Glacier, Flathead ousted from AA state volleyball
BOZEMAN — Heads hung low on both the Glacier and Flathead volleyball teams as they exited the Class AA state tournament in the same round at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Friday.
Glacier’s only contest of the day, a five-set loss to Helena Capital, was the biggest shock of the tournament. The Wolfpack had yet to lose to the Bruins this season after going undefeated in conference play, but Capital won when it mattered, taking the postseason loser-out matchup 25-17, 14-25, 13-25, 27-25, 15-10.
“Disappointing,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said of the defeat.
“Capital played well. They were aggressive and I thought we were inconsistent. We had moments of good play, but it was hard to keep it together.”
The Wolfpack tried to bounce back after a three-set loss to Billings Senior on Thursday, but it dropped the first set.
In typical Glacier fashion, the Wolfpack regrouped and dominated the next two sets. Jumping out to a 16-9 lead in the second set, Katie Wiley and Nikki Krueger smashed back-to-back kills and Glacier kept the pressure on. Another Krueger kill brought the Wolfpack to set-point where Nikki’s sister Tessa Krueger finished off the set with a kill for a 25-14 victory.
It was more of the same in the third set. Glacier held a 10-point advantage heading into a Capital timeout and cruised to a 25-13 win.
Tied at 25 in fourth set, Glacier dropped the next two points and Capital used the momentum to capture the fifth set, one that saw Glacier commit several errors in a 15-10 loss.
Brielle Bumgarner turned in one of her best performances for the Wolfpack. She led the team with 13 kills and finished with a match-high six blocks.
“Brielle worked hard. She always does,” Harkins said.
“It meant a lot to her to succeed. She gave all she had every play and that’s how she’s played all season.”
Glacier received match-high efforts from Tessa Krueger, five aces; Hannah Liss, 46 assists; and Hailee Bennettt, 25 digs.
Flathead had just one match on Thursday, a loss to Billings Senior in the opening round, and showed plenty of energy in their first loser-out match against Billings West.
The Bravettes took the first two sets and closed out the fourth for a 25-23, 25-18, 18-25, 25-20 victory.
Lizzie Sherwood turned in a team-high 11 kills, Xio Lopp added 24 assists and Jourdan Schultz tallied four aces to the offensive effort.
Defensively, Sherwood’s match-high 17 digs paired with Jordyn Clare’s six blocks checked the Golden Bears attack.
Roughly two hours later, Flathead was back on the court for another loser-out contest. Billings Skyview wasn’t going to let the Bravettes get off to another fast start, and after battling to a 25-20 win in the first set, the Falcons swept Flathead with 25-16 and 25-15 victories to knock the Bravettes out of the tournament.
Sherwood led Flathead again in kills with six. Abbie O’Brien led with a match-high 12 digs and the Bravettes lone senior, Jessica Simmons, finished her Flathead career with two aces.
“Our offense never really got rolling. We had a hard time finding the floor today,” Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said. “We don’t want to dwell on that. Overall, I thought it was a very good season. We have a very young squad, we qualified and we took a match at state. We have a lot to build on for next year.”
Helena Capital def. Glacier
25-17, 14-25, 13-25, 27-25, 15-10
Kills - Helena Capital 46 (Kenzie Johnston 16), Glacier (49 (Brielle Bumgarner 13). Assists - Helena Capital 40 (Rayna Pilgeram 34), Glacier 46 (Hannah Liss 46). Blocks - Helena Capital 10 (Savannah Perschon 6), Glacier 11 (Brielle Bumgarner 6). Digs - Helena Capital 77 (Madi Quick 18), Glacier 67 (Hailee Bennett 25). Aces - Helena Capital 8 (Rayna Pilgeram 3), Glacier 13 (Tessa Krueger 5).
Billings Skyview def. Flathead
25-20, 25-16, 25-15
Kills - Billings Skyview 37 (Hailey Copinga 24), Flathead 23 (Lizzie Sherwood 6). Assists - Billings Skyview 35 (Ashley Jones 32), Flathead 21 (Xio Lopp 11). Blocks - Billings Skyview 4 (Hailey Copinga 2, Molly Little 2). Digs - Billings Skyview 41 (Taylor Buris 11), Flathead 43 (Abbie O’Brien 12). Aces - Billings Skyview 6 (Hailey Copinga 2), Flathead 4 (Jessica Simmons 2).
Flathead def. Billings West
25-23, 25-18, 18-25, 25-20
Kills - Flathead 43 (Lizzie Sherwood 11), Billings West 45 (Kennedy Hildebrand 16). Assists - Flathead 36 (Xio Lopp 24), Billings West 42 (Mikayla Bloyder 36). Blocks - Flathead 11 (Jordyn Clare 6), Billings West 14 (Kennedy Hildebrand 5). Digs - Flathead 60 (Lizzie Sherwood 17), Billings West 66 (Mikayla Bloyder 13). Aces - Flathead 10 (Jourdan Schultz 4), Billings West 3 (no leader).
Loser Out
Helena Capital def. Missoula Sentinel, 25-15, 14-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11
Semifinal
Billings Senior def. Bozeman 25-20, 20-25, 25-15, 25-15
Fourth Place
Billings Skyview def. Helena Capital 25-14, 24-26, 25-14, 25-14
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Today’s Schedule
Third Place
11 a.m. — Bozeman vs. Billings Skyview
Championship
1 p.m. — Billings Senior vs. third-place winner