Polson, Whitefish, Eureka, Bigfork net victories
POLSON - Heidi Rausch had three blocks and 11 digs and Ashley Johnson added nine kills and 11 digs as the Polson Pirates (4-3, 3-1) swept visiting Libby (1-4, 1-3) in a Northwestern A volleyball match on Saturday.
"We played really tough during our first two games. We passed really well, we served well and we put a lot of balls down ... . Then we kind of got complacent in the third game," said Polson coach Jan Toth.
"(The Loggers) really stepped up their game, but we hung in there and we're really proud of them," she added.
"The whole team played well."
Selinna Maefau had seven kills, two blocks and served three aces to lead the Loggers.
Kills - Polson 33 (Ashley Johnson 9, Riley Kenney 9) Libby 21 (Selinna Maefau 7, Lauren Wepprecht 5). Assists - Polson 28 (Shalaina Duford 28), Libby 19 (Lexi Hageness 11, Hannah England 8). Blocks - Polson 7 (Heidi Rausch 3, Kenzie Clay 2), Libby 2 (Maefau 2). Digs - Polson 62 (Johnson 11, Rausch 11) Libby 63 (Alyssa Walker 17, Lexi Hageness 12). Aces - Polson 7 (Riley Kenney 2) Libby 10 (Maefau 3).
Whitefish 3,
Columbia Falls 1
COLUMBIA FALLS - Emily Sullivan and Abby Strellnauer had nine kills each and Baylee Tveidt had six blocks as Whitefish defeated host Columbia Falls 25-14, 17-25, 25-20, 25-15 in a Northwestern A contest.
Gabrielle Stenger led the Wildkats with six kills. Hope Burlage added five kills, 14 assists and four aces.
"Whitefish was just pretty slow and steady and kept eating away at us," said Columbia Falls coach Addy Connelly.
The second set was a different story.
The crowd was loud and the Wildkats "came out really excited and jacked up," she said.
Whitefish pulled away at the end of the third game, though.
"We need to do better. Hitters need to be putting the ball away better - when we had opportunities, we weren't getting it done. We're working on those mental toughness things," she said.
Kills - Whitefish 33 (Emily Sullivan 9, Abby Strellnauer 9), Columbia Falls 28 (Gabrielle Stenger 6, Hope Burlage 5, Taylor Peterson 5, Jessie Gist 5); Assists - Whitefish 30 (Taylor Havens 30), Columbia Falls 25 (Burlage 14, Erika Nelson 8); Blocks - Whitefish 12 (Baylee Tveidt 6), Columbia Falls 8 (Peterson 3, Haley Belgarde 3); Digs - Whitefish 33 (Marlow Schulz 6, Lindsey Viscomi 5), Columbia Falls 62 (Shaun Rowe 17, Jaylynn Cantu 9); Aces - Whitefish 13 (Tveidt 4), Columbia Falls 7 (Burlage 4).
Eureka 3, Plains 2
EUREKA - Selene Elster had 17 kills and Alyssa White added 27 digs and two aces as Eureka held off Plains in a five-set District 7B match.
Scores were 26-28 25-23 25-11 16-25 15-8.
The first two sets were tight - Plains won the first 28-26, but Eureka bounced back to claim the second, 25-23.
The Lions easily claimed the third, 25-11 - and Plains nearly as easily picked up the fourth, 25-16.
Kills - Plains 27 (Kayla Revier 4), Eureka 52 (Selene Elster 17). Blocks - Plains 7 (Revier 4), Eureka 9 (Jenna Peterson 4). Digs - Plains 40 (Kelsey Beagley 16), Eureka 41 (Cassidy Morgan 15). Assists - Plains 20 (Felicia Earhart 15), Eureka 47 (Alyssa White 27). Aces - Plains 17 (Earhart 6), Eureka 6 (Alex Holland 2, White 2, Morgan 2).
Bigfork 3, Troy 1
TROY - The Valkyries rallied after losing the first set to down host Troy in a District 7B match.
The Vals dropped the first set 25-22 and barely won the second, 28-26. But the sailing was smooth after that as they won the last two 25-16 and 25-15.
Tessa Robertson led Bigfork with 11 kills and six blocks.
Jordan Williams paced Troy with 11 kills and eight digs.
Kills - Bigfork 31 (Tessa Robertson 11), Troy 22 (Jordan Williams 11). Blocks - Bigfork 6 (Robertson 6), Troy 6 (Hannah Tallmadge 3). Digs - Bigfork 62 (Taylor Peck 14), Troy 35 (Williams 8). Assists - Bigfork 19 (Peck 15), Troy 21 (Holli Higgins 21). Aces - Bigfork 12 (Shleby Scoggins 5), Troy 10 (Tallmadge).