Volleyball Previews

by The Daily Inter Lake
| November 5, 2009 2:00 AM

Northwestern A Divisional

Today/Friday/Saturday

At Libby

WHAT'S AT STAKE: Five teams are competing for two state playoff berths.

WHO'S HERE: All five NWA teams are in action - Polson, Libby, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Ronan.

TODAY: The three-day event begins with a single game this evening at 7 - Columbia Falls vs. Ronan.

FRIDAY: Four games highlight this session ... 11 a.m. - Libby vs. Whitefish; 1 p.m. - Polson vs. Columbia Falls/Ronan winner; 5 p.m. - Columbia Falls/Ronan loser vs. Libby/Whitefish loser; 7 p.m. - Libby/Whitefish winner vs. Polson/Columbia Falls-Ronan winner.

THREE WINS AND YOU ARE IN: That's magic number and quickest way to advance to state. Going 3-0 will also give you the divisional title.

ON TOP: Polson wrapped up regular-season action last Saturday with a 3-game sweep and nonconference victory at Frenchtown (25-12, 25-20, 25-12). The Pirates finished that portion of its schedule undefeated (13-0 overall, 8-0 Northwestern A).

OTHER RECORDS: Libby (8-4 and 6-2) finished second in NWA, followed by Whitefish (6-5 and 4-4), Columbia Falls (4-6 and 2-9) and winless Ronan.

INTRIGUING MATCHUP: It's always a battle when Whitefish and Libby face off on the court. The Loggers won both regular-season matchups, but the Bulldogs prevailed in a meeting in tournament play at Missoula.

LAST YEAR: Polson hosted the tournament, which had six teams. Bigfork has left NWA to compete in Class B. Libby defeated Polson 3-2 in the championship match to win its second-straight divisional title.

Class AA Play-in Matches

WHAT'S AT STAKE: It's very simple - win and you advance to state.

WHO'S PLAYING: Teams that finished in places 2-7 in both Eastern and Western divisions. The regular-season champs - Helena High (Western) and Billings West (Eastern) automatically advance to state in Bozeman, Nov. 12-14.

THE MATCH UPS: For Western teams, all three matches are today. The lineup: 6 p.m. - Missoula Big Sky (0-12 league and 3-17 overall) at Missoula Hellgate (8-4 and 17-7); 7 p.m. - Glacier (5-7 and 12-11) at Missoula Sentinel (6-6 and 15-7); 7:30 p.m. - Helena Capital (5-7 and 8-14) at Flathead (6-6 and 11-11). Eastern teams have two games today: 7 p.m. - Great Falls High (0-12 and 3-20) at Bozeman (10-2 and 20-5) and Butte (3-9 and 7-15) at Billings Senior (6-6 and 20-9). Billings Skyview (5-7 and 13-14) plays at C.M. Russell (6-6 and 10-12) in Great Falls on Friday at 4 p.m.

FLATHEAD VS. HELENA CAPITAL: Flathead is the fourth seed and Capital is No. 5. Hannah Sackett had 19 kills and Danika Johnson nine blocks in beating Capital in Helena on Sept. 5, 3-1. (22-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-12). The Bruins had 28 hitting errors in that match. In the rematch at FHS on Oct. 17, Flathead prevailed 3-2 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 23-25, 15-10). Sackett broke the school record for kills in a match with 29. Sophomore setter Alison Lunde set a school match record with 55 assists.

GLACIER VS. MISSOULA SENTINEL: Glacier is seeded sixth and Sentinel third. The two teams met for the first time this fall on Sept. 26 in Missoula with the Wolfpack emerging with a 3-game sweep of the Spartans (25-20, 25-22, 25-15). Rachel Cutler and Lexy Boschee were the kill leaders with 11 and 10, respectively. Kendra Bouley had nine digs. That also marked the first time Glacier had beaten Sentinel. When the two teams met again on Oct. 8 at Glacier, Sentinel stormed back to win in five (14-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-17, 16-14). Cutler had 10 kills in that match.

LAST YEAR: Flathead cruised past Big Sky in Missoula 3-0 to qualify for state. Johnson had seven kills and four blocks for the Bravettes. Flathead (5-14) was seeded fifth and Big Sky (10-13) fourth. Big Sky had beaten FHS twice during the regular season. Glacier advanced to state for the first time with a 3-set sweep of Missoula Hellgate at GHS as Bouley led the victors with six aces. The Wolfpack (13-9) was the No. 3 seed and Hellgate (6-16) was No. 6.

RANKINGS: In the weekly AA Power Poll, voted on by coaches, it's - 1. Billings West; 2 (tie) Bozeman and Helena High; 4. Billings Senior; 5. Missoula Hellgate. MIssoula Sentinel, C.M. Russell and Billings Skyview also received votes.

Western B Divisional

Today/Friday/Saturday

At Superior

WHAT'S AT STAKE: Eight teams are battling for the two state playoff berths.

WHO'S HERE: The top four finishers from last week's District 7B (Bigfork, Eureka, St. Ignatius and Thompson Falls) and District 6B (Missoula Loyola, Deer Lodge, Valley Christian and Florence) tournaments.

TODAY'S FIRST-ROUND ACTION: 10 a.m. - Valley Christian vs. Bigfork; Noon - St. Ignatius vs. Deer Lodge; 2 p.m. - Thompson Falls vs. Missoula Loyola; 4 p.m. - Eureka vs. Florence.

EASIEST WAY TO QUALIFY FOR STATE: Win three straight matches. Going 3-0 also gives you the divisional title.

BIGFORK: If Bigfork (15-3) wins its opener with Valley Christian, it plays again at 6 p.m. If the Valkyries lose to Valley Christian, they play a loser-out match on Friday at 10 a.m. Bigfork and Valley Christian will be meeting for the first time this season. The Valkyries hold winning records against five of the other divisional teams - Eureka 3-2, St. Ignatius 3-0, Deer Lodge 1-0, Thompson Falls 2-0 and Florence 1-0. Bigfork lost to Loyola in five sets in their only meeting of the season. The last time Bigfork advanced to state was 2005.

EUREKA: If Eureka (16-6) wins its opener with Florence, it plays again at 8 p.m. If the Lions lose to Florence, they play a loser-out match on Friday at noon. The Lions were District 7B co-champions and District 7B Tournament runners-up. The Lions have faced every team at this divisional, except Deer Lodge. Eureka is 1-0 versus Florence, having beaten the Falcons 3-1 early in the season, and against Valley Christian. Eureka is 3-0 versus Thompson Falls and St. Ignatius. The Lions are 2-3 versus Bigfork and 0-1 versus Missoula Loyola. The last trip to state for Eureka was in 2006. The Lions competed in Class A that season. In 2005, the Lions finished second at the Class B state tournament.

LAST YEAR: Missoula Loyola defeated Florence 3-2 in the championship match in Missoula. Bigfork finished third in the Northwestern A Divisional at Polson.