Fergus ousts Polson
BOZEMAN — Standing in front of the bench after a long, long day of volleyball, Polson head coach Jan Toth and Pirate senior Nicole Davey shared a moment.
The Pirates had just come up short in their bid for a Class A trophy, falling to defending Class A state champion Fergus (Lewistown) 25-18, 25-20, 26-24.
It was an emotional few moments.
Davey had eight kills and 11 digs, but it hadn’t been enough to lift a tired volleyball team.
Alone in a large group, Davey and Toth touched foreheads and spoke quietly together.
“I just told her I was so proud of her. I told her I loved her and she has given me a lot of joy as a coach,” Toth said.
The loss was a hard one to swallow for all the Pirates.
Polson finishes fourth, while Fergus advances into the trophy round today.
“We’ve come a long way. These seniors ... they started as sophomores. They’ve had to build a legacy for themselves. It’s bittersweet. We’ve all played together for three years, so it hurts that much more,” Toth said.
The Pirates graduate four seniors — Staci Benson, Christa Red Crow, Loni Havlovick and Davey.
“I told them no matter where they go in life, I’ll be right there behind them.
“I’m going to miss them because they’re my very good friends,” she said.
“We were tired. My goodness, to play this many games as we have throughout the two days ... we just fell short. You can’t ask for anything more from these guys. They’re champions, no matter what.”
The Pirates had a difficult time passing the ball against Fergus.
“That’s usually our strength,” Toth said.
“It was just mental. We fought the mental component of the game all year. These are really humble kids. If we had a little more confidence or cockiness, we’d still be playing,” she smiled.
Fergus took advantage of the miscues, rolling to a 21-13 lead in the first set. The Pirates fought back, but it was too little, too late.
Polson took the early lead in the second set, up 5-2. But mistakes cropped up again — a shot hit wide, another hit long, a ball dropped into the net — and Fergus was right there to take advantage.
It made up the initial 3-point deficit and sailed to a 20-12 lead. The Pirates again tried to rise — Breanne Kelley’s jump serve caused the Golden Eagles problems and Sallie Sams was there at the net with three straight blocks.
But that rally fell short as well.
The third set was the definition of fight.
The Pirates fell behind again, 15-7. Trailing 8-4, Davey had to take a short break.
Toth sat her down for a moment.
“I just told her I knew she was tired and I loved her and just go out and give it everything you have. That girl has hit more this weekend and pounded the ball and dug the ball. She’s been a huge force and I knew she was tired and I had to give her a break,” the coach said.
It wasn’t but a point or two, though, and Davey was back on the court ripping a shot down the line.
She and Kelley led the Pirate rally. Kelley had six kills in the final game and Davey had five as Polson came back to tie the set at 23-all. It was tied again at 24, but Polson missed a kill attempt wide to give Fergus match point and the Golden Eagles got a tip to fall for the match.
Polson 3, Libby 0
Nicole Davey had 15 kills, 15 digs and served three aces as the Polson Pirates downed Libby in loser-out action Friday afternoon.
Scores were 25-22, 25-21, 25-17.
Jackie Mee had 15 kills, 12 digs and a block in a losing effort for the Loggers.
“We didn’t play to our capabilities,” said Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston.
“We didn’t handle the pressure of being over here very well,” she said.
“You can’t make foolish errors out there. It’s volleyball, you are going to make some errors, but you’ve got to make the other team beat you, too,” she said.
“We had a lot of unforced errors – against two solid teams (Billings Central, which will play in today’s championship) and Polson.
“We needed to step up and play at our highest level and we didn’t do that,” she said.
“You can’t just turn it on and turn it off when you want to. It starts from Day 1. You have to give 100 percent every practice, every game. That didn’t happen,” she said.
“We had a glorious weekend last weekend. They played incredible (in winning the Northwestern A divisional) and I was proud of them. But it was a struggle all year to get them to give 100 percent.
“If you want good things in life you have to work hard for them. It carries over into the classroom and into the workforce. You have to give it your best every time. If you don’t do your best all the time, you shouldn’t be rewarded for it,” she said.
The Loggers graduated three seniors — Mee, setter Evi Cernick and outside hitter Katie Emery.
Class A
Polson def. Hardin 19-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-21
Livingston def. Stevensville 25-21, 25-18, 14-25, 26-24
Polson def. Libby 25-22, 25-21, 25-17
Lewistown def. Livingston 26-24, 25-17, 27-25
Semifinal
Billings Central def. Anaconda 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, 25-15
Fourth place
Lewistown def. Polson 25-18, 25-20, 26-24
Class A
Loser-out
Polson def. Hardin 19-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-21
Polson — Aces: 5 (Breanne Kelley 2); Kills: 55 (Nicole Davey 18); Assists: 49 (Kayla Duford 48); Blocks: 6 (Loni Havlovick 3); Digs: 115 (Staci Benson 28, Davey 28).
Hardin — Aces: 7 (Autumn Blakely 2, Randee Alvarado); Kills: 31 (Laura Uffelman 10); Assists: 15 (Shelby Minnick 15); Blocks: 6 (Jesse Three Irons 3); Digs: 60 (Alvarado 14, Paige Murdock 13).
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Polson def. Libby 25-22, 25-21, 25-17
Polson — Aces: 12 (Nicole Davey 3); Kills: 36 (Davey 15); Assists: 33 (Kayla Duford 31); Blocks: 3 (Loni Havlovick 2); Digs: 64 (Davey 15, Staci Benson 13).
Libby — Aces: 4 (Alysha Martin 2); Kills: 38 (Jackie Mee 15); Assists: 33 (Evi Cernick 27); Blocks: 1 (Cernick); Digs: 51 (Mee) 12.
———
Fourth place
Lewistown def. Polson 25-18, 25-20, 26-24
Lewistown — Aces: 9 (McCalle Feller 4). Kills: 30 (Dayna Jensen 7). Assists: 26 (Kylee Snapp 26). Blocks: 3. Digs: 37 (Jensen 13).
Polson — Aces: 6 (Kayla Duford 4). Kills: 30 (Breanne Kelley 10). Assists: 27 (Duford 27). Blocks: 4 (Sallie Sams 4). Digs: 53 (Riley Kenney 15).