Flathead upends Pack at state AA volleyball

BOZEMAN — More than 300 miles from their hometown, the Flathead and Glacier volleyball teams delivered another crosstown classic.

In the first state-tournament meeting between the two Kalispell schools, Flathead (20-4) rallied from a two sets to one deficit to advance to the undefeated semifinal of the Class AA tournament with an emotional 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9 win Thursday evening at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

Flathead’s six-point edge in the final set was all that separated the two teams as they entered the final set with 93 total points apiece.

The Bravettes beat Glacier (19-7) twice in the regular season, including a come-from-behind five-setter at Flathead High School, but it lost their third meeting at the championship match of the Missoula Invitational tournament Oct. 13.

“There was absolutely no way we were losing to Glacier at state,” said Flathead outside hitter Kwyn Johnson, who led the Bravettes with 19 kills.

“This win was when it mattered most,” added setter Emily Russell.

While it wasn’t the prettiest match from a technical perspective — both teams made their share of hitting errors — the emotion the rivalry carried was obvious. Flathead outside hitter Cassie Krueger crashed into the scoring table and nearly toppled the official scorer in pursuit of an errant dig, Glacier libero Kailea Vaudt nearly ran face-first into the back wall chasing down a shanked dig, and both benches exploded each time its team won a point in the final set.

Krueger was so emotionally spent she could barely speak after the match.

“That was an amazing match,” said a very hoarse Krueger. “Everything. The defense, the offense, the setting. Perfect. We never gave up. I love this team.”

Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said Krueger’s leadership was crucial to the Bravettes’ comeback. Class AA’s kills leader in the regular season, Krueger pounded four kills and a block in the fourth set, which permanently shifted the momentum in Flathead’s favor. She added another block in the fifth set and smashed three kills on the final five points including the clincher, a blast into a pair of Glacier blockers that soared out of play.

“Cassie was a catalyst,” Wilcox said. “In that fourth set she was the one that gave the team the push. She refused to lose and her team responded.”

Flathead trailed 14-12 in the fourth set when Glacier served out of bounds. The Bravettes capitalized on the mistake. Johnson sent back-to-back kills to the floor, then Krueger tipped over the Glacier block to give Flathead a 15-14 lead. Krueger blocked Glacier middle hitter Tiffany Marks on the next point, prompting Glacier coach Christy Harkins to call a timeout.

Flathead freshman Abbie O’Brien sent what should’ve been a free ball over the net after the break, but it dropped in between Glacier’s front and back rows. Krueger added another kill to extend Flathead’s lead to 18-15. Glacier answered with back-to-back points before Flathead scored twice to regain its three-point margin. Glacier won the next point, but the Bravettes won five of the last eight to take the set and even the match at two sets apiece.

The fifth set was tied at 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 before Flathead pulled away with four consecutive points. A Marks kill broke up the run before Flathead won three straight to take the match.

“I was nervous the whole match,” Wilcox said. “I was just thinking there were certain key plays that we needed to step up. Our defense and passing I don’t think were very strong tonight. I think it was a big weakness.”

Wilcox said part of the reason his team struggled to pass was Glacier’s serving. The Wolfpack served 11 aces in the match, led by six from setter Hannah Liss.

“Glacier served tough,” Wilcox said. “They picked on our passers that were struggling. They came at us aggressively with their serves. We did not pass well and it made our offense struggle. I think we made up for that by just scrapping and fighting and doing whatever we could with what we had.”

Flathead gave away seven points in the opening set, which Glacier won 25-21. It cleaned up its game in its 25-23 win in the second set, but Glacier countered with a 25-22 win in the third that included three aces by Liss.

Flathead will play Billings Senior today at 6 p.m. in the undefeated semifinal match. Senior finished the regular season 28-0 and beat Helena Capital and Helena High in the first two rounds of the state tournament.

“We’ve got to come out swinging (against Senior),” Krueger said. “We’ve got to attack.”

Glacier will take on the winner between Capital and Billings Skyview in a loser-out match at 2 p.m. today.

Flathead 3,

Billings West 0

Flathead’s balanced offense and intimidating block propelled the Bravettes to a comfortable 25-16, 25-17, 25-23 win over Billings West in the first round.

Outside hitters Kwyn Johnson and Cassie Krueger led the Bravettes with 15 kills apiece, Makayla Moore added five kills from the outside, Emma Andrews and Sarah Risenhoover contributed kills from the middle and defensive specialist Nouf Rashoodi even had a kill from the back row.

“I thought we used everybody really well,” coach Leon Wilcox said of the balanced attack. “(Setter) Emily Russell did a great job running the offense.”

Six-foot-1 West outside hitter K.C. Christensen was the Golden Bears’ most potent offensive threat early in the match, tallying three kills in the first set and another early in the second, but a blocking adjustment by Johnson held Christensen to just one kill the rest of the way.

“We reconfigured our block a little bit and I think that really threw her off,” Wilcox said. “She was going line and we took that away from her. I thought Kwyn played great defense on her.”

With its offense in sync and its block slowing the West attack, Flathead handily won the first two sets before the Golden Bears punched back in the third.

West setter Christine Wing began dumping the ball over the net and the West hitters started tipping instead of swinging away. The tactic forced the Bravettes to scramble and helped the Golden Bears take an 18-11 lead in the third set.

A kill by Krueger sparked a six-point Flathead run to make the score 18-17 before West answered with three straight points on a Sydney Lich kill, a Sadie Lehenbauer ace and a Flathead error.

Flathead won four of the next six points to make the score 23-21, then finished with four straight, winning the match on a West hitting error.

Glacier 3, Bozeman 1

Glacier took advantage of Bozeman errors early and served well late in a 25-13, 25-22, 17-25, 25-17 first-round victory.

Bozeman gave away 15 points on errors in a lopsided first set. Glacier received a stiffer test in the second before dropping the third. Four aces in the fourth set helped the Wolfpack finish the match.

“I thought we served aggressively, and that helped us out a lot,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said. “(Bozeman) has some great hitters and we could isolate them with our service.”

Cassi Hashley and Tiffany Marks led the Wolfpack with 10 kills apiece while outside hitter Rachel Chery added eight. As a team, Glacier outhit Bozman 39-32.

Bozeman middle hitter Amy Davis led the Hawks with 11 kills, but had just one in the final set.

“We told our blockers we needed to key on her,” Harkins said of Davis. “I don’t care if we leave other players one-on-one, we need to double her. We need to know where she is at all times because she’s a great player.”

After winning the first set, Glacier trailed 20-19 in the second before a pair of Bozeman errors gave the Wolfpack a one-point lead. A pair of Bozeman blockers stuffed Marks at the net to tie it at 22 before Glacier won the next three, finishing the set with a kill from Katie Wiley.

Bozeman caught fire midway through the third set, winning nine of 10 points to take an 18-10 lead. Glacier’s Hannah Atlee hit a kill to halt Bozeman’s momentum, but Glacier failed to recover, losing the set 25-17.

Glacier trailed 6-0 early in the fourth but eventually knotted the score at 12. A Hashley ace gave the Wolfpack its first lead of the set before Bozeman forced a tie at 13. Wiley put down a kill from the left side to regain Glacier’s one-point edge and the Wolfpack won 11 of the final 15 points to take the set and match.