Rockland survives Mackay scare, secures state semi spot

AMMON — The Rockland Bulldogs found themselves in a dogfight Friday, going deep into extra points in the first set of their quarterfinal matchup with conference rival Mackay.

Rockland fended off multiple potential set points, eventually snatching a 30-28 victory to start what they expected to be a difficult matchup.

The loss seemed to rob some of the wind from the sails of the Miners, though, as Rockland cruised the rest of the way, winning the next two sets 25-11 and 25-14 for a straight-set victory.

With the win, the No. 1 Bulldogs (22-3) advance into the Idaho High School Volleyball State Championships 1A semifinals, where they will meet No. 3 Council (22-9) Saturday morning back at Thunder Ridge High School. The No. 5 Miners (25-3) fall into the losers’ bracket, and will face No. 7 Salmon River (23-7) in an elimination game Friday night.

While the long first set forced Rockland to exert extra energy, team co-captain Mahana Hatch said that battling through it to earn a hard-fought win may be exactly what the Bulldogs needed.

“Oh yeah, 100%,” she said when asked if the first set could serve some positives. “I feel like us realizing that we need to play at 100% all the time, it’s really helpful — knowing that we need to step up every single ball.”

Hatch was huge the rest of the way as Rockland bounced back from the long first to dominate the second and third. The sophomore tallied five kills, one block and one assist in the second set alone, then added two kills and a block in the third.

Asked if she even feels the pressure of being Rockland’s go-to attacker as just a sophomore, Hatch said she absolutely relishes it.

“I love the pressure, I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I live for the pressure. Tight games like that, when I just get to smash it, it’s what I live for.”

Fellow co-captain Gracie Freeman added a block and four kills in the third set. The other captains, senior Kinsey McHargue and junior Brilee Steidley, both made major contributions of their own, including a match-point kill from Steidley.

In defeat, the Miners got another stellar performance from Jaida Rodriguez.

Mackay will need more from the senior, as they will now need to win back-to-back knockout matches just to earn a spot in the championship round — which would then require the Miners to win twice in order to claim the championship.

Rockland, on the other hand, is now just one win from playing for a championship and could grab a banner with as few as two more wins this season.

The Miners will play at 6 p.m. Friday night. The Bulldogs will be back on the court at 11 a.m. Saturday.

According to Hatch, in order to win their last two matches of the season and claim a state title, Rockland will need to continue playing as a team. They all know what they are capable of, Hatch said, as well as what each other is capable of. To win, they will need to coax the best from each other, which is something she stopped just short of guaranteeing was possible.

“We’re going to win it,” Hatch said. “We’re going to win it, there’s no doubt in my mind.”