Flathead second in Great Falls volleyball
GREAT FALLS - The Flathead Bravettes were rocking on all volleyball cylinders on Saturday night - for a little while at least.
Flathead led Helena High by eight points in the first set of the championship match of the Electric City Invitational.
Until the Bravettes missed three straight serves, gave up the momentum and never recovered.
Helena High went on to win, 25-23, 25-18. Missoula Sentinel placed third and Billings Senior was fourth.
Glacier made it into the championship pool on Saturday, but fell to Billings Senior and Missoula Sentinel.
"We were up and down, inconsistent today. It was a little bit frustrating," said Glacier coach Christy Harkins.
"We had some great moments, but we have to work on stopping the roller coaster ride," she said.
The coach said the Wolfpack passed well and served well, "but we struggled offensively. Too many hitting errors."
‘We looked like we were completely in control. Then it all started falling apart," said Flathead coach Leon Wilcox.
"We could feel the energy and the momentum subside," he said.
"We were so dominating at the net, blocking and hitting, but we gave up the momentum with serving and passing.
"But we found some good stuff in our team. I'm encouraged. They did a very good job," the coach said.
"They're a little disappointed. Second place is fine ... if it's higher than your expectations," he said.
"But as a coach, I see a lot of promising things, positive attitudes and a storng competive side.
"They still played well and we saw a lot of good stuff and we beat some really good teams," he added.
"I'm encouraged. I have even more confidence in my team after today."
"Another nice thing was match to match we had different star hitters.
"We have so many kids who can be the go-to. That was nice to see - the setters did a great job of making sure those kids kept getting the ball."
He also complimented rightside blockers Kwyn Johnson and Kylie Schlegel as well as defensive specialists Nouf Rashoodi and Iris Matulevich.
Hannah Sackett had five kills and Iris Matulevich had nine digs in the championship.
Flathead and Glacier both play host on Friday and Saturday to the Helena schools.
Due to a home football game, Friday's Glacier matches will be at 2 p.m. for freshmen with the varsity slated to play at 5 p.m.
Kills 18 (Hannah Sackett 5), Assists 18 (Alison Lunde 10); Blocks 5 (Kylie Schlegel 2, Kwyn Johnson 2, Emma Andrews 2) Digs 33 (Iris Matulevich 9) Aces 4 (Sackett 2).
Semi-finals
Flathead def. Bill.West 25-16 25-14
Cassie Krueger had six kills and Kylie Schlegel and Sackett added five each.
Nouf Rashoodi had eight digs.
Kills Flathead 23 (Cassie Krueger 6, Sackett 5 Kylie Schlegel 5), Assists 20 (Lunde 12); Blocks 6 (Johnson 3 Timi Severson 3); Digs 32 (Nouf Rashoodi 8, Matulevich 7); Aces 4 (Sackett 2)
Flathead def. Bozeman 25-12, 25-25, 25-19
Sackett had 10 kills and Krueger seven. Nouf Rashoodi added 19 defensive digs.
"It's hard to maintain a high level of intensity for every game," Wilcox said of dropping the second set. "We kind of got in a lull, but they bounced right back and took care of it."
Kills 33 (Sackett 10, Krueger 7); Assists 29 (Emily Russell 14), Blocks 8 (Johnson 4); Digs: 40 (Rashoodi 19); Aces 8 (Lunde 3).
Senior def. Glacier 25-22, 25-11
Lexy Boschee had six kills and Emily Gilbertson added 11 digs for the Wolfpack. Hannah Liss contributed 16 assists and served two aces.
Kills 16 (Lexy Boschee 6); Assists 16 (Hannah Liss 16): Blocks 3 (Tiffany Marks 2) Digs 23 (Emily Gilbertson 11), Aces 3 (Liss 2).
Sentinel def. Glacier 21-25, 25-18, 26-24
Boschee had nine kills, Gilbertson 18 digs and Hannah Liss had 24 assists but Sentinel rallied to defeat the Wolfpack.
Kills 27 (Boschee 9, Dayna Niebaum 7), Assists 24 (Liss 24) Blocks 8 (Marks 3), Digs 56 (Gilbertson 18), Aces 2 (no leader).
Consolation Bracket at Great Falls High
Hellgate def Big Sky 25-21, 23-25, 25-16
Lewistown def. CMR 25-22, 26-24
Great Falls High def. Havre 25-22, 25-14
Big Sky def. CMR 15-25, 25-20, 25-19
Butte def. Havre 25-23, 22-25, 25-18
Big Sky def. Capital 26-24, 17-25, 25-18
Hellgate def. Butte 25-16, 20-25, 26-24
Big Sky def.Hellgate 25-16, 26-24, 25-15
Consolation championship
Lewistown def Great Falls High 21-25, 25-21, 25-22
Championship Bracket at C.M. Russell
Billings West def. Billings Skyview
Flathead def. Bozeman
Billings Senior def. Glacier
Helena High def. Missoula Sentinel
Bozeman def. Billings Skyview
Missoula Sentinel def. Glacier
Flathead def. Billings West
Helena High def. Billings Senior
Billings Senior def. Bozeman
Missoula Sentinel def. Billings West
Third place
Missoula Sentinel def. Billings Senior 26-24, 17-25, 25-17
Championship
Helena High def. Flathead 25-23, 25-18