Johnson helps Polson spikers drop Whitefish

POLSON - Ashley Johnson had quite a night on the volleyball court on Saturday.

And for the Polson Pirates, that was a good thing.

Johnson had 21 kills, 14 digs and three service aces as the Pirates (1-0) withstood a tough Whitefish effort to win 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-7.

"This is our first game ... and it showed," said Polson coach Jan Toth.

"We definitely didn't have the best game, but for our first time, I'll take the win," she said.

"Ashley Johnson was unstoppable tonight. That girl was a hitting machine.

"Whitefish played tough, scrappy. They made it tough to get through their blocks. We had to turn up the power in the fourth and fifth sets," she said.

"We're slowly getting Riley Kenney into the game (after shoulder surgery). I'll take what I can get with Riley. She's a great leader," Toth added.

Other leaders for Polson were Shalaina Duford with 44 assists, Kenney with two blocks and McCall Banner with 13 digs.

For Whitefish, Abby Strellnauer had 11 kills, Brooke Silliker had three blocks, Bekah Weaver had 23 digs and two aces and Marlow Schulz had 14 assists and 16 digs.

"Polson played really well," said Whitefish coach Sarah Scott. "They were really scrappy. We'll be working on defense this week."

Scott said she was happy to see her team's younger players contribute, namely freshman Emily Sullivan who had eight kills.

"We had some young girls stepping up and really playing well," Scott said. "We're continuing to reach our goal of consistently playing to a high level."

Kills: Whitefish 33 (Abby Strellnauer 11, Emily Sullivan 8), Polson 52 (Ashley Johnson 21, Kenzie Clay 12); Assists: Whitefish 28 (Taylor Havens 14, Marlow Schulz 14), Polson 47 (Shalaina Duford 44), Blocks: Whitefish 11 (Brooke Silliker 3, Baylee Tveidt 2), Polson 3 (Riley Kenney 2); Digs: Whitefish 93 (Bekah Weaver 23, Schulz 16), Polson 71 (Ashley Johnson 14, McCall Banner 13). Aces: Whitefish 7 (Kelsey McFadden 3, Weaver 2) Polson 12 (Johnson 3, Heidi Rausch 3, Tina Marquardt 3).

Libby 3,

Columbia Falls 2

COLUMBIA FALLS - Selinna Maesau had nine kills, five blocks and five aces as the Libby Loggers rallied to defeat Columbia Falls in five sets.

Scores were 11-25, 25-20, 25-19, 14-25, 15-9.

Alyssa Walker added 25 digs and Lexie Hageness had 13 assists and three aces for Libby.

Columbia Falls outhit Libby 47-31, had 38 assists to 25 for the Loggers and had 88 digs to 65 for Libby.

"It comes down to the mental toughness. It's not that they don't have the skills," said Wildkat coach Addy Connelly.

Between sets three and four the Wildkats talked about "mental positivity" - and responded with a 25-14 win. But in set five, "we let a few balls drop and our passing wasn't quite as crisp," she said.

"We weren't doing our jobs as well as we should. It was a case of wanting it so bad that we're not going back to the basics. We just need to learn to get through those tough times."

Jessie Gist had 12 kills for Columbia Falls, followed by Taylor Peterson with 10. Peterson also had a block and 22 digs. Shaun Rowe added 18 digs and served three aces and Hope Burlage had 23 assists.

Columbia Falls heads to a tournament at Anaconda this weekend "so we'll get a lot of volleyball and hopefully come away with some wins."

Kills: Libby 31 (Selinna Maesau 9, Harley Nelson 6), Columbia Falls 47 (Jesse Gist 12, Taylor Peterson 10); Assists: Libby 25 (Lexie Hageness 13, Hannah England 12), Columbia Falls 38 (Hope Burlage 23, Erika Nelson 15); Blocks: Libby 7 (Selinna Maesau 5), Columbia Falls 3 (Peterson 1, Haley Belgarde 1); Digs: Libby 65 (Alyssa Walker 25) Columbia Falls 88 (Peterson 22, Shaun Rowe 18, Gabrielle Stenger 17); Aces: Libby 14 (Maesau 5, Hageness 3); Columbia Falls 9 (Rowe 3).