C-Falls battles back; 2nd at state A volleyball
BOZEMAN — Sometimes even the most courageous efforts succumb to a bitter ending.
Such was the case for the Columbia Falls Wildkats at the Class A state volleyball tournament, their improbable run ending in a three-set defeat to the Belgrade Panthers, 25-18, 25-14, 25-9 in their second title match on Saturday.
Having lost to Belgrade in the undefeated semifinals on Friday, Columbia Falls needed to take down the Frenchtown Broncs in a loser-out semifinal before having to beat the Panthers twice.
They nearly pulled it off.
After defeating the Broncs in four sets in the first match of the morning at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, the Wildkats shoved Belgrade against a wall during the first match of the championship. Columbia Falls took the first two sets and the large contingent of Belgrade fans who made the 12-mile trip to Montana State University fell silent.
The Panthers rallied to take the next two games, pushing the match to a tie-breaking fifth set. Belgrade’s Kylie McCree smashed a kill that gave the Panther’s a 12-9 lead. Just three points away from a state title, Belgrade couldn’t hold off the Wildkats, who rallied back. Ciera Finberg drilled two consecutive kills, including the match-ending point set up by libero Shay Fishel and setter Cydney Finberg. Columbia Falls won 27-25, 25-22, 25-27, 19-25, 15-13. Ciera Finberg finished with a match-high 16 kills.
“She’s our strong left-side hitter who can go either way,” Columbia Falls coach Josie Brown said of Finberg’s effort in Match 1.
“She sees the holes on the court very well. I’m very pleased with how she played this entire tournament. ”
When the Wildkats met Belgrade in the semifinals earlier in the tournament, they allowed McCree to tally 26 kills. The next time around Columbia Falls held her to 16.
“We went after it. We watched some tape on her and changed our lineup around a little bit,” Brown said.
“The girls saw the adjustments we needed to make and went out there and played to win the entire time.”
The Wildkats first match against Frenchtown was at 11 a.m. Forcing a second championship match, after winning the first contest against Belgrade at 3 p.m., meant Columbia Falls would be starting their 10th set of the night at 6. The fatigue was noticed in the form of unforced errors and spells of erratic play. The Panthers pounced on the opportunity, flexing their muscles as they allowed Columbia Falls past 15 points in one set of the final match.
“It was a long day for them,” Brown said.
“To play four games this morning, then play five games, then come back in for another match, that’s a long day for them to go out as hard as they did, as long as they did. I’m very happy with them. I’m very pleased.
“We made some blocking errors, we weren’t jumping as high and we were in the net a little more. We were making those little errors you make when you’re tired. They did a great job and I’m not disappointed at all with how they played.”
The Wildkats faced some adversity early in the day during the loser-out semifinal against Frenchtown. The Broncs wasted little time showing Columbia Falls they were a different team than the one the Wildkats defeated en route to a perfect Northwest A conference record. Frenchtown took the first set, 25-20, and held a 14-9 advantage in the second set. Three Frenchtown errors and a hard Carla Nicosia kill tied it at 14, forcing the Broncs to call a timeout. Columbia Falls went on to take the set 25-23 and win the next two sets for a 3-1 victory and a chance to play Belgrade in the state finals.
Cydney Finberg led the Frenchtown match with a match-high 43 assists and six aces. Ciera Finberg had 16 kills and Winter Kemppainen and Nicosia each finished with 12.
“The girls played fantastic. I’m so proud with what they did,” Brown said. “They fought to the end.”
Loser-out semifinals
Columbia Falls def. Frenchtown
20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-19
Kills - Columbia Falls 53 (Ciera Finberg 16, Winter Kemppainen 12, Carla Nicosia 12). Frenchtown 48 (Morgan Ray 18, Faith Bauer 14). Assists - Columbia Falls 51 (Cydney Finberg 43), Frenchtown 40 (Haley Cyr 34). Blocks - Columbia Falls 10 (Winter Kemppainen 5, Morgan Stenger 3), Frenchtown 9 (Faith Bauer 3, Carley Thompson 3). Digs - Columbia Falls 106 (Winter Kemppainen 19, Shay Fishel 18), Frenchtown 88 (Haley Cyr 21, Lacey Hochhalter 20). Aces - Columbia Falls 8 (Cydney Finberg 6), Frenchtown 6 (Laci Willet 3).
Championship Match 1
Columbia Falls def. Belgrade
27-25, 25-22, 25-27, 19-25, 15-13
Kills - Columbia Falls 58 (Ciera Finberg 16, Carla Nicosia 14), Belgrade 63 (Kylie McCree 16, Hannah Goulet 16). Assists - Columbia Falls 55 (Cydney Finberg 47), Belgrade (Olivia Kleinsasser 56). Blocks - Columbia Falls 11 (Winter Kemppainen 4), Belgrade 8 (Maddie Orrell 4). Digs - Columbia Falls 135 (Shay Fishel 35), Belgrade 85 (Mylie McCree 33). Aces - Columbia Falls 3 (no leader), Belgrade 13 (Kylie McCree 4, Jamie Woolman 4).
Match 2
Belgrade def. Columbia Falls
25-18, 25-14, 25-9.
Kills - Belgrade 40 (Kylie McCree 13), Columbia Falls 22 (Winter Kemppainen 8). Assists - Belgrade 36 (Olivia Kleinsasser 35), Columbia Falls 18 (Cydney Finberg 14). Blocks - Belgrade 9 (Mddie Orrell 4), Columbia Falls 6 (Winter Kemppainen 3, Kiara Burlage 3). Digs - Belgrade 65 (Kyra Fisher 20), Columbia Falls 71 (Shay Fishel 18). Aces - Belgrade 10 (Hannah Goulet 7), Columbia Falls 1 (Kiara Burlage).
Class AA
Championship
Billings Senior def. Billings Skyview 25-20, 25-14, 25-10
Billings Skyview – Kills 19 (Hailey Copinga 8), Assists 17 (Ashley Jones 16), Aces 1 (Jones), Digs 20 (Makayla Herman 7), Blocks 3 (Molly Little 2).
Billings Senior – Kills 37 (Taylor Mims 20), Assists 34 (Brianna Bromgard 20), Aces 4 (Ekily Orvis 3), Digs 73 (Briley Rowe 19), Blocks 12 (Mims 13).
Third Place
Billings Skyview def. Bozeman
26-24, 25-19, 12-25, 16-25, 15-12
Billings Skyview – Kills 45 (Hailey Copinga 21), Assists 39 (Ashley Jones 36), Aces 4 (Taylor Burris 2), Digs 65 (Burris 14, Makayla Herman 14), Blocks 9 (Copinga 4, Molly Little 4).
Bozeman – Kills 61 (MacKenzie Grossenbacher 22), Assists 57 (Allie Lynch 35), Aces 10 (Caitlin Longrgan 3, Lauren Anizak 3, Lynch 3), Digs 71 (Maggie Green 24), Blocks 12 (Alex Preso 6).
Class B
Championship
Forsyth def. Huntley Project
16-25, 25-17, 19-25, 26-24, 15-12
F: Kills 51 (R. Kallenbach 15, M. Jensen 12, K. Zard 10), Blocks 10 (Jensen 8), Aces 1 (S. Bidwell 1), Digs 135 (K. Seleg 27, Kallenbach 24, A. Hert, A. Brewer 23), Assists 43 (Seleg 42, Zard 1).
HP: Kills 65 (Cady Siemion 30, Tessa Hultgren 19, Rylee Gulde 7), Blocks 4 (Seimion 1.5, Lauren Frieling, Hultgren 1), Aces 3 (Keera Stookey, Kenzie Seitz, Hultgren 1), Digs 184 (Faith Taylor 40, Seimion 37, Seitz 29), Assists 59 (Stookey 54).
Third Place
Huntley Project def. Florence-Carlton 25-15, 25-17, 25-18
Huntley Project – Kills 40 (Cady Siemion 17), Assists 33 (Keera Stookey 30), Aces 8 (Kezie Seitz 4), Digs 72 (Siemion 18), Blocks 3 (Siemion 2).
Florence-Carlton – Kills 32 )Sabrina Hopcroft 10), Assists 21 (Rylie Hawkins 28), Aces 4 (Jessica Dufresne 3), Digs 94 (Kristyne Drozdz 28, Hopcroft 28), Blocks 4 (Megan Kowalski 4).
Class C
Gardiner def. Manhattan Christian 25-21, 25-14, 25-17
Manhattan Christian – Kills 27 (Cassi Visser 8), Assists 20 (Sydni Ayers 19), Aces 6 (Visser 2, Megan Kamps 2), Digs 59 (Ayers 15), Blocks 5 (Gina Potts 2).
Gardiner – Kills 39 (Hannah Dean 17), Assists 30 (Tess Thomas 27), Aces 7 (Dean 4), Digs 70 (PJ Thomas 20), Blocks 5 (Emma Burke 2).
Third
Manhattan Christian def. Circle 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11
Manhattan Christian – Kills 54 (Megan Kamps 19), Assists 45 (Sydni Ayers 42), Aces 7 (S. Ayers 4), Digs 106 (Shaelynn Feddes 25), Blocks 10 (Gina Potta 4, Kamps 4).
Circle – Kills 73 (Chantel Schara 28), Assists 65 (Ramsey Bailey 30), Aces 11 (Shae Fisher 6), Digs 110 (Bailey 27), Blocks 3 (Bailey 1.5)