Glacier comes close

DIXIE KNUTSON/The Daily Inter Lake

Wolfpack falls to Big Sky in 4

So close. So far.

The Glacier Wolfpack volleyball team did just about everything right against the visiting Missoula Big Sky Eagles Thursday night.

Just about everything, that is, except win the match.

The taller Eagles downed Glacier 23-25, 25-16, 27-25, 26-24.

The moments were there for Glacier - with the match tied at one game each, the Wolfpack battled back in the third game from a 24-21 deficit to tie the game at 24-all.

But the ball was dumped into the net on the next play.

In the fourth game, Glacier rallied from a five-point deficit to take a 23-22 lead, but then allowed back-to-back Big Sky kills.

Glacier fought off one match point when Kayla Smart blasted a kill through the Eagle block. But Big Sky's 6-3 middle Joslyn Tinkle answered with a big block and the Eagles claimed the match when Glacier dropped the next ball into the net.

Wolfpack coach Christy Harkins took the loss fairly hard.

"We've lost almost every single match by two points. I don't know what else to say. We do drills to finish. We do things to compete … I don't know what else to do," she said.

"We make errors at the wrong time. We make poor choices on the ball at the wrong time," she said.

The Wolfpack players are fighting hard, she hastened to add.

"But it's not enough. Everything we are doing is not enough - and until we learn how to make it enough, I guess I really don't have any good answers," she said.

"There are bright, shining stars every night," she said.

"Jolee Kampf works her butt off. She works so hard every day. She was up against Joslyn Tinkle tonight. Joslyn is 6-3. Jolee is 5-9. (Kampf) was swinging and she blocked really well," the coach said.

Kampf led the Wolfpack with seven blocks. Big Sky had six blocks as a team.

"Big Sky, they are big - and we ended up with one more block than they did," Harkins added.

But Big Sky won the other statistical areas. The Eagles recorded 46 kills (Tinkle led with 14), 41 assists, and 11 aces. Glacier had 31 kills, 25 assists and eight aces. Glacier did outdig Big Sky, 77-38.

Glacier leaders were Kayla Smart with eight kills and 16 digs, Emilee Hashley with eight kills, Lindsea Vaudt with 23 assists and Chaela Liss with 3 aces.

Tinkle had 14 kills and three blocks to lead Big Sky. Sarah Lustgraaf added 10 digs and three blocks and Lacey Phelan served three aces.

"I feel bad for (the players), too," Harkins said.

"They're doing the things we ask. We know they're getting better, but everybody else is getting better, too.

"But we are hanging in there and we are fighting. Give them credit for that. They didn't quit. We don't go into any match thinking we're going to lose. They have a 'we can win' attitude. I hear it, I see it."

"But we have less than a month left of our season left now. If we don't decide to get it going now, it's going to be tough to win a playoff on the road."

Big Sky def. Glacier 23-25, 25-16, 27-25, 26-24

Kills - Big Sky 46 (Joslyn Tinkle 14), Glacier 31 (Kayla Smart 8, Emilee Hashley 8), Assists - Big Sky 41 (Sarah Lidstrom 39), Glacier 25 (Lindsea Vaudt 23), Digs - Big Sky 38 (Sarah Lustgraaf 10), Glacier 77 (Smart 16), Blocks - Big Sky 6 (Tinkle 3, Lustgraaf 3), Glacier 7 (Jolee Kampf 7), Aces - Big Sky 11 (Lacey Phelan 3), Glacier 8 (Chaela Liss 3).