Wildkats cruise to Class A state championship volleyball match
BOZEMAN — Expecting a fight, the marauding Columbia Falls juggernaut instead romped its way to the state championship match and left the drama for its cross-valley rival on a wild, emotional Friday night at the all-class state volleyball tournament at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
The Wildkats (22-0) closed within one win of a second consecutive Class A state championship with a sweep of Eastern A champion Belgrade, while Whitefish nearly rallied all the way back from a two-set deficit only to fall in five sets to Billings Central and watch its state tournament come to an end with a fourth-place finish.
The Bulldogs won their way into the nightcap, sweeping Dillon 25-19, 25-23, 25-13 in the mid-afternoon to set up a showdown against the Rams, who themselves had advanced by beating Corvallis in five sets earlier in the day.
While Glacier and Helena went to five sets on the adjacent Class AA court — a match the Wolfpack won despite dropping the first two sets — the Bulldogs nearly pulled the same trick. Whitefish won the third and fourth sets, then led 9-6 in the fifth before running out of gas. The Rams closed the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 17-25, 15-12.
Mirielle Kruger led the Bulldogs with 14 kills against Billings Central. Serena Hemmingson collected 30 of Whitefish’s 99 digs. The Bulldogs finished 2-2 at the tournament.
Columbia Falls, meanwhile, endured no such struggle. The undefeated Wildkats figured to be pushed by a Belgrade team that won its divisional and rolled Whitefish in three sets one day earlier.
Instead, the reigning champs dialed up what coach Jessy Matthews called “that championship mindset” and soared to a 25-16, 25-18, 28-26 sweep.
“We’re peaking right when we needed to,” Matthews said. “That’s the best I’ve seen them play all season and we’ve played some really great matches.”
Columbia Falls jumped out to a 20-9 lead in the first set and never trailed in the second stanza either. Belgrade, boosted by a large, vocal crowd, surged in front 11-6 in the third set but the Wildkats stayed composed and finished the match on back-to-back kills, the clincher coming from Kaitlyn Casazza.
“That was pretty great,” a grinning Matthews said of her confident team. “We talked about the fact that volleyball’s a game of mistakes. You’re going to make mistakes and it’s just about who rebounds from those mistakes that wins games.”
The Wildkats had 15 aces in the match, smashed 31 kills and piled up 67 digs.
Columbia Falls will meet either Belgrade or Billings Central in today’s championship match at 3 p.m.
Semifinal
Columbia Falls def.
Belgrade 25-16, 25-18, 28-26
Kills - Belgrade 22 (Olivia Cook 8), Columbia Falls 31 (Morgan Stenger 9). Blocks - Belgrade 3 (Brooke Gilbertson 1 1/2), Columbia Falls 4 (Stenger 2). Assists - Belgrade 17 (Shania Neubauer 16), Columbia Falls 28 (Cydney Finberg 28). Digs - Belgrade 50 (Taylor Christensen 19), Columbia Falls 67 (Finberg 16). Aces - Belgrade 7 (Cook 4), Columbia Falls 15 (Finberg 7).
Loser-out
Whitefish def. Dillon 25-19, 25-23, 25-13
Kills - Whitefish 30 (Kate Doorn 10), Dillon 22 (Kylie Christiansen 13). Blocks - Whitefish 7 (Cailyn Ross 5), Dillon 8 (Nicole Hritsco 3). Assists - Whitefish 27 (Libby Nagler 26), Dillon 19 (Bailey Berriochoa 19). Digs - Whitefish 30 (Serena Hemmingson 9), Dillon 39 (Berriochoa 10). Aces - Whitefish 7 (Kylie Larsen 2), Dillon 1 (Berriochoa).
Billings Central def. Whitefish 25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 17-25, 15-12
Kills - Whitefish 51 (Mirielle Kruger 14), Billings Central 46 (Colivia Moten-Schell 15). Blocks - Whitefish 5 (Annisa Brown 2, Kruger 2), Billings Central 12 (Laura Sterup 6). Assists - Whitefish 44 (Libby Nagler 41), Billings Central 44 (Devin Nielsen 40). Digs - Whitefish 99 (Serena Hemmingson 30), Billings Central 95 (Bailey Kufeld 28). Aces - Whitefish 5 (Brown 2), Billings Central 8 (Hailey Keller 3).