Volleyball State Championships to feature 16 eastern Idaho teams, 4 top seeds

EASTERN IDAHO — The Idaho High School Volleyball State Championships will be played this weekend at six different venues — with the 2A and 1A tournaments to be played at Madison and Thunder Ridge high schools, respectively.

Sixteen local teams will compete for trophies, including four each in the 4A and 5A classifications.

Of those teams, the Rigby Trojans, Idaho Falls Tigers, Butte County Pirates and Rockland Bulldogs have each earned their bracket’s No. 1 seed. In the 3A tournament, the Malad Dragons will face the West Side Pirates in the opening round — the only all-eastern Idaho matchup set for Thursday.

Here is how each bracket breaks down:

6A, at Coeur d’Alene High School

No. 3 Madison (26-5) will face No. 6 Eagle (23-6) in the 3 p.m. match. The two teams did not meet this season. The Bobcats have won five consecutive matches and are 21-1 against Idaho teams this year.

No. 1 Rigby (35-5) will face No. 8 Owyhee (20-11) in the 7 p.m. game. The Trojans and Storm did not meet during the regular season. Rigby is 35-0 this season against all teams other than Madison.

5A, at Post Falls High School

No. 2 Pocatello (22-13) will play No. 7 Wood River (16-10) at 1 p.m. The Thunder beat Wood River 3-2 when the two teams met on Sept. 12 at Wood River High School. Pocatello enters the tournament on a four-match winning streak.

No. 3 Bonneville (22-13) will face No. 6 Lewiston (15-11) at 3 p.m. The Bees beat Lewiston 3-1 at the Rocky Mountain Invitational on Oct. 3.

No. 5 Hillcrest (22-15) will face No. 4 Twin Falls (25-11) at 5 p.m. The Knights lost 2-1 to Twin Falls during the ThunderBee Classic on Sept. 18. Hillcrest, the reigning 5A state champion, swept Lakeland during Saturday’s play-in round to earn a spot in the tourney.

No. 1 Idaho Falls (29-9) will face No. 8 Bishop Kelly (15-7) at 7 p.m. The Tigers did not meet Bishop Kelly this season, but enter the tournament having won five consecutive matches, all by sweeps.

4A, at Lake City High School

No. 2 Bear Lake (28-5) will face No. 7 Fruitland (13-7) at 1 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s 4A state championship, won 3-2 by Fruitland. The Bears have won 11 straight matches — losing just two sets in that span.

No. 6 Snake River (21-14) will face No. 3 Cole Valley Christian (20-8) at 3 p.m. The Panthers have won three of their last four matches.

No. 5 Preston (14-10) will face No. 4 Filer (27-13) at 5 p.m. The two teams split two meetings during the regular season, with Preston winning 3-2 on Sept. 17 and Filer winning 3-2 on Sept. 1.

No. 8 Sugar-Salem (17-15) will face No. 1 Kimberly (29-6) at 7 p.m. The Diggers did not face Kimberly during the regular season but have three straight matches, all by sweeps, prior to the tournament.

3A, at Lewiston High School

No. 3 Firth (21-4) will face No. 6 West Side (17-14) at 3 p.m. The Cougars went 2-0 against the Pirates in head-to-head matchups this season, winning 3-1 both times.

No. 4 Malad (23-11) will face No. 5 Nampa Christian (16-9) at 5 p.m. The Dragons have gone 10-1 since a Sept. 19 loss to Pocatello.

2A, at Madison High School

No. 1 Butte County (21-4) will face No. 8 Lakeside (9-11) at 7 p.m. The reigning champion Pirates are undefeated against 2A opponents this season, having lost two sets in 11 matches within their classification.

1A, at Thunder Ridge High School

No. 5 Mackay (24-2) will face No. 4 Clark Fork (17-0) at 5 p.m. The Miners’ two losses this season came against the top 1A seed, Rockland, and the 2A No. 2 seed, Valley. Mackay is 24-0 against all other competition, and has gone 7-1 over its last eight matches.

No. 1 Rockland (20-3) faces No. 8 Carey (13-4) at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs’ two losses this season have come against the No. 1- and No. 2-seeded teams in the 2A bracket.