Whitefish three-peats in Class A state volleyball

The Daily Inter Lake

BOZEMAN - It couldn't have been more than 20 minutes after the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs had won their third-straight Class A state volleyball championship.

Maybe it was just 15 minutes.

The hugs were still going on. The trophy was still being passed around and pictures were still being taken. Fans were still basking in the reflected glow.

But Whitefish head coach Jackie Fuller saw - and pointed out - two members of the Bulldog team, fresh off their 25-13, 23-25, 25-13, 25-18 win over the Dillon Beavers - having their own little game of volleyball pepper off to the side.

Volleyball season may be over, you might think they had had enough, but they weren't quite done yet.

That's the love of the game.

That's what it's all about, Fuller said.

"These kids have worked hard for this. It's hard work and commitment on their part. To see their faces, their expressions as they enjoy this moment … I'm really happy for them.

"They practice and they work hard. They challenge each other to be the best. They push each and every day in practice," she said.

"This is something they set out to do and I'm really proud of them," Fuller said.

Fuller and assistants Colleen Sullivan and Lucie McFadden have certainly helped. It's the fifth championship in seven years for Whitefish. Assistant coach Andrea Donohue now has been part of two title runs - she was a player on the 2001 team.

"This one is really special, just because we had so many graduate," said junior outside hitter Ashley Ferda, a member of all three title teams.

"Maybe some people were doubting us," she said.

"That's kind of a big thing, losing seven (players)."

"It's different every year, but special every year," said senior Courtney Ferda, also a three-time team member.

After much thought, Fuller was able to come up with one similarity on the three teams.

"They are all different, but they also learned from each other," she said. "And there is a lot of competitive spirit in all of them."

This year's team seemed to win almost without a glitch. Other than that they didn't sweep anyone, they moved through this tournament in an almost businesslike fashion.

"It's because they believe they are going to win," the coach said. "That's because they work so hard and they do a super job."

The championship match was just a bit different than every other match the Bulldogs played this past weekend.

They lost the first game of every match they played in the tournament. Until Saturday.

They won the first game of the championship - easily.

"We broke the streak in the championship, then lost the second game," Ashley Ferda said.

"We weren't passing," she said of that game. "If you can't pass, you can't do anything else. And (the Beavers) never gave up in that game. They stuck in there," she said.

"They came out harder than we did," Courtney Ferda said of the second game.

"We just didn't step up. The passing was down, our blocking wasn't as good."

"That was a little worrisome," Fuller said.

"But my defense did a super job of being active and staying in it," she added.

That, and the passing came around, Courtney Ferda said.

"We took some deep breaths and we played great as a team," Courtney added.

And took care of business in the next two games.

"Kali Schmidt (setter) did a great job of moving the ball around. She just moved her sets around to different people and got everyone involved," Fuller said.

Fuller also complimented the efforts on the net of Libbie Anderson and Brielle Menegazzi.

"They always know their job is to defend and block," she said.

And they did that Saturday, but they also got some key kills, she added.

Courtney Ferda led in kills with 21, followed by cousin Ashley Ferda with 15 and Kaitlin O'Leary with nine. Kali Schmidt turned in 42 assists. Ashley Ferda has 19 digs and O'Leary 13.

Fuller was reflective when asked about the plethora of state championships.

"They all mean so much. We're lucky to have great kids at Whitefish High School. I'm the lucky one, to be able to work with them."

Whitefish def. Dillon

25-13, 23-25, 25-13, 25-18

Kills - Whitefish 50 (Courtney Ferda 21, Ashley Ferda 15, Kaitlin O'Leary 9), Dillon 30 (Haylet Pettit 13), Assists - Whitefish 44 (Kali Schmidt 42), Dillon 27 (Shannon Judge 27), Blocks - Whitefish 8 (O'Leary 3, C. Ferda 2), Dillon 10 (Pettit 5), Digs - Whitefish 62 (A. Ferda 19, O'Leary 13, C. Ferda 11), Dillon 62 (Shandi Samson 21), Aces - Whitefish 12 (Kellie Kalbfleisch 4, A. Ferda 4, Schmidt 3), Dillon 6 (Abby Hoerning 4).