has gone all in the move from middle blocker to outside hitter — committing to improved passing and defense.

“They want to win, so they put in the work to get better,” Birch said.

Skinner, on the other hand, was an offensive key last season and came into her senior campaign knowing she needed to improve on that. She has, Birch said. In fact, her 14 kills, including four straight in the second set, amount to an off-match.

“By far, tonights was her worst match (of the season),” Birch said of Skinner, noting that she was among the players most effected by the flu bug that has ravaged the team.

Having pushed the Bear all night, Preston continued its fight into the third set, taking advantage of shoddy serving and passing from Bear Lake.

Preston scored 11 aces for the match, while Bear Lake gave away seven points on service aces.

The Bears did rally back to take the third set, behind more aggressive attacking from Wells. But Birch was not happy with that aspect of her team’s game, saying, “We really struggled, and that’s usually not the case.”

As they kick the illness Birch and her team continue to pursue another banner. And this sort of win, against a tough conference opponent with a less-than-optimal roster, is the type of win they can use to build momentum.

“We need to just stick to what we do,” the coach said. “We are very diligent and very intentional with our practices — there are some things that I didn’t like tonight, so we’ll watch it on film and we’ll drills, and figure it out.”

Bear Lake will be back on the court Thursday, when they host Teton (3-15-1, 0-2).

Preston will have a little more time to recover from the loss, which halted what had been an eight-matching winning streak. They will play again Saturday, at Marsh Valley (3-6, 1-1).