Bulldogs claim championship at the Ronan Tip-Off Tournament
The Daily Inter Lake
RONAN - The defending Class A state volleyball champion Whitefish Bulldogs got the season going on a high note by claiming the championship of the Ronan Tip-Off Tournament Saturday.
Whitefish downed new Northwestern A opponent Eureka 21-14, 21-13 in the championship.
"The hard work they've done over the last two weeks paid off," Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller said. "They had great stamina and I really thought they stepped it up as we went along. We got stronger and stronger together. I think our girls learned the importance of coming together and feeling the power together."
Whitefish was 9-1 after pool play - second only to Libby, which was 12-0.
The Bulldogs downed Hamilton 21-15, 21-5 in the first round of the championship bracket, then won a three-game thriller from Dillon 23-21, 22-24, 18-16.
"I'm really proud of Kali Schmidt," Fuller said. "She went in there and ran our offense for us. As the day went on, she got stronger and stronger."
For Fuller that was the match of the tournament.
"It was a well-fought battle between the two of us and it's neat to see," she said. "That was a high-pressure game. Our girls were down several times and never gave up. This is just a great base for us to start on. It's just a step. It's a step in the process. Now we have some things to work on. We've got to get better at blocking that ball and on defense. We've got a long way to go on defense."
For Eureka, it was a great welcome into Class A action after moving up from Class B.
"This is kind of exciting," Eureka coach Ronda Hammond said. "It's a scary thing moving up to Class A, but the kids did an incredible job - especially after (Friday's) sluggish start."
Libby assistant coach Kyle Crawford was also encouraged by what he saw from the Lady Loggers.
Libby defeated Corvallis 25-24, 21-14 in the first round of the championship bracket, but lost 21-13, 15-21, 11-18 in the second round to Eureka.
"We played 17 games and only lost two of them and we got third," Crawford said. "(The Loggers) played really good. The last match, I think they were a little tired and their feet got a little heavy," he said.
Libby didn't serve or pass quite as well in the Eureka match as it had earlier, Crawford said.
The Loggers had 11 serve receive errors in the last match. While they only had five service errors, the coach said they weren't serving quite as hard or making the Lions move around as much as they had other teams.
Next action for the Bulldogs will be Thursday when they play host to Polson. Eureka is off until Saturday when it plays host to Whitefish. Libby will host Bigfork Saturday.
Championship Bracket
First Round
Dillon def. Ronan 21-6, 21-n/a
Libby def. Corvallis 25-24, 21-13
Whitefish def. Hamilton 21-15, 21-5
Second Round
Whitefish def. Dillon 23-21, 22-24, 18-16
Eureka def. Libby 13-21, 21-15, 18-11
Championship
Whitefish def. Eureka 21-14, 21-13
Consolation
Bigfork def. Polson 21-13, 16-21, 18-16
Stevensville def. C-Falls 22-20, 18-21, 21-19
Frenchtown def. Bigfork 21-12, 9-21, 18-8
Consolation Championship
Frenchtown def. Stevensville 21-10, 21-16
Pool play records
Orange (NW)
Libby 12-0
Whitefish 9-1
Eureka 7-3
Ronan 7-5
Polson 6-6
Bigfork 6-6
Columbia Falls 6-6
Black (SW)
Dillon 8-6
Anaconda 7-7
Hamilton 6-8
Corvallis 3-11
Frenchtown 2-12
Stevensville 0-14
Pool play Saturday
Anaconda def. Polson 21-6, 21-12
Ronan split with Corvallis 21-14, 21-19
Libby def. Dillon 25-23, 21-16
Whitefish def. Frenchtown 21-11, 21-16
Hamilton def. Bigfork 21-5, 21-12
Columbia Falls def. Stevensville 21-5, 21-12
Eureka def. Anaconda 21-14, 21-14
Corvallis split with Polson 21-15, 17-21
Ronan def. Dillon 21-15, 21-16
Libby def. Frenchtown 21-14, 21-17
Whitefish def. Hamilton 21-5, 21-10
Bigfork def. Stevensville 21-16, 21-16
Anaconda split with Columbia Falls 24-21, 17-21
Eureka def. Corvallis 21-7, 21-16
Polson def. Dillon 21-15, 21-7
Frenchtown split with Ronan 23-21, 21-10
Libby def. Hamilton 21-11, 21-13
Whitefish def. Stevensville 21-11, 21-11