State volleyball: Flathead, Glacier look to dig up a title

Flathead, Glacier and Columbia Falls will represent the Flathead Valley at this year’s All-Class state volleyball tournament beginning today at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.

As the top seed from Western AA, Flathead (18-4, 12-0 Western AA) will take on the eastern division’s fourth seed, Billings West (18-10, 7-6 Eastern AA), in its state tournament opener at 2 p.m. today. Flathead defeated West 25-22, 30-28, 25-23 in a nonconference match Sept. 6. It also beat West 20-17, 20-13 in pool play at the Great Falls Invitational.

“We’re better than West, but we still need to play our best,” Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said.

“They don’t have very good ball control. They have pretty good size. We just need to keep up our serving, which has been aggressive all season.

“If we serve tough, we’ll keep them off-balance, and that allows our offense to get in a little bit of a groove getting those free balls. I think we just have to play really aggressive in every part of our game.”

Led by setter Emily Russell and middle blocker Emma Andrews, Flathead finished the regular season second in Class AA with 2.98 aces per set. Russell led Class AA with 0.95 aces per set while Andrews finished fourth in Western AA with 0.72.

Russell also led Class AA in assists, feeding efficient outsider hitter Kwyn Johnson and Class AA kills leader Cassie Krueger.

Glacier, Western AA’s third seed, opens the state tournament at 4 p.m. today against the Bozeman Hawks, the second seed from the East. Glacier (18-6, 9-4 Western AA) defeated Bozeman (19-6, 10-3 Eastern AA) 20-13, 20-8 at pool play of the Great Falls invitational in early September and the two teams haven’t met since.

“I think Bozeman is very athletic,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said. “They have some great middle hitters that are very strong.”

Glacier battled inconsistency throughout the regular season, splitting its two matches with Helena High, Western AA’s second seed, and losing twice to Flathead before beating its crosstown rival in the championship match of the Missoula Invitational tournament on Oct. 13.

“The great thing about the state tournament is everybody starts over again,” Harkins said. “I think we have some strengths that can help us against different opponents. It’s just whichever one of my teams shows up. We’ve been a little inconsistent this year.”

Like Bozeman, Glacier’s strength is in the middle, with middle blockers Cassi Hashley and Tiffany Marks ranking third and fifth in Class AA in kills per set. Marks also ranks third in the conference in blocks per set.

After receiving little production from its outside hitters early in the season, Glacier looked more balanced late thanks to increased contributions from Hannah Atlee, Katie Wiley and Rachel Chery.

“One of our strengths is we are still improving,” Harkins said. “I feel that way strongly about these guys. We have a lot of depth and I think we have very strong team chemistry.”

Glacier could be without Chery, who rolled her ankle in warm-ups prior Glacier’s playoff victory over Missoula Big Sky on Nov. 2. Harkins called Chery a game-day decision.

Should Glacier and Flathead both win their first-round matches, they would play each other in the second round at 8 p.m. today. Flathead swept Glacier in their first meeting at Glacier High School, then battled back from a two-set deficit to win in five in their second meeting at Flathead’s gym. Glacier got redemption with a 25-13, 29-27 victory in the championship match of the Missoula Invitational, but Flathead was without Johnson, who was resting a shoulder injury.

If the either Kalispell school advances to the undefeated semifinal or the championship match, they’ll likely be up against unbeaten Billings Senior (28-0, 12-0 Eastern AA), a team Wilcox called “the juggernaut of Montana volleyball this year.”

Senior finished the regular season as the Class AA leaders in kills per set, attack efficiency, aces per set and blocks per set. It has three of the top six hitters in Eastern AA including Kiahna Steiner, who finished third in Class AA with 3.51 kills per set and second in attack efficiency — behind Billings Skyview setter Breeanna Mason — with a .370 hitting average.

“They’re very tall across the front row at every position, so they have a big block,” Wilcox said of Senior. “Mentally, that can be as difficult as it is physically to hit around them, so you just have to be tenacious. You get it past the block and then you’ve got as good a shot against them as anybody because their defense is not that spectacular. But they have a big front row. If they get a good pass, they’ve got a lot of kids that can hit.”

Flathead lost 20-14, 20-11 to Senior at the Great Falls Invitational, but Johnson said the Bravettes have gotten much better in the two months since that match.

“That was definitely not our best tournament,” Johnson said. “We were not as good then as we are now. It’s not going to be easy by any means. It’s going to be very difficult to beat them because they are very good, but we can do it.”

One reason Flathead should be better if it meets Senior again is Johnson’s improving health. While her left shoulder still isn’t 100 percent, Johnson said she’s ready for state, and Wilcox expects her to be a threat.

“Kwyn has been holding back to save everything for state, so she’ll bring it,” Wilcox said.

Glacier played a full match against Senior on Sept. 6 and lost 25-17, 25-18, 25-11.

In the Class A bracket, Columbia Falls (7-11, 2-6 Northwestern A) opens the state tournament at 2 p.m. today against Corvallis (12-5, 7-3 Southwestern A).

Columbia Falls struggled against conference opponents during the regular season and entered the Northwestern A divisional tournament as the fifth seed, but pulled upsets over Libby, Whitefish and Polson in loser-out matches to claim second place and its first state tournament berth since 2003.

“We’ve been tight in most of our games all season long,” Columbia Falls coach Addy Connelly said. “I think the girls were just ready to go.”

Connelly said Columbia Falls’ momentum began at the Missoula Invitational when the Wildkats won a game against Whitefish, Northwestern A’s top team in the regular season.

“Whitefish has always been a mental hurdle for us,” she said.

Three weeks later, Columbia Falls drew Frenchtown in the first round of the Northwestern A divisional tournament. It lost in four sets before sweeping Libby to avoid elimination.

“I think it was good that we lost the first game to Frenchtown and had to go play Libby,” Connelly said. “We watched those other teams and realized they could be beat.”

Columbia Falls knocked off Whitefish in straight sets, then beat Polson in four before losing to Frenchtown in the divisional championship game.

The Wildkats drew a familiar opponent in Corvallis for their state tournament opener. Columbia Falls lost 25-14, 26-24 to Corvallis at the Northwestern A vs. Southwestern A tip-off tournament in Polson. It lost to Corvallis again in a four-set match Sept. 1 before topping Corvallis in five on Oct. 18.

“They’re tough servers so we’ll have to be ready to take care of that,” Connelly said. “They’ve also got a good blocking game.”

Columbia Falls’ offense is led by setter Alli Dierenfield and outside hitters Haley Belgarde and Hope Burlage. Dierenfield averages 4.09 assists per set. Burlage and Belgarde average 2.64 and 2.59 kills per set respectively.

If Columbia Falls beats Corvallis, it will take on the winner between Belgrade (23-1, 8-0 Central A) and Laurel (10-10, 5-5 Eastern A) at 8 p.m today.