Stillwater claims 5th straight title in state volleyball
<p>Stillwater freshman Adrianna Lambert (5) and teammates celebrate a point during the 2013 MCAA state volleyball tournament Saturday at Stillwater Christian School.</p>
Stillwater Christian School had to rally from a first-set loss to upend Yellowstone County Home School 25-27, 26-24, 25-19, 26-24 on Saturday in the championship match at the Montana Christian Athletic Association state volleyball tournament.
Stillwater, playing on its home court over the weekend, has now won five straight state titles.
Stillwater (23-4 overall) was 4-0 in state tournament matches.
“After losing four starting seniors last season, we came into this season not knowing what to expect,” said SCS coach Diane Smith.
“We knew it would be a building year. The girls have worked so hard all season to advance their skills and build team unity. Today their efforts paid off.”
Sarah Paolini, like she has all season long, dominated action around the net for SCS. She totaled 23 of the team’s 49 kills. She also had 20 digs.
Sophie George led SCS with her 26 digs.
Megha Tannehill had 17 kills for SCS and Courtney Beaver led in blocks with three.
Dorothy Smith had team highs of three aces and 42 assists for SCS.
“What I saw out there tonight was a team that used every opportunity to adjust and cut down on their mistakes,” coach Smith said.
“They worked together and didn’t give up.”
Paolini, a junior, was named tournament MVP.
Tannehill, George and Dorothy Smith were named to the second all-tournament team.
Kills — Yellowstone 53 (Morgan Karpstein 14, Kera Larson 14), Stillwater 49 (Sarah Paolini 23, Megha Tannehill 17); Blocks — Yellowstone 4 (Larson 2, Hannah Thom 2), Stillwater 6 (Courtney Beaver 3); Assists — Yellowstone 46 (Thom 41), Stillwater 46 (Dorothy Smith 42); Digs — Yellowstone 98 (Karpstein 23), Stillwater 109 (Sophie George 26, Paolini 20); Aces — Yellowstone 8 (Larson 3), Stillwater 8 (Smith 3).