Bravettes bow out at state to Hellgate
BOZEMAN — They will be back.
That’s a promise the Flathead Bravettes made to themselves after losing out at the Class AA state volleyball tournament on Friday.
Missoula Hellgate defeated the Bravettes in loser-out play at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the Montana State University campus. Scores were 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 11-25, 15-10.
“We will be back and we will be better,” said Flathead coach Leon Wilcox.
Flathead has a group of youngsters who got significant playing time this week. Two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior all made contributions.
“It is really nice that we’ve got a lot of kids returning. They got a look at this, they got a taste for it. Less jitters, more experience is always a good thing,” Wilcox said.
“I think these kids are going to come back next year with a whole different perspective,” the coach said.
“But I was really proud of the girls and I thought they played really well today as a team,” Wilcox said.
The Bravettes were nearly able to carry their state experience further.
Flathead rallied from a 3-point deficit to win the first set and then roared to a 15-7 lead in the second one.
And then ...
Hellgate came back, one point at a time.
Down 15-8, Hellgate got a kill from sophomore Taylor Allen. Then senior Mary Yoder served 10 straight to put the Knights on top 17-15.
“It was one serve receive rotation where we gave up momentum and it looked like we had our backs against the wall and didn’t fight our way out of that,” Wilcox said.
“Once we got the ball back, they had so much momentum in their favor.”
Hellgate won that set and the next one.
“It’s really hard to beat anybody here when you give them a two-game lead. But the girls ... I thought they were gutsy. I thought they scrapped. They played hard. They put a lot of heart into their game today. It just didn’t quite turn out in our favor,” he said.
Flathead gave it a good try, though.
Behind the hitting of middle Danika Johnson, the Bravettes opened the fourth set with a 7-0 run. Johnson had four kills and a stuff block to get them rolling.
Outside hitter Hannah Sackett took over from that point, blasting three kills and getting in on a couple blocks.
The Bravettes rolled to the 25-11 win.
The fifth set was a dogfight — with the teams
slugging it out to a 10-10 tie.
But at 10-all, Hellgate got a kill from senior Becca Braak and then followed that with a two huge blocks.
“If I was to pick players of the game, I think the two that stand out to me that absolutely gave their best effort and played their best game were Danika and Jaimee (Zorn),” Wilcox said.
Zorn had 23 digs for the Bravettes.
“Jaimee Zorn had a great match. Jaimee’s back row yesterday and today were the best she’s had all season. She totally stepped up and gave it everything. It’s the best I’ve seen her play ... ever,” Wilcox said.
As for Johnson, she had 17 kills with only two hitting errors.
“She was definitely a force out there for us,” he said.
Other leaders were Sackett with 24 kills, setter Alison Lunde with 49 assists, Mary Allen with 25 digs and Kwyn Johnson and Sackett with five blocks each.
“I want to thank all the people who came down from Kalispell through all the snow to cheer us on,” Wilcox said.
“That was really nice, having that many people on our side this far away. The girls and all the coaches really appreciated that. It really showed a lot of support,” he added.
Loser-Out Match
Friday
Hellgate 3, Flathead 2
Missoula Hellgate — Aces: 4 (Mary Yoder 2, Kate Seaholm 2); Kills: 48 (Lisa Woerlein 17); Assists: 40 (Halen McKenzie 21); Blocks: 6 (Yoder 4); Digs: 65 (Woerlein 21, Brooke Bryant 18).
Flathead — Aces: Flathead 8 (Ashley Lunde 3); Kills: Flathead 56 (Hannah Sackett 24, Danica Johnson 17); Assists: Flathead 53 (Alison Lunde 49); Blocks: Flathead 11 (Sackett 5, Kwyn Johnson 5); Digs: Flathead 109 (Mary Allen 25, Jaimee Zorn 23).