Bravettes fall to Bengals in second round at AA state volleyball

BOZEMAN - When a lot of time and effort is put into something - and it doesn't work out ... that can be tough to take.

There were some tears and some long faces after the Flathead Bravette volleyball team dropped a tough 5-set match Thursday evening at the All-Class State Volleyball Tournament to Class AA defending state champion Helena High.

The Bengals defeated Flathead 25-15, 14-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-9. The Bravettes defeated Billings West in the opening round on Thursday - 17-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-22.

Hannah Sackett had 12 kills and 11 digs, Kylie Schlegel had 11 kills and Kwyn Johnson had 10 kills and four blocks.

"They put a lot of heart into it. They put a lot of themselves into it," Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said of the Bravettes.

But the difference was large - and obvious to all who watched. Helena's 6-foot-3 junior middle Kaitlyn Oliver had a monster match. She had 25 kills and four blocks.

"Our blocking in the middle was not what it needed to be. We didn't take it personally and really get aggressive with the blocking on her," Wilcox said.

"I thought we did in set two and it showed in the results (a 25-14 Flathead win in which Oliver had just three kills and was blocked twice by Sackett).

"We effectively took her out - and then we didn't after that," Wilcox said.

"The blocking just wasn't the same. We blocked well on the outside for the whole match. We just didn't take care of the middle. That was the difference," he said.

"Had we continued to slow her down or neutralize her some, we could have had that match. The key was that one middle."

The Bravettes got off to slow start in both matches on Thursday.

"We didn't have a lot of get-up-and-go," Wilcox said of the Helena match.

But they found it by the second set. They blew by the Bengals - three kills and two blocks for Sackett, four kills for Schlegel and three kills and two blocks for Johnson.

"Second set, we played well," Wilcox said.

Helena claimed the third set, but Flathead battled in the fourth. It trailed 22-20, but fought back after a couple of Bengal hitting errors. Johnson tied the set at 22-all on a shot that would have likely sailed long, but it was touched by a Bengal. Two Sackett kills and a Helena hitting error added up to a Bravette victory.

But Oliver took over in set five.

"There were times we just made too many unforced errors. We made some rookie mistakes," Wilcox said.

Flathead will now have to win two matches today in order to make it to Saturday's trophy round. The Bravettes will take on the winner of Glacier-Bozeman at 4 p.m. The winner will play again at 8 p.m.

"Our youngsters are going to have to step up and play like veterans. They can't be making rookie mistakes," Wilcox said.

"If they play sharp, play aggressive, we will be just fine. But we really need them to come through.

"Our seniors are consistent and they bring good leadership. We just have to have the younger ones step up," he added.

Flathead 3, Billings West 1

The Bravettes dropped the first set, but bounced back to claim the next three as Flathead defeated Billings West in the opening round of the Class AA tournament. Scores were 17-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-22.

Hannah Sackett had 16 kills and 26 digs and Emma Andrews added five blocks for Flathead.

Setters Alison Lunde and Emily Russell had 21 assists each.

"Very flat effort in the first game. We did not play well," Wilcox said.

But then "I think they remembered why they are here and they really played like a team that wanted to be at a state championship and win some matches.

"They played together. They played as a team and their energy was really high," he added.

Helena High def. Flathead

25-15, 14-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-9

Kills - Flathead 48 (Hannah Sackett 12, Kylie Schlegel 11, Kwyn Johnson 10), Helena 58 (Kaitlyn Oliver 25, Syndie Simonton 14). Assists - Flathead 47 (Alison Lunde 23, Emily Russell 21), Helena 58 (Kyndal Williams 56). Blocks - Flathead 8 (Johnson 4, Timi Severson 3, Emma Andrews 3), Helena 7 (Oliver 4, Mackenzie Donnelly 3). Digs - Flathead 83 (Andrews 19, Lunde 12, Sackett 11, Nouf Rashoodi 11), Helena 67 (Simonton 17, Tatum Teegraden 17). Aces - Flathead 8 (Andrews 3), Helena 8 (Oliver 2, Williams 2, Kayla Cummings 2).

Flathead def. West 17-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-22

Kills - Flathead 46 (Hannah Sackett 16, Cassie Krueger 12), West 38 (Kylie Nielson 19), Assists - Flathead 42 (Alison Lunde 21, Emily Russell 21), West 33 (Liz King 30), Blocks - Flathead 11 (Emma Andrews 5), West 10 (Sydney Lich 7, Nielson 5), Digs - Flathead 100 (Sackett 26), West 74 (Brytan Chibante 16, Lich 15) Aces - Flathead 5 (Timi Severson 2), West 4 (Katie Zink 2).