State AA volleyball: Glacier falls in quarters; Flathead loses opener
BOZEMAN — The hot start to the top-ranked Glacier Wolfpack’s first day at the Class AA state volleyball tournament was quickly ended by the Billings Senior Broncs on Thursday, who swept the quarterfinal match 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 to advance to the semifinals after the Wolfpack had swept Billings West in the first round.
“We’ve got to let it go quickly because tomorrow is another day and we have to be ready to go tomorrow,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said.
The upstart Wolfpack went point for point with the Broncs in the first set. Katie Wiley had three-straight kills and a Hannah Liss ace had Glacier tied at 19 after a Wolfpack timeout. The Broncs went on to outscore Glacier 6-2 after the timeout to take the first set.
Senior used their newfound momentum to score the first seven points in the second set, forcing Glacier into another timeout to regroup. The Wolfpack rallied and cut the deficit to one, but they couldn’t overcome Taylor Mims and the Broncs attack.
Mims finished with 17 kills and four blocks.
The Broncs totaled nine blocks to Glacier’s one.
“Senior is a very aggressive team. They serve very well and play great defense that cause some issues for our passing,” Harkins said.
“(Taylor Mims) takes up a lot of the court. In the front row she’s a big aggressive attacker coming at you and in the back row she covers a lot of ground.
“I thought we played good defense today,” Harkins said.
“We were better on defense than we’ve been most of the season. That was a good improvement for us.”
The Wolfpack lost a seven-point lead in the third set. Glacier was up 14-7, but the Broncs rallied back and to tie it at 15. Wiley answered the Senior run with a vicious kill, but Mims and Aubrie Steiner continued the charge and went on to take the sweep with a 25-20 win.
Wiley had a team high 10 kills and Kayla Russell added 15 digs defensively.
Hannah Liss had 23 assists and Brielle Bumgarner had the lone block for Glacier.
The Wolfpack advanced to the quarters by routing Billings West in the opening round. Glacier didn’t allow the Golden Bears to score more than 14 points in a set, sweeping West 25-13, 25-12, 25-14.
Wiley led Glacier in kills with 10 and blocks with three. Bumgarner added nine kills.
Glacier tallied 11 aces and in the match and Liss had 26 of the Wolfpack’s 27 assists.
Glacier will play at 2 p.m., the winner of Helena Capital and Missoula Sentinel, who kick off loser-out play at 10 a.m.
Billings Senior def. Glacier
25-21, 25-18, 25-20
Kills - Billings Senior 45 (Taylor Mims 17), Glacier no total (Katie Wiley 10). Assists - Billings Senior 41 (Brianna Bromgard 24), Glacier 23 (Hannah Liss 23). Blocks - Billings Senior 9 (Taylor Mims 4), Glacier 1 (Brielle Bumgarner). Digs - Billings Senior 70 (Emily Orvis 22), Glacier 54 (Kayla Russell 54). Aces - Billings Senior 6 (Bromgard 3), Glacier 10 (Kayla Russell 4).
Glacier def. Billings West
25-13, 25-12, 25-14
Kills - Glacier 33 (Katie Wiley 10), Billings West 19 (Payton Spoja 8). Assists - Glacier 27 (Hannah Liss 26), Billings West 19 (Mikayla Bloyder 19). Blocks - Glacier 6 (Katie Wiley 3), Billings West 1 (Karlie Cleveland). Digs - Glacier 39 (Hailee Bennett 9), Billings West 24 (Payton Spoja 8). Aces - Glacier 11 (Tessa Kruger 4), Billings West 2 (Jessi Zuroff 1, Karlie Cleveland 1).
Billings Senior 3,
Flathead 1
The Flathead Bravettes got off on the right foot, winning the first set of their opening-round match against Billings Senior 25-20, but the Broncs would regroup and take the next three sets, 25-16, 25-13, 25-18 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Flathead couldn’t overcome the Broncs offense, which totaled 50 kills, led by outside hitters Mims and Steiner.
Mims connected for a match high 19 kills, while Steiner added 13 .
The Bravettes had a match high six aces from Xio Lopp.
Lopp also led the team in kills with 10. Jessica Simmons added 16 assists to the Bravettes offensive effort.
After dropping the opening set, the Senior defense turned up the intensity. The Broncs finished with 16 blocks while the Bravettes managed just three. April Cross led the match with nine blocks and Mims added five.
Senior also tallied 73 digs, relentlessly squandering any offensive opportunity for Flathead, who finished with 45 digs.
Flathead moves to loser-out action with a match against Billings West. The Golden Bears fell to Glacier in three sets. The match is scheduled for noon.
Billings Senior def. Flathead
20-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-18
Kills - Billings Senior 50 (Taylor Mims 19), Flathead 36 (Xio Lopp 10). Assists - Billings Senior 47, (Brianna Bromgard 26), Flathead 31 (Jessica Simmons 16). Blocks - Billings Senior 16 (April Cross 9), Flathead 3 (no leader). Digs - Billings Senior 73 (Emily Orvis 15), Flathead 45 (Abbie O’Brien). Aces - Billings Senior 9 (Briley Rowe 3), Flathead 8 (Xio Lopp 6).
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Bozeman def. Missoula Sentinel 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-12
Billings Skyview def. Helena Capital 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23
Second Round
Bozeman def. Billings Skyview 25-21, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21