Valley spikers ready for run at state title
As frigid temperatures arrive in Bozeman so do three teams from the Flathead Valley in search of the elusive state volleyball championship every team strives for. The Glacier Wolfpack, Flathead Bravettes and Columbia Falls Wildkats have earned their way to the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus on Montana State University for the MHSA state volleyball tournament.
Class AA
Glacier Wolfpack vs. Billings West
The Wolfpack (23-1)enter the state tournament well rested, having earned a bye after finishing 12-0 in Western AA play for the second year in a row.
While Glacier is in familiar territory as the top seed out of Western AA, they are hoping for a better showing in 2014. At last year’s state tournament, the Wolfpack lost to Billings Skyview in the quarterfinals and Helena in loser-out action for a fourth place finish, something this year’s squad has built off of from the first day of the season.
“It’s motivation because we didn’t excel at state like we should have. Lesson learned,” Glacier coach Christie Harkins said.
“That’s how they’ve approached the whole season. They want to do better. They know it’s got to be better at the state tournament and they’re hungry for it.”
The Wolfpack open the tournament with Billings West (16-13) who swept Great Falls in play-in action to reach the tournament. Glacier has yet to face the Golden Bears this season but that hasn’t kept the Wolfpack from preparing a solid gameplan.
“We don’t know much about them. We haven’t even been in the same gym as them this year and that always makes it interesting,” Harkins said.
“We need to play defense first of all. (West) is able to move the ball around the court quite a bit. We’ve been working on our defense and our passing. Ideally, I would like to see all of our hitters on at the same time that hasn’t happened too much this year, so it would be nice for it to come together at the state tournament.”
Flathead vs.
Billings Senior
The Bravettes (13-10) earned their way to a 12th consecutive state bid by rallying past the Helena Bengals in play-in action after they dropped the first two sets of the match.
Flathead met the adversity with resilience, winning the tie-breaking fifth set 15-11.
“Of course we got a lot of confidence out of that victory but the girls also know that was just one step to get here. We’re feeling confident but we’ve put it behind us,” Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said.
The lesson in adversity could be crucial in the Bravettes opening match in Bozeman where they’ll meet Billings Senior (28-1). The Broncs have just one loss on the year and are coming off a three-set sweep of Butte where they defeated the Bulldogs 25-2 in the final set to punch their ticket to state.
Taylor Mims plays a key role in the Broncs’ gameplan. In her last match against Butte, she lead Senior in both kills and blocks, slamming 15 balls to the floor while denying seven Bulldog kill attempts at the net.
Much like the strategy against Helena’s standout Jenna Starke, Tiana Johnson will be handed the task of stopping Mims at the net
“More than anything we have to concentrate on our game like we would against anybody else,” Wilcox said.
“We need to focus on playing solid defense with both our blocking and back row. We’re going try to match Tiana against Taylor Mims. That’s a part of our gameplan. Defensively, with Abbie O’Brien, we want to put her in a position to take as many in the back row. Offensively, we’ve got top keep it fast and keep it creative.
We practiced at Carroll College on the way down (to Bozeman). They had a good practice today.They looked focused, they looked sharp, they look like a team that’s ready for state.”
Class A
Columbia Falls vs.
Lewistown
Similar to Glacier, the Wildkats are returning to the Class A state tournament as the top seed from Northwest A for the second straight season after a fourth place finish in 2013.
Columbia Falls (15-1)repeated as divisional champs by downing Frenchtown in four sets.
The Wildkats will be greeted by Lewistown (18-7) in the first round, a team they saw in 2013. Columbia Falls lost to Lewistown in three sets during the quarterfinals of last year’s state tournament. They nearly met them again in the loser-out semifinals, but a loss to Billings Central in loser-out action gave the Wildkats a fourth place finish.
“We’re pretty excited for tomorrow. We’re excited for the whole weekend. We’ve worked all year to get to this point,” Columbia Falls coach Josie Brown said.
“They beat us last year so we’re being as prepared as we can and we’re ready to go after them. They’ve got a pretty well rounded team like we do so we’ve been working on consistency, going quick, attacking the ball and getting low on defense.
“This is a little more nerve racking for them. It’s a team they haven’t beaten yet but our goal is to go out and beat Lewistown and continue on in the tournament.”