Wolfpack loses out to Hawks in AA state volleyball
BOZEMAN - The Bozeman Hawks got a second chance on Friday - and they made the most of it.
Bozeman first downed Glacier (25-23, 25-22, 25-21), then knocked off Flathead (25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 29-27) in a pair of loser-out contests on Friday afternoon at the All-Class State Volleyball Tournament.
Lexy Boschee had 11 kills, Hannah Liss added 26 assists, Emily Gilbertson contributed 19 digs and Rachel Chery and Cassidy Hashley had three blocks each for the Wolfpack (14-12).
"(The Hawks) are doing something with their second chance today," said Glacier coach Christy Harkins.
She knew the assignment would be tough as early as warmups.
"They had a great warmup, I thought. They played very aggressive and very well," she said.
"But we had our chances. I thought we put ourselves in a good position most of the time. We just couldn't rise up and have that killer instinct when we needed it," she said.
"We didn't quit. We just didn't have that killer instinct to finish. I was proud of us fighting ... and we played much better today than we did yesterday," she said.
This one was nip and tuck all the way. In the first set, neither team had more than a two point advantage.
Bozeman led by as many as four in the second set, but Glacier rallied to take a four-point lead late and the third set was every bit as tight. It was 21-all when Bozeman's Ahlea Billis stepped up. One kill gave Bozeman a one-point lead. The Wolfpack was whistled for a lift on the next point. Hawk junior Amy Davis put the next shot down for match point and Billis smoked one down the line for the final point.
The Wolfpack graduates six (Amy Snipstead, Boschee, Kallie Evans, Dayna Niebaum, Emily Gilbertson and Shayna Atlee).
"We had a couple of them that were taking (the loss) pretty hard," Harkins said.
"They're good kids. We just couldn't finish at the end today. We struggled finishing matches all season," she said.
"We needed someone willing to step up and take charge," she said.
Harkins complimented the effort of Gilbertson, a defensive specialist.
"Emily really played a good match against Bozeman. She kept battling and worked hard. She passed well," the coach said.
Bozeman defeat Glacier
25-23, 25-22, 25-21
Kills - Bozeman 33 (Ahlea Billis 10), Glacier 35 (Lexy Boschee 11), Assists - Bozeman 34 (Kennedy Carpenter 21), Glacier 27 (Hannah Liss 26), Blocks - Bozeman 6 (Rachel Astrup 3), Glacier 6 (Rachel Chery 3, Cassidy Hashley 3), Digs - Bozeman 59 (Hanna Mackie 13), Glacier 63 (Emily Gilbertson