Volleyball roundup: Glacier, Flathead pick up Western AA wins

MISSOULA — Glacier volleyball survived a five-set thriller against Missoula Sentinel to stay perfect in the Western AA conference, rallying to beat the Spartans 25-22, 18-25, 16-25, 25-13, 15-6 after falling behind 2-1 in the match.

The Wolfpack (11-1 overall, 5-0 Western AA) escaped what would’ve been its first conference loss in nearly two years, gathering itself to run away with the final two sets.

“Sentinel’s good,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said. “They played great. They’re super aggressive. They dug the ball extremely well.”

A change in defensive effort led to the late momentum shift for Glacier.

“We just needed to put forth a better defensive effort,” Harkins said. “They were serving us off the court. We needed to up our defensive game.

“The girls came through in the end when their backs were against the wall. They played really well in sets four and five.”

Tessa Krueger had a match-high 17 kills to lead Glacier and Brielle Bumgarner had nine blocks.

Glacier def. Sentinel

25-22, 18-25, 16-25, 25-13, 15-6.

Kills – Glacier 48 (Tessa Krueger 17), Sentinel 43 (Kylie Frohlich 11, Jordyn Schweyen 11). Blocks – Glacier 9 (Brielle Bumgarner 9), Sentinel 9 (Isabella Weida 5). Digs – Glacier 56 (Hailee Bennett 15), Sentinel 68 (Lauren Cady 23). Assists – Glacier 37 (Hannah Liss 35), Sentinel 37 (Tian Harrington 25). Aces – Glacier 9 (Kayla Russell 3), Sentinel 12 (Nicole Holmquist 4).

Flathead 3, Hellgate 0

Flathead overcame its self-inflicted errors to pull away from Missoula Hellgate and earn a Western AA conference win at home, 26-24, 25-21, 25-12.

The Bravettes committed a run of serving errors in the opening two sets to give Hellgate a hint of momentum, but were able to overcome the mistakes to earn the sweep.

“The girls played hard all night,” Flathead coach Leon Wilcox said. “They put out a great effort. We really picked it up in that third set and had a good, strong finish.”

Jessica Simmons had 10 kills and 18 assists to lead the fifth-ranked Bravettes and Lizzie Sherwood had 17 digs and five aces.

“Lizzie Sherwood had a great night defensively,” Wilcox said. “Abbie O’Brien did a great job at libero. Her passing was very good.”

Marissa Postovit also had 10 kills for Flathead and Xio Lopp and Tiana Johnson each led the team with a pair of blocks.

Flathead def. Hellgate 26-24, 25-21, 25-12

Kills — Hellgate 17 (Mari Lundin 4, Paula Woerlein 4), Flathead 42 (Jessica Simmons 10, Marissa Postovit 10). Assists — Hellgate 14 (Woerlein 8), Flathead 35 (Simmons 18). Digs — Hellgate 35 (Becca Jones 22), Flathead 41 (Lizzie Sherwood 17). Blocks — Hellgate 11 (Rachel Martens 4), Flathead 4 (Xio Lopp 2, Tiana Johnson 2). Aces — Hellgate 5 (Hannah Lasche 2), Flathead 8 (Sherwood 5).

Columbia Falls 3, Frenchtown 1

COLUMBIA FALLS — The Wildkats bounced back from a first set loss to win the final three sets and beat Frenchtown 21-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-12 in a Northwestern A conference match.

“We had a few nervous jitters to start off,” Columbia Falls coach Josie Brown said. “After that, they came out and played really strong and started attacking the ball. They played together as a team and fought back when they had to.”

Carla Nicosia had 13 kills and three blocks for Columbia Falls and Cydney Finberg had a team-high 33 assists and four aces. Ciera Finberg posted 12 kills and Shay Fishel had 22 digs.

Columbia Falls def. Frenchtown

21-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-12

Kills — Frenchtown 37 (Morgan Ray 13), Columbia Falls 44 (Carla Nicosia 13, Ciera Finberg 12). Assists — Frenchtown 21 (Haley Cyr 18), Columbia Falls 35 (Cydney Finberg 33). Digs — Frenchtown 65 (Lindsey Shepard 17), Columbia Falls 55 (Shay Fishel 22). Blocks — Frenchtown 3 (Faith Bauer 2), Columbia Falls 7 (Nicosia 3). Aces — Frenchtown 5 (Lacey Hochhalter 3), Columbia Falls 13 (Cydney Finberg 4).

Bigfork 3, St. Ignatius 1

BIGFORK — Bigfork rebounded from a poor first set to crush St. Ignatius 24-26, 25-10, 25-15, 25-9 in Class B action.

“The first set we had seven missed serves,” Bigfork coach Melody Strauss said.

“That pretty much set the tone for the rest of that set. It was hard to dig out of that hole ... we couldn’t finish.”

Strauss made some lineup changes and it was all Bigfork after that.

“After the first set, we cleared the air,” she said.

“I told them we are starting over, it’s a brand new game. to play like we practice and set our goals. The girls rose to occassion.”

Abbie Fraley got the ball rolling in the second set, serving 10 straight points for Bigfork.

Bigfork never looked back.

Fraley finished with eight aces and 12 kills.

Lana Berg had 11 kills and Marissa Hiza was next with 10.

Bigfork (4-3, 1-1) had 36 kills to 17 for St. Ignatius (4-4, 2-1).

Bigfork def. St. Ignatius

24-26, 25-10, 25-15, 25-9

Kills — St. Ignatius 17 (Lindsay Johnson 11), Bigfork 36 (Abbie Fraley 12, Lana Berg 11, Marissa Hiza 10); Blocks — St. Ignatius 5 (Emilie Charlo 3), Bigfork 3 (Miranda Campbell, Fraley, Berg); Assists — St. Ignatius 13 (Jordyn Eichert 13), Bigfork 28 (Kalia Wicklund 27); Digs — St. Ignatius 58 (Johnson 14), Bigfork 35 (Kayla Caselegno 7); Aces — St. Ignatius 3 (Trinity Lewandowski 2), Bigfork 15 (Fraley 8).

Polson 3, Whitefish 2

WHITEFISH — Polson won the odd sets to pick up the Northwestern A victory — 25-21, 11-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-13.

Haley Fyant had 10 of Polson’s 47 kills.

Taylor Davis had 19 of Polson’s 98 digs.

Myndie Holbrook had 16 kills for Whitefish (0-5, 0-3) and Rachael Seymour nine. Seymour led the team in blocks with two and digs with 17.

Polson def. Whitefish

25-21, 11-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-13

Kills — Polson 47 (Haley Fyant 10), Whitefish 37 (Myndi Holbrook 16, Rachael Seymour 9); Blocks — Polson 3 (Taylor Rost 2), Whitefish 7 (Seymour 2); Assists — Polson 36 (Jaiden Toth 33), Whitefish 28 (Allie Schulz 26); Digs — Polson 98 (Taylor Davis 19), Whitefish 66 (Seymour 17); Aces — Polson 3 (Olivia Dupuis 2), Whitefish 6 (Holbrook 2).