Libby drops Polson in divisional semis
Victory advances Loggers to state tournament
By DIXIE KNUTSON/The Daily Inter Lake
POLSON The smile was half apologetic, half excited.
Up one game in the Friday semifinal of the Northwestern A divisional volleyball tournament, the Libby Loggers were nursing a slight second-game advantage over the host Polson Pirates.
Thats when Jackie Mee, Libbys 6-foot middle hitter, unloaded on a perfect set. The unfortunate Pirate defensive player caught the ball full force in the face a classic 6-pack.
Mee walked back to the Logger huddle with an awkward grin.
I felt kind of bad, she said.
And then, I dont know, it felt good. I felt good, but I felt bad at the same time, she explained.
That kill, just one of Mees 17 on the night, upped the Logger lead to three points. They finished that game off, then cruised to the 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 sweep.
You cant appreciate how hard she hits until you are on the other side of the net, Libby head coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston said of Mee.
Shes sent me to the floor in practice. I was leaning down, watching them. She got on top of one. I dropped to the floor to avoid it, she said.
The victory means the Loggers are in tonights divisional championship match and have qualified for the Nov. 20-22 All-Class State Volleyball Tournament.
The Pirates, Bigfork Valkyries and Ronan Maidens will decide the owner of the second state slot today.
Now we can relax, just have fun with (the tournament). It was neat to see the excitement in the locker room, Ostrem-Johnston said.
They played very well, Ostrem-Johnston said of the Loggers.
Jackie had an outstanding game at the net, but they all came ready to play. It wasnt just one person, it was everybody.
Im very proud of them. To beat Polson in 3, I told them, is quite an accomplishment because (the Pirates) are a good team. They have some athletes out there, she said.
(The Loggers) stuck to our game plan, which was to serve aggressive seams, take (the Pirates) out of their offense. Polson has a great offense. They had three or four hitters who can get up and hit the ball. We missed some serves, but thats what happens when you are going at it aggressive, Ostrem-Johnston said.
We also put up a strong block, forced their hitters to try to do some different things, she said.
The first game was really close, Mee said.
We watched them play this afternoon against Bigfork and they looked really tough, so we were kind of shaky about (the semifinal).
We had a little bit of jitters going on.
But toward the end of the first and through the second and third, we started rolling. We did one good thing, then did more and more good things, Mee said.
The whole experience left Polson coach Jan Toth shaking her head.
Libby is awesome, but were awesome, too, she said.
Theyre such great athletes. Tonight was just not their night, Toth said of the Pirates.
We just made Libby look very good. When you dont have the ability to run your offense and were just tipping the ball back … you cant tip it to a team with such great hitters as Libby. We didnt get an offense. We couldnt pass the ball to save our lives.
Therefore, my big guns would roll shot the ball, give it right into their hands so they could put it away and Libby puts it away, Toth said.
The Pirates will try to put things back together when they take on the winner of Bigfork/Ronan at 3 p.m. today.
Mentally, I think the girls are ready. They knew that was not our team out there on the court.
Its our youth. We have no seniors on the team and weve never been this far, she said.
Kills: Polson 17 (Sallie Sams 5, Breanne Kelley 5), Libby 33 (Jackie Mee 17, Nichole Newman 5); Blocks: Polson 6 (Sams 2, Nicole Davey 2), Libby 4 (Alex Kulbeck 3); Assists: Polson 15 (Kayla Duford 15), Libby 28 (Jordan Refsland 15, Evi Cernick 11) Digs: Polson 44 (Duford 10, Davey 9), Libby 53 (Mee 16, Devon Hoyer 10) Aces: Polson 7 (Davey 2, Kelley 2, Riley Kenney 2); Libby 7 Gen Meha 2, Refsland 2).
The Daily Inter Lake
POLSON Here is a capsule look at the other Friday matches.
Libby 3, Whitefish 0
Jackie Mee led Libby in kills (11) and blocks (6) and was second in digs (9) as the Loggers clipped Whitefish 25-17, 25-22, 25-17.
McCara Cullen and Shannon Kalbfleisch both had six kills to pace Whitefish.
The loss dropped WHS into loser-out action.
Kills Libby 31 (Jackie Mee 11, Devon Hoyer 7), Whitefish 23 (McCara Cullen 6, Shannon Kalbfleisch 6); Blocks Libby 8 (Mee 6, Alex Kulbeck 2), Whitefish 1 (Heather Bailey); Assists Libby 29 (Evi Cernick 11, Jordan Refsland 10), Whitefish 20 (Jade Hansen 15, Olivia Nagler 5); Digs Libby 38 (Hoyer 10, Mee 9), Whitefish 48 (Molly Filipek 16, Madison Tveidt 7); Aces Libby 16 (Cernick 4, Refsland 4), Whitefish 6 (Adele FauntLeRoy 3, Molly Filipek 2).
Polson 3, Bigfork 2
Breanne Kelley and Nicole Davey combined for 33 of Polsons 54 kills as the Pirates defeated No. 2 seed Bigfork 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 19-25, 15-9.
Polson was seeded No. 3.
Roxy Thurman had 20 kills to pace Bigfork. Mallery Knoll was next with 12.
Bigfork drops into loser-out action.
Kills Polson 54 (Breanne Kelley 17, Nicole Davey 16), Bigfork 46 (Roxy Thurman 20, Mallery Knoll 12); Blocks Polson 10 (Riley Kenney 4, B. Kelley 3), Bigfork 5 (Emily Hardman 2); Assists Polson 46 (Kayla Duford 44), Bigfork 45 (Claire Wilken 23, Rachel Luckow 19); Digs Polson 96 (Stacy Benson 37, Davey 26), Bigfork 105 (Thurmaqn 25, Knoll 20); Aces Polson 6 (Duford 3, Davey 2), Bigfork 11 (Claire Wilken 4).
Loser Out Matches
Ronan 3, Whitefish 1
Ronan, winless in the regular season in league play, knocked off last years Class A state runners-up.
The Maidens eliminated Whitefish 15-25, 27-25, 25-16, 25-19. Whitefish will not advance to state for the first time since 1998.
Ronan plays Bigfork today at 1 p.m. That winner moves on to face Polson and 3 p.m.
Kills Whitefish 32 (McCara Cullen 17, Shannon Kalbfleisch 11), Ronan 31 (Carli Starkel 14, Kaylee Larson 8); Blocks Whitefish 1 (Abby Strellnauer), Ronan 5 (Starkel 2, Larson 2); Assists Whitefish 31 (Jade Hansen 22, Olivia Nagler 4), Ronan 19 (Kelsey Swalling 18); Digs Whitefish 88 (Molly Filipek 20, Nagler 15), Ronan 63 (Starkel 14, Larson 11); Aces Whitefish 11 (Filipek 3, Madison Tveidt 3), Ronan 15 (April Soukup 8, Brittani Clairmont 3, Kay Lee Larson 3).
Bigfork 3,
Columbia Falls 0
Bigfork rebounded from a loss to Polson by dispensing with Columbia Falls 25-12, 25-15, 25-14.
Columbia Falls was eliminated from tournament play, while Bigfork stays alive with a loser-out match at 1 p.m. todwy with Ronan.
Roxy Thurman had 13 kills and two blocks for the Valkyries. Alyssa Ladenburg had 15 digs and one ace for Columbia Falls, which went 0-2 in tournament play.
Kills Bigfork 38 (Roxy Thurman 13, Emily Hardman 11), Columbia Falls 22 (Brooke Cady 8); Blocks Bigfork 4 (Thurman 2), Columbia Falls 4 (NA); Assists Bigfork 32 (Rachel Luckow 19, Claire Wilken 12), Columbia Falls 19 (Cassadee Skiles 17); Digs Bigfork 28 (Mallery Knoll 14, Hardman 11), Columbia Falls 45 (Alyssa Ladenburg 15); Aces Bigfork 10 (Hardman 3), Columbia Falls 1 (Ladenburg).
Fridays Prep Scores
Class AA
Eastern Playoffs
Great Falls def. Billings Skyview 25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 25-18
C.M. Russell def. Bozeman 22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-10
Class A Divisionals
Central
At MAC, Butte
Havre def. Browning 25-13, 25-13, 25-21
Butte Central def. Livingston 25-19, 24-26, 25-19, 25-13
Butte Central def. Browning 25-14, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 18-16
Lewistown def. Butte Central 25-14, 25-20, 25-16
Belgrade def. Havre 18-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12
Havre def. Livignston 25-13, 26-24, 26-24
Eastern
At Sidney
Miles City def. Hardin 25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21
Billings Central def. Sidney 25-10, 25-16, 25-20
Hardin def. Laurel 25-17, 25-20, 25-17
Sidney def. Glendive 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23
Miles City def. Billings Central 20-25, 29-27, 25-19, 25-16
Southwestern
At Anaconda
Quarterfinals
Dillon def. Corvallis 25-21, 25-21, 25-22
Anaconda def. Frenchtown 25-21, 25-15, 25-21
Semifinal
Dillon def. Anaconda 25-19, 18-25, 15-25, 25-19, 15-10
Loser-outs
Frenchtown def. Hamilton 21-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-9
Corvallis def. Stevensville 28-26, 25-14, 25-20
Class B Divisionals
Southern
At Red Lodge
Colstrip def. Three Forks 25-17, 26-24, 25-16
Baker def. Broadus 25-6, 25-10, 25-9
Colstrip def. Red Lodge 25-17, 25-17, 25-21
Baker def. Townsend 26-24, 25-21, 25-16
Manhattan Christian def. Huntley Project 22-25, 25-15, 10-25, 25-20, 15-12
Class C Divisionals
Western
At Montana Tech, Butte
Sheridan def. Shields Valley 27-25, 25-21, 25-22
Gardiner def. Arlee 25-18, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20
Charlo def. Sheridan 25-23, 26-24, 25-20
Semifinal
White Sulphur Springs def. Philipsburg 24-26, 23-25, 25-12, 26-24, 15-5
Loser-out
Gardiner def. Hot Springs 25-12, 29-27, 23-25, 25-23
Gardiner def. Charlo 17-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-21
Eastern
At Fairview
Saco/Hinsdale def. Circle 19-25, 25-22, 26-28, 26-24, 19-17
Richey def. Scobey 25-8, 25-12, 22-25, 26-24
Fairview def. Nashua 22-25, 25-20, 25-17, 28-26
Circle def. Ekalaka 25-16, 25-9, 25-14
Scobey def. Fairview 27-29, 25-17, 25-20, 27-25
Saco/Hinsdale def. Richey 25-11, 25-19, 25-14