Bravettes, Wolfpack ready for state volleyball
BOZEMAN — It’s all about attitude now — attitude and
aggressive volleyball.
Flathead (9-3, 17-8) and Glacier (7-5 14-10) are both
representing Western AA this weekend during the All Class State
Volleyball Tournament at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the
Montana State University campus.
The tournament runs today through Saturday.
Today’s first-round matches are set for 10 a.m.,
noon, 2 and 4 p.m.
The first championship is set for 3 p.m. Saturday. A
second ‘if needed’ championship would be played at 5 p.m.
Court 4 on the south end of the fieldhouse will be
the Class AA court. Class A and Class C will have the two middle
courts and Class B will be on the north end.
Glacier coach Christy Harkins is looking forward to a
wide open tournament.
“I really feel there are a lot of teams who can
contend,” she said.
She also believes bringing the four classifications
together at one venue has given volleyball a boost.
“The all class atmosphere is just wonderful. I’m
excited for the girls to get their experience at the state
tournament. It’s just a wonderful environment,” she said.
Western AA No. 3 Flathead open at noon against
Eastern AA No. 2 Billings West (8-4, 21-8), a team it defeated
25-16, 25-14 during the season-opening Great Falls tournament.
Western AA No. 4 Glacier will start at 2 p.m. versus
Eastern AA No. 1 Billings Senior (12-0, 27-2).
“West has been (to the state tournament) and has
finished high most years. I would expect them to be confident,”
said Flathead coach Leon Wilcox.
“If we can strip away a little bit of their
confidence with our defense, that will go miles for us,” he
added.
“Our girls are very confident — not because of (the
Great Falls Invitational) win, but because they’re confident in
each other and their abilities,” he said.
“They’re all hungry. They’re all ready and they are
all confident.”
Flathead has two hitters among the top 10 in kills
per set. Hannah Sackett is ranked fifth, averaging 3.62 kills per
set. Kwyn Johnson is ranked ninth, averaging 2.86 kills per
set.
The Bravettes have three in the top 10 for efficient
hitting. Johnson is ranked third, sophomore Timi Severson is ranked
sixth and Sackett is ninth.
According to Wilcox, the Golden Bears have one
primary hitter, Kylie Nielsen.
Nielsen is the top-ranked hitter in Class AA,
averaging 4.10 kills per set. She has 174 kills on the season with
458 attempts. She’s made 54 hitting errors.
“Defensively, she is a major part of our plan. We
can help ourselves out a lot by slowing her down. We just need to
be very aggressive,” Wilcox said.
The West setter also likes to dump the ball, he
said.
“Our left and right backs have to be on their toes.
If we take away those two things ... they don’t have much to go to
after that. But defense is going to be big,” he said.
Should the Bravettes defeat West, they would play the
winner of Helena -Skyview at 6 p.m.
Flathead is taking this one match at a time,
though.
“Once we finish with West, then we can focus on the
next match. But from a coaching perspective, I like our chances
against Helena — if we play hard,” the coach said.
The Wolfpack will get going right after the
Bravettes. The order is a tall one for Glacier.
“Senior is tough. They’re very consistent. They’re
big and they’re aggressive serves and good blockers,” Harkins
said.
“We have to be disciplined. We have to pass well. If
we can’t pass, we won’t have a lot of offensive options — and we
have to be able to run a lot of offensive options,” she said.
The Wolfpack played Billings Senior once this season
— at the Great Falls Invitational. It played well in the beginning
of the match, but couldn’t finish.
“We were very focused at practice this week. I think
we feel prepared,” she said.
Lexy Boschee leads the Wolfpack in hitting with 3.7
kills per set. Cassidy Hashley averages 1.3 blocks per set and
Emily Gilbertson is averaging 4.5 digs per set. Freshman setter
Hannah Liss has 395 assists this season (8.4 per set) and has
served 33 aces.
“I really am feeling confident. We prepared well for
them. We just have execute. We know what we have to do. If we can
be disciplined enough to execute, then I feel good about it,” she
said.
Glacier swept Senior last year at this
tournament.
The Broncs returned several of those athletes this
fall. They went undefeated in conference play and finished the
season as the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA.
“They’re a year older and are doing things better,”
Harkins said.
Senior has three in the top 10 for efficient hitting.
They are senior Elayna Rice, sophomore Andrea Bowers and junior
Kiahna Steiner. Rice is the only one to crack the kills per set top
10. She’s averaging 3.37.
Should Glacier defeat Senior, it would face the
winner of Bozeman-Missoula Sentinel at 8 p.m.