STATE VOLLEYBALL: Glacier splits on opening day
BOZEMAN — A day that started with an eye-opening, dominating sweep ended with a thud, a wild emotional swing for the Glacier Wolfpack Thursday at the all-class state volleyball tournament at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
“Sure. Yeah,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins agreed. “That’s volleyball.”
The Wolfpack, seeded second out of the Western AA, throttled Billings West 25-11, 25-13, 25-9 in the first round and took the lead early against Eastern AA champion Billings Senior before faltering badly down the stretch and losing 21-25, 25-22, 25-10, 25-14.
Glacier’s run at the double-elimination tournament continues today at 4 p.m. against either Helena Capital or Billings Skyview.
Despite a day that started with one of the most lopsided matches of the tournament, Harkins and her team were less than pleased with how the night ended.
“There was some frustration, some disappointment, but some perseverance,” Harkins said. “They’re going to come back and have a better day tomorrow.”
The Wolfpack raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first game against the Broncs and went point-for-point with Senior in game two before coming up just short. In the third game, however, Glacier looked like a different team. The Broncs led game two 21-7 and had a 23-10 edge in game three before clinching the match.
“We started making a few mistakes, which is what Senior’s going to force you to do because they’re an excellent team,” Harkins said. “We didn’t step up under pressure. We just decided to feel sorry for ourselves when we couldn’t do things the easy way, and didn’t really step up to battle.”
Senior had 50 kills in the second-round win, getting 11 from Raegan Steiner and 10 from April Cross. Ali Fiske led the Wolfpack with nine kills. Kali Gulick added eight.
Ashley Montini chipped in 26 assists and four blocks against the Broncs. Anna Scrade finished with four aces.
Earlier in the day, Nikki Krueger led a ferocious Glacier attack against West. The senior put down 11 of the Wolfpack’s 30 kills and Gulick piled up five blocks. Glacier’s defense totaled nine blocks in the match and limited the Golden Bears to just 15 kills.
In other Class AA action, undefeated Missoula Sentinel won twice to set up a match against Senior today at 6 p.m. Sentinel swept Billings Skyview and held off defending state champion Bozeman in four games in the second round.
In loser-out matches, West will take on Helena today at 10 a.m. and Skyview and Capital will square off at noon.
The tournament concludes Saturday.
First Round
Glacier def. Billings West 25-11, 25-13, 25-9
Kills - West 15 (Catherine Follett 4), Glacier 30 (Nikki Krueger 11). Blocks - West 3 (Madison Bergthold 2), Glacier 9 (Kali Gulick 5). Assists - West 13 (Karlie Cleveland 7), Glacier 29 (Ashley Montini 29). Digs - West 21 (Lily Nault 6), Glacier 18 (Anna Schrade 9). Aces - West 2 (no leader), Glacier 9 (Brietta Russell 3).
Second Round
Billings Senior def. Glacier 21-25, 25-22, 25-10, 25-14
Kills - Senior 50 (Raegan Steiner 11), Glacier 31 (Abi Fiske 9, Kali Gulick 8). Blocks - Senior 11 (Steiner 6), Glacier 8 (Ashley Montini 4, Gulick 4). Assists - Senior 45 (Courtney Bad Bear 25), Glacier 26 (Montini 26). Digs - Senior 67 (Jordan Gilcrist 19), Glacier 21 (Brietta Russell 6). Aces - Senior 12 (Steiner 3, Gilcrist 3), Glacier 8 (Anna Schrade 4).
Billings Senior def. Helena High
23-25, 25-13, 16-25, 25-20, 15-9
Billings Senior: Kills 50 (Raegan Steiner 22). Assists 46 (Courtney Bad Bear 23, Sam Bohenberger 20). Aces 12 (Steiner 6, Bonenberger 2). Digs 102 (Jordan Gilcrist 26, Kelsey Sargent 23, Steiner 13). Blocks 19 (Steiner 7, Kola Bad Bear 7, April Cross 5).
Helena High: Kills 38 (Taelyr Krantz 15). Assists 38 (Kendra Kloker 36). Aces 3 (three with one). Digs 76 (Kendra Woodland 30). Blocks 8 (Alexis Danz 5).
Missoula Sentinel def.
Billings Skyview 25-9, 25-15, 25-18
Missoula Sentinel: Kills 48 (Elsa Godwin 14, Kylie Frohlich 12, Shelby Schweyen 12). Assists 45 (Chelsea Bone 40). Aces 8 (Taylor Herman 3). Digs 54 (Godwin 16, Sarina Moreno 15). Blocks 7 (Schweyen 3).
Billings Skyview: Kills 12 (Jedera Liddell 6). Assists 10 (Ashley Jones 10). Aces 4 (Jones 3). Digs 29 (Tyler Fleury 13). Blocks 6 (Jacey Reiter 4).
Bozeman def.
Helena Capital 25-22, 25-22, 25-22
Bozeman: Kills 36 (Molly Watkins 9). Assists 31 (Allie Lynch 31). Aces 8 (Watkins 3, Lynch 2). Digs 42 (Amber Tarabochia 11). Blocks 4 (Watkins 3).
Helena Capital: Kills 31 (Korrin Thornocki 7, Aubrey McMaster 7). Assists 30 (Celina Sanchez 29). Aces 2 (Sarah Ashley 1, Tiffany David 1). Digs 46 (Thornock 12, Ashley 10). Blocks 5 (three with two).
Missoula Sentinel def. Bozeman
25-20, 30-28, 16-25, 25-15
Sentinel: Kills: 49 (Shelby Schweyen 17, Kylie Frohlich 10, Elsa Godwin 9). Assists: 43 (Chelsea Bone 38). Aces: 12 (Bone 3, Godwin 3). Digs: 51 (Sarina Moreno 13, Godwin 10, Mariel Warren 9). Blocks: 12 (Schweyen 5, Frohlich 5, Godwin 3).
Bozeman: Kills: 34 (Camille Landon 9, Molly Green 7, Molly Watkins 7). Assists: 29 (Allie Lynch 29). Aces: 8 (Allie Lynch 5, Mara Lynch 2, Darra Perdaems 1). Digs: 48 (Perdaems 15, Lynch 11, Amber Tarabochia 8). Blocks: 14 (Watkins 8, Oakley Strickler 4, Landon 4).