Whitefish spikers claim division title

The Daily Inter Lake

LIBBY - Representatives of the Northwestern A volleyball division at this weekend's Class A state tournament in Bozeman will be Whitefish and Libby.

Whitefish (15-3) defeated Libby 25-16, 27-25, 25-17 in the championship match Saturday to claim the first place trophy - their fifth since 1999.

But Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller believes the true championship match was actually played Friday - that was also against Libby and was a five-game win by the Bulldogs.

"Friday's match was just unbelievable for both teams," the coach said.

Other Saturday scores were: Ronan defeated Columbia Falls 26-24, 22-25, 17-25 25-15, 15-9 in morning loser-out play, then Libby defeated Ronan 25-18, 25-17, 25-17 to get into the championship match.

Tracy Schwada led the Bulldogs with 10 kills, Shalyn Aurand and Ashley Ferda contributed 10 digs each, Courtney Ferda had four blocks and Katie Hodges served four aces.

"I think my kids just came out ready to go. They were eager," Fuller said.

"(Setter) Mandy McFadden did a phenomenal job of moving the ball around. I'm really proud of Mandy and what she did out there. And I was really proud of my defensive players. We had some great digs back there," she added.

"Defensively, I've got to give a lot of credit to Jessie Conners, Shalyn Aurand and Kirsten Blackburn. But without everybody … there's no way we could be successful. One total team effort."

Nicole Rowan paced Libby with seven kills and two blocks.

The Loggers (12-8) were focused on the Ronan match going in.

"We needed to get a ticket to the state tournament," coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston explained.

Rowan blasted 19 kills and had nine digs to help the Loggers advance, but once the Loggers got into the championship, the fuel tanks were on empty.

"We played really well at times against Whitefish tonight, but too many mistakes," the coach said.

"You can't afford to make a lot of mistakes against a good team," she added.

The Bulldogs open the tournament at 4 p.m. Thursday against the second place team from the East.

The Loggers play the No. 1 team from the East at noon.

Libby 3, Ronan 0

Sam Schultz contributed seven kills, 13 digs and Erin Bothman added 31 assists and five aces in the three-game win over Ronan.

Deserie Krell paced the Maidens with seven kills and 11 digs.

Ronan 3,

Columbia Falls 2

Ronan's Kira Crenshaw turned in 11 kills and two blocks as the Maidens (10-10) put an end to Columbia Falls' volleyball season Saturday.

Dani Herman led the Wildkats, who finished the season at 6-12, with 17 kills, 21 digs and two blocks.

Championship

Whitefish def. Libby 25-16, 27-25, 25-17

Kills - Whitefish 32 (Tracy Schwada 10), Libby 24 (Nicole Rowan 7, Sam Schultz 6); Assists - Whitefish 30 (Mandy McFadden 25), Libby 20 (Erin Bothman 18); Digs - Whitefish 39 (Shalyn Aurand 10, Ashley Ferda 10), Libby 36 (Sam Schultz 15); Blocks - Whitefish 9 (Courtney Ferda 4), Libby 4 (Rowan 2); Aces - Whitefish 10 (Katie Hodges 4, Kirsten Blackburn 3), Libby 6 (Bothman 3).

Loser out

Ronan def. Columbia Falls 26-24, 22-25, 17-25, 25-15, 15-9

Kills - Ronan 39 (Kira Crenshaw 11, Deserie Krell 8), Columbia Falls 49 (Dani Herman 17, Nikki Freebury 11); Assists - Ronan 35 (Brooke Cornelius 31) Columbia Falls 43 (Kate Marcille 41; Digs - Ronan 94 (Jamie Lake 27, Krell 16), Columbia Falls 103 (Herman 21, Freebury 20); Blocks - Ronan 5 (Crenshaw 2, Bridget Taylor 2), Columbia Falls 4 (Herman 2, Holly Peek 2); Aces - Ronan 16 (Cornelius 6, Krell 5), Columbia Falls 12 (Peek 3, Jenna Toole 3).

Libby def. Ronan 25-18, 25-17, 25-17

Kills - Libby 38 (Nicole Rowan 19, Sam Schultz 7), Ronan 22 (Deserie Krell 7, Jamie Lake 7); Assists - Libby 35 (Erin Bothman 31), Ronan 20 (Brooke Cornelius 15); Digs - Libby 39 (Schultz 13, Rowan 9), Ronan 59 (Krell 11, Amber Johnson 13); Blocks - Libby 2 (Crystal Decker 1, Rose Young/Karen Byrns 1), Ronan 5 (Kira Crenshaw 2); Aces - Libby 12 (Bothman 5, Decker 3), Ronan 4 (Cambrie Starkel 2).