Whitefish waltzes

Bulldogs hammer Hardin for state volleyball title in four years

BOZEMAN - That little grin that crossed Kirsten Blackburn's face right before she served match point of the Class A state volleyball tournament Saturday afternoon was because she already knew how things were going to turn out.

Blackburn, a 5-foot-2 sophomore defensive specialist for the Whitefish Bulldogs, shared a room this past weekend with setter Mandy McFadden, outside hitter Ashley Ferda and outside hitter Jessie Conners.

"We talked about it right before we went to bed," she said. "That we were going to beat (Hardin) in three (games)."

"We couldn't sleep," McFadden explained.

Every time they tried to close their eyes, a different voice would pipe up.

"'Ohmigosh! We're in the state championship tomorrow,'" she laughed.

"It was so exciting. No one could sleep."

"It would go silent, then one person would go -ohmigosh! We're going to win it!" Conners chimed in.

Win it they did.

Whitefish outquicked, outhit, outblocked and outdefended a taller, more experienced Hardin Bulldog squad 25-23, 25-13, 25-13 for its third Class A state championship in four years.

The Bulldogs had 32 kills to 21 for Hardin, had 12 blocks to seven for the other Bulldogs and outdug the Eastern champion 61-35. They also served eight aces to four for Hardin.

Freshman Ashley Ferda led the charge with 10 kills and 18 digs, followed by Tracy Schwada with eight kills and three blocks. Leah Powell contributed seven kills. McFadden had 27 assists.

So, when Blackburn stood behind the service line, she had every reason to smile.

"I took a deep breath, I threw the ball up, I was thinking I've got to get this in. I know we're going to win," she said.

The serve was a good shot to "area one" - the server area of the back row.

Hardin got the serve up, but the set was off the net, and moments later Whitefish middle hitter Courtney Ferda rejected a weak shot attempt to cap the victory.

"They had the adrenaline going last night," sighed head coach Jackie Fuller afterward.

"But this group, I've figured it out. This group is a group that will not quit. They firmly believe they deserve this state championship."

Fuller told them going in they'd have to play defense to win the title.

"I love my defense," she said.

"My defense sat back there and dug up some balls that were unbelievable."

The match turned out surprisingly easy for Whitefish.

"I felt we served the ball really well and we were able to keep them out of their offense," she added.

The Bulldogs blasted out of the gate to lead Hardin by as many as 20-10 in the first game.

"We came out on fire," Schwada said.

"And then we made a couple of mistakes and we got down on ourselves," she said.

"We kind of started to relax a little bit more. But we all stuck together."

Hardin 6-0 middle Cassie Hodges also stepped up a bit with three straight kills to climb within 21-14.

A couple more Whitefish mistakes and suddenly the score was 23-all.

"They let (Hardin) step in. That wasn't good," Fuller said. "But then they stepped up and did well."

Junior outside hitter Leah Powell slapped down two straight kills to finish the game off for Whitefish.

The second game was neck- and-neck through the first 18 points.

But at 9-all, McFadden got a block in the middle of the net and from that point on, everything Whitefish tried worked to perfection and everything

Hardin put up didn't.

That's when the Bulldogs started to smell victory.

They huddled before the first whistle of the third game.

"Twenty-five points," Schwada told her teammates. "All we need is 25 points and we're state champs. We can be state champs! And now we are.

"This is so unbelievably cool," she laughed. "We wanted this so much."

Fuller gave credit to assistant coaches Lucy McFadden and Colleen Sullivan.

"Lucy and Sully, without those two, I wouldn't be where I'm at," she said. "Those two are always there for me.

"And my family - without my husband giving me the support and my kids not seeing their mom … without Ken (Fuller) being Mr. Mom, there's no way I could do any of this."

Whitefish def. Hardin 25-23, 25-13, 25-13

Kills - Whitefish 32 (Ashley Ferda 10, Tracy Schwada 8, Leah Powell 7), Hardin 21 (Cassie Hodges 8); Assists - Whitefish 29 (Mandy McFadden 27), Hardin 20 (Darcy Torske 18); Blocks - Whitefish 12 (Courtney Ferda 4, Schwada 3), Hardin 7 (Hodges 4); Digs - Whitefish 61 (A.Ferda 18), Hardin 35 (Torske 8, Sarah DeVore 8); Aces - Whitefish 8 (Jessie Conners 3, Katie Hodges 2), Hardin 4 (Callie Robertson 1, Mallory Minnick 1, Darcy Torske 1, Sarah DeVore 1).