Volleyball: Whitefish cruises past Pirates in first "home" match of season
<p>Whitefish's Cailyn Ross hits the ball off the fingertips of Polson's Lauren Lefthand during the first game in Glacier on Saturday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Polson libero Lydia Dupuis hits the floor to dig out a ball as Shawna Lenz looks on against Whitefish on Saturday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Whitefish found another gear after a sluggish start and cruised to a 25-23, 25-13, 25-13 sweep of Polson Saturday afternoon at Glacier High School.
“I was impressed,” Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller said of her squad.
“They came out and fought in the second and third games and played a lot better.”
Fuller’s Bulldogs completed a season sweep of Polson with the Northwestern A win, but it was not without some drama in the first set. The two teams went back-and-forth with neither opening a lead of more than four points, and the Pirates took a 22-20 lead late in the set before Whitefish came from behind to win. The Bulldogs notched the winning point on a block by Becca Catina and Cailyn Ross.
“I think we came out really tight,” Fuller said. “I’ve got to find a way to get them loosened up a little bit and that’s my fault. As a coach, I’ve got to figure out how to have them come out and play.”
“It was really important that we come in and play well and I’d say in one of the three games it happened,” Polson coach Patricia Luetzen said.
“In the second game, all of a sudden somebody starts blocking us the way that we were blocking them and it’s a momentum deflator to hit a ball into the block. The block messed with our heads today.”
Fuller also recognized her team’s defensive effort.
“I’m really excited about Becca Catina getting up and getting some blocks on (Chadelle Smith) because she killed us down in Polson,” Fuller said.
“I told Becca to follow her and ‘get her, get her’, and that second game she came alive and that turns our momentum around.”
The Bulldogs used a pair of big runs in the second and third games to finish the match. Whitefish rattled off eight straight points to build an early 10-2 lead in game two, then used a 9-0 run in the third game to turn a deficit into a 16-8 lead.
“Our quarterbacks — our setters — were running every different option that we had,” Fuller said. “They were using my right side, they were using my outside, they were using my middle. We were moving the ball around.”
Whitefish (5-4, 3-1 Northwestern A) finished with a 30-17 edge in kills, led by Ross’ match-high 12.
Ellie Dewan led the Bulldogs with eight digs and two aces.
Kate Doorn had three blocks.
Smith and Nicole Lake had five kills each to pace the Pirates (4-6, 1-4). Lake added three of Polson’s eight blocks.
The match was played at Glacier because of ongoing construction at Whitefish High School. The Bulldogs have been practicing at Glacier three times a week, but Saturday was their first home match of the season.
Both teams will return to action Thursday and Friday at the Missoula Invitational.
Kills — Polson 17 (Chadelle Smith, Nicole Lake 5), Whitefish 30 (Cailyn Ross 12). Assists — Polson 14 (Erin Sampson 14), Whitefish 30 (Allie Schulz 16). Digs — Polson 27 (Shawna Lenz 9), Whitefish 28 (Ellie Dewan 8). Blocks — Polson 8 (Lake 3), Whitefish 8 (Kate Doorn 3). Aces — Polson 2 (no leader), Whitefish 7 (Ross, Dewan 2).