Berths to the state soccer tournaments were on the line Saturday as area teams competed in play-in games. 

At Madison, Thunder Ridge's boys soccer team topped Idaho Falls, 3-1, good for a spot in Thursday's 5A District 5-6 tournament title game.

A busy schedule isn’t a burden for Idaho National Laboratory employee and Mackay High School two-sport coach Kashia Hale.

At Challis, setter Ava Undhjem finished with 25 digs, 22 assists, two kills and three aces for Watersprings on the way to a 17-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-21 win over Challis.

REXBURG -- The Sugar-Salem volleyball team found itself in unfamiliar territory on Saturday when the Diggers actually trailed in a match.

Idaho Falls rallied in the second half but it wasn't enough as the Rigby girls soccer team held on to pick up its first conference win of the season with 3-2 final.

At Madison, the Bobcats secured a close 3-2 win over Bonneville.

Here are a few pieces of news and notes from the past week.

Cross country

At Thunder Ridge, the Titans' girls soccer team was down a player for 50 minutes after receiving a red card, but Sophie Mangum netted the eventual game-winner in the 55th minute off an assist from Allison John for a 1-0 win over Idaho Falls.

Here are some news and notes for the week ahead.

Sugar-Salem won the Bonneville Classic volleyball title, finishing undefeated in the two-day tournament.

At Bonneville, Brooklyn Pett scored off a rebound from a mishandled ball by the keeper and Ali Ellsworth scored unassisted from distance as the Bonneville girls soccer team defeated Thunder Ridge 3-1.

At Hillcrest, Isaac Woolley and Hadrien Pena each scored twice as the Hillcrest boys soccer team remained unbeaten in 4A District 6 action with a 4-0 win over Shelley.

The Madison volleyball team has been resilient since last season when the injury bug wreaked havoc on the Bobcats team.

At Mackay, the Miners' volleyball team kept their undefeated record intact with sweeps over Rockland and Clark County.

Volleyball

Bonneville split two volleyball matches on Tuesday and Hillcrest dropped a pair of matches.

At Hillcrest, the Skyline boys soccer team scored early in the first half but Johan Gayton-Hernandez netted a free kick for Hillcrest and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The first full week of high school sports is in the books. Here's a recap of some of the action and what to look forward to this week.

At Mackay, the Miners' volleyball team beat Rockland 3-0 on Tuesday, downing the Bulldogs 25-13, 25-22, 25-9.

At Bonneville, a game between Bonneville girls soccer and Pocatello was tied 1-1 at the half after a goal by Mady Gasser, but Ali Ellsworth scored unassisted in the 63rd minute for the eventual game-winner for a 2-1 victory. Maya Medrano had eight saves.

At Post Falls, Sophie Mangum scored a hat trick with goals in the third, ninth, and 45th minute, with assists from Willow Rhoda and Savannah Kenney. Rhoda finished off the scoring in the 54th minute unassisted as Thunder Ridge defeated Post Falls 4-0 on Friday.

At Clark County, setter Tori Vernon had 19 assists and 12 aces and Abi Undhjem added 10 kills and six aces as the Watersprings volleyball team downed Clark County 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-10).

SUGAR CITY — The dozens of state tournament banners that hang in the gym at Sugar-Salem highlight the success of the Diggers' athletic program, with multiple sports earning the coveted blue championship trophy and banner in multiple years, each one signifying a season ending in celebration.

At Idaho Falls, the Idaho Falls boys soccer team defeated Blackfoot 3-1 on Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, when Skyline senior Sophie Anderson put pen to paper and finalized her commitment to play volleyball at Utah State Eastern, she felt relieved. Excited.

The area’s top high school athletes, coaches and teams were honored Monday night at the third annual Post Register Sports Stars Awards ceremony.

Some 14 months ago, before the coronavirus pandemic shook the world and everything still felt normal, Brenna Clyde liked her volleyball offers. Then an Idaho Falls junior, Clyde was enjoying a healthy collection of recruiting attention, especially because she still had another season to build on.

Rollover. Ejection. When those words are used to describe a car accident it’s often tragic.

Maybe one day Cami Dodson will reveal what she feeds her volleyball players at Sugar-Salem. Until then, she’ll keep stacking the accolades.

First team

When she tries, Sidney Parker can still remember the emotions, the mental toll it took to watch her best friend crumple to the ground with an injury that looked serious before any official diagnosis. It wasn’t just that Maddi Wilcox was in pain. It was also the opponent, the circumstances.

Rocky Mountain all-conference team

Maycee Pocock remembers it was at 11 a.m. She isn’t sure why, even six months later, but the time of the meeting sticks in her head. A member of Sugar-Salem’s yearbook staff, Pocock and five other students were called to the yearbook production room to meet with their advisor, Kim Copley.

High Country Conference Volleyball

As Thunder Ridge senior Paige Clark examined her options for playing collegiate volleyball, she had a couple criteria in mind: She likes Idaho Falls, so the school had to be close, but not too close. She had to gel with the coaches.

This year’s senior volleyball all-star match has been canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the list of nominees to represent their schools has been released.

All-conference teams are selected by coaches

This season, nine area volleyball teams advanced to state. Results ranged from championships to quick exits, so check out the wrap-ups below for more detailed looks at how each team’s state trip unfolded.

Undefeated. By definition the state champion had to go undefeated to win the state volleyball title. But there’s a more impressive undefeated — undefeated in sets.

State Championship Volleyball Tournaments

Sunlight sparkled through the wide windows at Thunder Ridge's main gym, where the Titans were warming up for a Thursday practice, preparing to take on Timberline at the 5A state tournament on Friday. Players took turns practicing kills. Balls bounced left and right. The defending champs seem…

State volleyball is about to kick into full swing, and there are several storylines to follow. Our area includes seven teams headed to state tournaments, from Thunder Ridge to Mackay, which means it’s time to break down teams, their opponents and how they figure to fare.

There was a time, around a year ago to the date, when Thunder Ridge represented new challengers to the 5A field. The Titans’ school had existed for less than two years, so even though their volleyball program had secured a state appearance, the team was more underdog than favorite.

There’s a full slate of state playoffs and tournaments scheduled for the end of the week, but the Mountain Rivers Conference football teams already got a head start on the postseason action with Monday’s Kansas City tiebreaker.

Mackay volleyball coach Kashia Hale said dealing with COVID-19 was the longest two weeks of her life.

At Bonneville, the Bees' volleyball team captured the 4A District 6 tournament title with a 23-25, 25-18, 25-10, 25-17 win over Shelley in Thursday's championship match.

At Thunder Ridge, the Titans dispatched Rigby in the first round of the 5A district tournament, winning 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 25-16).

Area volleyball teams brought home five of the six state championship trophies last year, a record haul that begs the question: Can eastern Idaho repeat its dominance on the volleyball courts in 2020?

At Rigby, Thunder Ridge girls soccer junior Sophie Mangum recorded a game-winning goal in overtime on a free kick, sending the Titans on in the loser's bracket of the 5A District 5-6 girls soccer tournament.

The only sound was the one nobody wanted to hear, a hush of voices that mushroomed over those in attendance for Thunder Ridge’s home volleyball matchup with Madison Thursday night. Bobcat outside hitter Maddi Wilcox crumpled to the ground with a knee injury early in the first set. Moments la…

At Thunder Ridge, the Bonneville girls soccer team downed Thunder Ridge 4-0 on Thursday.

At Hillcrest, Skyline took a 1-0 advantage into the half, but Johan Gaytan-Hernandez tied the game on an assist from Benson Bateman and Thomas Endsley netted the eventual 2-1 game winner for the Hillcrest boys soccer team on Wednesday..