Libby aces C-Falls

COLUMBIA FALLS - Serves that rocked the house.

The Libby Loggers smoked 19 aces on Friday night as they swept host Columbia Falls 25-15, 25-18, 25-19 in a Northwestern A volleyball match.

The match was the regular-season finale for Columbia Falls (2-6).

Libby (5-2) plays host to Ronan tonight for its final regular season match, then will host the Northwestern A Divisional tournament beginning on Thursday.

"I think the thing we did the best tonight was serve aggressively and consistently," said Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston.

"We got on some great runs serving. We kept them out of their offense," she said.

"I thought it took us awhile to get going in all three games, but I wasn't real nervous during the match. I felt we were in control," Ostrem-Johnston said.

"Columbia Falls was scrappy. (The Wildkats) weren't going to give up without a fight, that's for sure. And they had some nice hits down the line that hurt us. We had to make some adjustments with our defense," she said.

But the aces came in bunches.

Evi Cernick had three straight to end the second set and Alysha Martin also had three straight - in the midst of a string of 10 serves - as Libby pulled away from the Wildkats in the third set.

As good as the Loggers were with their serves, the Wildkats struggled in that area - Columbia Falls had nine service errors.

"That is something we need to focus on," said Columbia Falls coach Addy Hines. "We can serve away in practice and not have any issues, but getting behind that line is a confidence thing," she said.

Still Hines saw a lot that she liked about Columbia Falls' effort.

"For senior night, we had a lot of emotions going on. But considering last week when we played them, it was 3-20 (at one point), I think we came out and we played a lot better.

"We had a different rotation and a little bit more heart tonight. We took a game off Polson (Thursday), so we're on our way to good things and it's a good time for it to be happening," she said.

"We're starting to get into a rhythm a little bit. It looks like we'll be playing Thursday at 7 p.m. against Ronan (in the divisional). "We've had success there, so that's a good game to start off with," she added.

Both teams had unsung heroines step up.

Libby's Martin had four aces, nine digs and an assist and while she didn't lead in kills (Jackie Mee had 12 and Alex Kulbeck had five), she hit effectively.

"She had some great sharp cut shots," Ostrem-Johnston said.

On the Wildkat side, junior Danielle Gilley led Columbia Falls with eight kills. Six of those came in the second set as the Wildkats stayed right with the Loggers. It was 18-all until Cernick went back to serve.

"Danielle Gilley had a great game. She played really well for us," Hines said.

Brooke Cady added seven kills for Columbia Falls, as well as two blocks, 11 digs and three aces. Shay Grilley added 21 assists and two aces.

Kills: Libby 26 (Jackie Mee 12, Alex Kulbeck 5), Columbia Falls 25 (Danielle Gilley 8, Brooke Cady 7), Assists: Libby 24 (Evi Cernick 23), Columbia Falls 21 (Shay Grilley 21), Blocks: Libby 2 (Mee, Kulbeck), Columbia Falls 3 (Cady 2), Digs: Libby 38 (Alysha Martin 9, Logan Best 9), Columbia Falls 43 (Cady 11), Aces: Libby 19 (Cernick 4, Martin 4, Kulbeck 4), Columbia Falls 8 (Cady 3, S. Grilley 2).