Bravettes stop Bruins in 3

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead not only picked up a key Western AA volleyball victory on Friday, but the Bravettes also moved up a notch in the standings.

Flathead drilled Helena Capital 25-14, 25-11, 25-20.

Flathead improves to 3-7 in league and now sits in fifth place.

Capital is 2-7 and slips to sixth.

The Bruins won the first matchup in Helena in three games.

"They did very well," Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said.

"One of my challenges for them was to own the game, own the position, own their responsibility. They did a very good job with that. Every aspect of our game was good."

Hana Burton and Danika Johnson shared the kill lead for FHS with seven apiece. Emma Miller was next with six.

Miller also had five blocks.

Ariel Johnson led in aces with five.

Flathead continues with Western AA play today at Missoula Sentinel.

Libby 3, Whitefish 0

LIBBY - Libby continues to cruise through Northwestern A play, dropping Whitefish 25-20, 25-18, 25-18.

The league-leading Loggers improve to 8-1. Whitefish dips to 4-5.

"I thought everybody contributed to the win," Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston said.

"We played as a team."

Ostrem-Johnston said the Loggers had a big night serving, led by Evi Cernick, with 15 team aces.

"Her serving stood out," Ostrem-Johnston said.

"She had been struggling, but she was excited (tonight). She hit seven aces with no errors."

Jackie Mee had 11 kills for Libby.

McCara Cullen had nine for Whitefish.

Libby swept Whitefish in the season series. The Loggers won in five games earlier at Whitefish.

Kills - Whitefish 22 (McCara Cullen 9, Shannon Kalbfleisch 5), Libby 26 (Jackie Mee 11, Devon Hoyer 8); Blocks - Whitefish 1 (Jade Hansen), Libby 2 (Hoyer 2, Alex Kulbeck 2); Assists - Whitefish 20 (Hansen 10), Libby 24 (Jordan Refsland 24); Digs - Whitefish 54 (Cullen 10, Hansen 8), Libby 45 (Mee 13, Hoyer 12, Alysha Martin 8); Aces - Whitefish 2 (Hansen, Madison Tveidt), Libby 15 (Evi Cernick 7, Mee 4).

Polson 3, Ronan 0

POLSON - For the second-straight night, Polson rolled to a three-game victory in Northwestern A play.

Polson defeated Ronan, 25-15, 25-23, 25-16.

Polson improves to 9-3 in league play.

Carli Starkel had six kills and 14 digs for the victors. Staci Benson collected 13 digs.

Kills - Ronan 16 (Carli Starkel 6), Polson 39 (Sallie Sams 10). Blocks - Ronan 3 (Kelsey Swalling 2), Polson 2 (Breanne Kelley 1, Casey Duford 1). Digs - Ronan 37 (Starkel 14), Polson 65 (Staci Benson 13). Assists - Ronan 10 (Swalling 10), Polson 31 (Kayla Durford 30). Aces - Ronan 7 (Kaylee Larson 4), Polson 8 (Kelly 4).

Bigfork 3,

Columbia Falls 1

BIGFORK - Bigfork started fast and finished strong.

The Valkyries downed Columbia Falls 25-6, 25-17, 23-25, 25-12 in Northwestern A play.

Bigfork improves to 6-2 in league, 8-2 overall.

Columbia Falls slips to 2-7.

"We started out very well, very intense, we executed real well," Bigfork coach Yvonne Peck said.

"We got down nine points in the second game and had to fight our way back in. I was proud of the kids. They stayed composed, kept chipping away, chipping away at the lead."

Peck said Columbia Falls played exceptionally well in the third game, digging up a lot of balls.

"We had a hard time finding the floor," she said.

Peck said her squad executed well in the decisive fourth game.

"We didn't have any mental breakdowns,"she said.

"And we served well."

Bigfork hosts Ronan tonight at 6.

Kills - Columbia Falls 24 (Brooke Cady 10, Alyssa Ladenburg 4), Bigfork 29 (Roxy Thurman 8, Emily Hardman 7, Jill Hamilton 6); Blocks - Columbia Falls 8 (Kayla DeWit 5), Bigfork 7 (Hamilton 2, Thurman 2, Hardman 2); Assists - Columbia Falls 21 (Cassidy Skiles 20), Bigfork 20 (Claire Wilken 11, Rachael Luckow 9; Digs - Columbia Falls 58 (Ladenburg 17, Skiles 11), Bigfork 32 (Mallery Knoll 8, Hamilton 7, Thurman 7); Aces - Columbia Falls 5 (Ladenburg 4), Bigfork 11 (Thurman 7, Luckow 2).

Seeley-Swan 3, Eureka 1

EUREKA - Eureka closed out regular-season play with a nonconference loss to Seeley-Swan.

The scores: 25-17, 25-12, 12-25, 26-24.

This match was originally scheduled for today, but moved to Friday.

"We had no energy tonight whatsoever, but still tried," Eureka coach Rhonda Hammond.

"We still gave the effort."

Eureka, 12-5, will move on to the District Tournament in Plains on Nov. 8

Kills - Seeley-Swan 31 (Catalina Parcell 13), Eureka 39 (Carly Hammond 16, Mariah Newell 11); Blocks - Seeley-Swan 4 (Janelle Greenwood 2, Parcell 2), Eureka 6 (Cami Stacy 4); Assists - Seeley-Swan 23 (Summit Parcell 21), Eureka 35 (Jonna Yost 32); Digs - Seeley-Swan 51 (C. Parcell 13), Eureka 74 (Hammond 19, Yost 17); Aces - Seeley-Swan 8 (Greenwood 3), Eureka 6 (Auna Lawler 3).