Whitefish spikers place second
BOZEMAN - There was no four-peat.
But it was right there.
The Whitefish volleyball team rallied from a 14-9 deficit in the fifth game of its morning match Saturday to defeat Havre and earn a spot in the Class A state championship match.
But the magic ended there as Lewistown's Fergus County High School simply had too many weapons.
The Bulldogs downed Havre 26-28, 11-25, 25-18, 25-11, 17-15, but Fergus County claimed the state championship, 19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23.
Whitefish, winner of the three previous Class A titles, placed second in 2007.
"My hat is off to these young ladies," said Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller. "(Three-time state champion) is a big tradition to carry and it's hard to do. They fought, and they fought to the end, I felt. I'm just really proud of them.
"We knew Fergus was loaded. Hey, they deserved it. The biggest thing is, they came with some outside hitting and we could not get a block. That outside hitter, we could not get her stopped.
"You can guarantee, I'll be thinking about that quite often.
"Blocking is a mentality. You've got to want to block the ball. All you've got to do is have the will. We'll develop it. I guarantee it."
Still, Whitefish carried the momentum it got from beating Havre to a first game win in the championship.
"Fergus knew that. They knew we were going to come in with momentum. They didn't panic," Fuller said. "Congratulations to them. They deserve it. We need to come out and refocus and start thinking about next season.
"I'm so proud of my seniors for coming into that gym every day this season and working hard and pushing everybody to be the best they could be. Our younger kids have got to remember this feeling and not want this to ever happen again. Their sights are set for better things. They need to remember that and we need to build on it.
"I told them I love them and I told them I thought they fought to the very end … you younger kids, never forget. And to you older kids, thank you for everything you've done for us.
"Ashley Ferda has made me a better person and a better coach. I've been blessed. By gosh, she gave everything she could have given out there."
Ferda had 38 kills on the day - 24 in the win over Havre and 14 against Fergus. She also had 68 digs - 43 against Havre and 25 against Fergus.
Ferda was also a main component in the comeback against Havre.
Down 14-9 in the fifth game, Ferda got the kill to give the serve back to Whitefish, then served the next five points.
"That's the right person to have to get us through that," Fuller said of Ferda. "That shows character. That shows integrity and that shows heart. That is what that girl is all about. She's just solid."
The Bulldogs had one match point on Ferda's serve, but lost it when Havre's big middle, Signe Hillson, got one of her 10 kills.
No matter there.
Brielle Menegazzi and Almira Sekerci had the next answers for Whitefish - a kill for Menegazzi to sideout, followed by an ace by Sekerci for the win.
Whitefish defeat Havre
26-28, 11-25, 25-18, 25-11, 17-15
Kills - Whitefish 60 (Brielle Menegazzi 32, Ashley Ferda 24), Havre - 34 (Signe Hillson 10, Mariah Armstrong 9), Assists - Whitefish 58 (Hailey Farmin 55), Havre 29 (Chelsea Harper 29), Blocks - Whitefish 12 (Kate Klundt 5), Havre 14 (Karla Helleguard 5.5, Steph Stremcha 4), Digs - Whitefish 145 (Ferda 43, Menegazzi 34), Havre 94 (Katie Mariani 28, Armstrong 17), Aces - Whitefish 6 (McCara Cullen 2, Menegazzi 2), Havre 10 (Sarah Blessum 3, Mariani 2, Stremcha 2).
Fergus defeat Whitefish
19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23
Kills - Fergus 53 (Arielle Allen 14, LeAnn Quinlan 14, Josie Sweeney 13), Whitefish 41 (Menegazzi 19, Ferda 14), Assists - Fergus 48 (Brinna Boettger 48), Whitefish 39 (Hailey Farmin 30, Ferda 6), Blocks - Fergus 23 (Allen 13), Whitefish 4 (Klundt 2), Digs - Fergus 80 (Quinlan 23, Cassie Byerly 22), Whitefish 85 (Ferda 25, Menegazzi 23), Aces - Fergus 6 (Sweeney 3), Whitefish 8 (Almira Sekerci 3).