Wolfpack best Senior; in trophy round
BOZEMAN -- The Glacier Wolfpack won its first state volleyball match in school history in the afternoon and in the evening, the Wolfpack guaranteed itself its first state trophy.
Glacier swept Billings Senior 25-15, 25-19, 25-20 in the quarterfinal of the Class AA volleyball tournament on Thursday.
The Wolfpack, which plays Helena High in tonight's 6 p.m. semifinal, can now do no worse than third place.
Rachel Cutler led the Wolfpack with 13 kills. Paige Latimer added 34 assists and six aces and Cami Mathison had 10 digs. Tiffany Marks contributed four blocks.
A sweep was never on the minds of the Wolfpack members, according to Marks and Latimer.
"I just thought we were going to go out and work hard and compete," Marks said. "We knew they were a good team."
"We also knew we would get them on our serves," Latimer said.
The plan going into the match was to "serve tough and match up the hitters -- and mix (the offense) up a lot," Latimer said.
"We needed to move the ball around - they are huge," said Glacier coach Christy Harkins.
"We needed to make their blockers move and make them split," she said.
The Wolfpack was in charge of this show from the start - building big leads at the start of each of the first two sets. The third set was closer, but Senior never once led in any of the sets.
"That was an exciting match," Harkins said. "Senior has such a good tradition. I'm very proud of the girls. They played well."
"I think we're getting better with every match. I think we are realizing what we can work for," Marks said.
"Efficiency is very good. We are making good use of our swings. Our middles are doing great and Paige (Latimer) is doing an excellent job of moving the ball around," she added.
"She is making good decisions out there."
Kills -- Glacier 41 (Rachel Cutler 13, Lexy Boschee 9) , Senior 30 (Kiahna Steiner 9, Elayna Rice 9), Assists -- Glacier 34 (Paige Latimer 34) , Senior 24 (Jace Henderson 24), Bocks -- Glacier 7 (Tiffany Marks 4), Senior 7 (Steiner 4), Digs -- Glacier 43 (Cami Mathison 10), Senior 43 (Jacey Habets 11), Aces -- Glacier 10 (Latimer 6), Senior 3 (Rice 2).
Class AA
Thursday
First round
Billings West 3, Flathead 0
Helena 3, Bozeman 1
Glacier 3, Billings Skyview 0
Billings Senior 3, Missoula Sentinel 0
Second round
Helena High 3, Billings West 2
Glacier 3, Senior 0
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Today's matches
Loser-out
Flathead vs. Bozeman, 10 a.m.
Skyview vs. Sentinel, Noon
Undefeated semifinals
Helena vs. Glacier, 6 p.m.
Class A
Thursday
First round
Billings Central 3, Whitefish 0
Livingston 3, Dillon 1
Laurel 3, Polson 1
Lewistown 3, Stevensville 1
Second round
Livingston 3, Billings Central 1
Lewistown 3, Laurel 2
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Today's matches
Loser-out
Whitefish vs. Dillon, 10 a.m.
Polson vs. Stevensville, Noon
Undefeated semifinals
Livingston vs. Lewistown, 6 p.m.
Class B
First round
Manhattan Christian 3, Florence-Carlton 2
Red Lodge 3, Glasgow 0
Choteau 3, Colstrip 2
Huntley Project 3, Missoula Loyola 0
Second round
Red Lodge 3, MCHS 0
Huntley Project 3, Choteau 0
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Today's matches
Loser-out
Florence-Carlton vs. Glasgow, 10 a.m.
Colstrip vs. Loyola, Noon
Undefeated semifinals
Red Lodge vs. Huntley Project, 6 p.m.
Class C
First round
Terry 3, Geraldine 0
Gardiner 3, Joliet 0
Ennis 3, Bridger 0
Circle 3, Fort Benton 0
Second round
Gardiner 3, Terry 2
Ennis 3, Circle 1
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Today's matches
Geraldine vs. Joliet, 10 a.m.
Bridger vs. Fort Benton, Noon
Undefeated semifinals
Gardiner vs. Ennis, 6 p.m.