VOLLEYBALL: Big Sky ousts Bravettes

After falling in the first two games to Missoula Big Sky 25-20 and 25-17 in their Class AA play-in volleyball match, the Flathead Bravettes stormed back and pushed the Eagles to the brink of a fifth game but couldn’t put away the fourth and fell 3-1 to bring their season to a close on Tuesday at Flathead High School.

The Bravettes finish their 2016 campaign with a 3-19 mark as Big Sky moves to 6-18 and onto the next play-in round.

In her final match, senior Tiana Johnson paced Flathead with 16 kills, 10 blocks and nine digs, sophomore Madde Boles had 16 digs, sophomore Sierra Wilhelm pitched in 30 assists, and freshman Julia Burden scored four of the Bravettes’ nine aces.

“Tiana’s a special girl,” Flathead head coach Courtney Baker said.

“She is so joyful, and she works so incredibly hard. We know she’s a basketball player who plays volleyball, but when she’s out there she gives her whole heart to her teammates.

“She’s going to go super far in life and I’m excited to see her in this next season and in the next few years.”

In the first game, Flathead stayed close with Big Sky until a kill by Alex Mintyala sparked an Eagles run that put the visitors up 18-10. A Tiana Johnson kill followed by four Johnson blocks contributed to a 7-1 Bravettes run that narrowed the lead to 19-17, but the Eagles’ Hannah Entzel scored three of her 16 kills in quick succession, the final one putting the exclamation point on the game.

The Bravettes took an early lead in the second game behind a block and pair of kills from Johnson and assists from Julia Burden to make it 6-6 early, but the Eagles took nine of the next 13 points and opened up a 15-10 lead before Coach Baker called timeout. Right out of the break, a kill, a block and another kill by Johnson quickly cut the deficit to two, and another Johnson kill followed by a Bolles kill made it a one-point game, 16-15. Flathead could only manage one more point, however, and Big Sky went on a 9-1 run to close the game and, it appeared, the match.

The Bravettes fell behind 4-1 to start the third game, but kept a string of impressive rallies alive and found themselves knotted 5-5. After more back-and-forth, it was 10-10. A kill by Madde Boles gave them the lead that grew to as many as seven points, and two more late kills from Johnson helped to preserve the game, 25-22.

“We had a big talk between matches, just about being able to leave here, even if we lost, knowing that we couldn’t have done any more,” Coach Baker said.

With the home crowd back into it and Flathead finally feeling some momentum, the fourth game was a slugfest between the Bravettes and Eagles that began with a decisive Johnson kill and was answered with an equal statement from Big Sky’s Kelsi McEnaney. Soon after, Flathead’s Boles, Big Sky’s Hannah Entzel and Bravettes senior Johnson traded kills — which only brought the score to 4-4. The Bravettes willed themselves to a 15-9 lead behind more net work from Johnson and Boles and held the Eagles at arm’s length, but the visitors whittled away at the lead to make it 22-21. Moments later, however, a Big Sky serve hit the tape and seemed to defy gravity, somehow rolling over the net to drop in Flathead territory for the ace and a 23-23 score. The next point also went to the Eagles, but the ensuing serve on match point was denied by the net.

An Eagle kill put Big Sky ahead, but Boles responded with a laser kill of her own. Again Big Sky took the advantage on the next point, but Johnson smashed yet another kill just out of an Eagle’s reach to again knot the game. Big Sky once again seized advantage, but the Bravettes couldn’t corral a cross-court kill by the Eagles and ceded the match to Big Sky.

“I felt like in that last match, just playing point-by-point like that, we were for sure able to walk away being proud of those last two sets,” Baker said. Despite the loss, the Bravettes’ coach was positive both in retrospect and for the future.

“Early on in the season, losing one of the girls who you’ve been looking forward to coaching, that turned the season for me. I had to look at it as, ‘We’re going to have to do something different. And these girls are going to have to really step up. We’re playing without our friend, and I need to stay positive.’ There are much harder things in life that they will have to go through.”

In addition to some life lessons learned along the way, Baker is also hopeful that the experience will pay off next year.

“We had a unique situation of getting to play some younger girls this year. We’re going to be strong. These girls and their commitment to volleyball and commitment this summer will be huge. They’ll use this experience from this year to propel us into the next season. I think it’s going to be awesome.”

Missoula Big Sky def. Flathead 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 28-26.

Kills - Big Sky 43 (Hannah Entzel 16), Flathead 36 (Tiana Johnson 16). Blocks - Big Sky 7 (Alex Mintyala 3, Brooke Kearns 3), Flathead 13 (Johnson 10). Digs - Big Sky 62 (Jada Ogilvie 22), Flathead 76 (Madde Boles 16). Assists - Big Sky 36 (Katie Rolle 21), Flathead 32 (Sierra Wilhelm 30). Aces - Big Sky 11 (Ogilvie 7), Flathead 9 (Julia Burden 4).