VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Flathead comes up short; Columbia Falls beats Whitefish

by The Daily Inter Lake
| October 6, 2016 10:30 PM

MISSOULA — Missoula Hellgate upended Flathead (3-12 overall, 2-6 league) 25-20, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21 in a Western AA volleyball match on Thursday.

Tiana Johnson had 18 of Flathead’s 33 kills and seven of the team’s nine blocks.

She also led in aces with seven.

Hellgate had 47 kills, led by Sydney Riddle with 13.

Flathead’s next action is road games at Helena Capital and Helena High on Oct. 14-15.

Kills – Flathead 33 (Tiana Johnson 18), Hellgate 47 (Sydney Riddle 13). Blocks – Flathead 9 (Johnson 7), Hellgate 4 (Kaci Paffhausen 3). Digs – Flathead 66 (Jayden Ruffell 12), Hellgate 60 (Mia Allery 20). Assists – Flathead 29 (Sierra Wilhelm 28), Hellgate 40 (Kate Koenig 36). Aces – Flathead 15 (Johnson 7), Hellgate 17 (Koenig 6).

Columbia Falls 3, Whitefish 1

COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls played yet another close match with Whitefish, prevailing in four sets in a Northwestern A confernece match to pull off the season sweep of the rival Bulldogs.

The Wildkats (10-0, 4-0 league) toughed out a 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21 victory, the second four-set win over Whitefish (4-4, 2-2) this season.

“It was a close one,” Columbia Falls coach Jessy Matthews said.

“We made a lot more errors than we have in the past. That slowed us down a bit but we found a way to win. Our defense and serve receive looked better, that helped.

“It’s really good for us to face a challenge and be able to come out on top like that.”

Morgan Stenger had a team-high 16 kills and two blocks and Cydney Finberg had 40 assists and two blocks for Columbia Falls.

Mirielle Krueger and Kate Doorn each had nine kills to lead Whitefish.

Serena Hemmingson had 26 digs and three aces for the Bulldogs.

Whitefish plays at Polson on Saturday while Frenchtown visits Columbia Falls. Both are Northwestern A matchups.

Kills—WF 32 (Mirielle Krueger 9, Kate Doorn 9), CF 54 (Morgan Stenger 16). Assists—WF 31 (Libby Nagler 19), CF 41 (Cydney Finberg 40). Blocks—WF 8 (Cailyn Ross 3), CF 5 (Stenger 2, Finberg 2, KJ Schweikert 2). Digs—WF 75 (Serena Hemmingson 26), CF 91 (Kiara Burlage 22). Aces—WF 7 (Hemmingson 3), CF 9 (Schweikert 4).

Frenchtown 3, Polson 1

FRENCHTOWN — Frenchtown had twice as many kills and held a huge 16-1 advantage in blocks to down Polson 25-13, 20-25, 25-12, 25-18 in a Northwestern A contest.

Allison Hochhalter had eight kills and Kylie Willett totaled five blocks for Frenchtown.

Lauren Lefthand led Polson in kills with seven.

Kills – Polson 15 (Lauren Lefthand 7), Frenchtown 30 (Allison Hochhalter 8); Blocks – Polson 1 (Hannah Fryberger), Frenchtown 16 (Kylie Willett 5); Digs – Polson 29 (Kyler Lundeer 15), Frenchtown 29 (Maddy Boller 12); Assists – Polson 15 (Kaelyn Smith 9), Frenchtown 25 (Lexi Statlen 13); Aces – Polson 14 (Smith 7), Frenchtown 14 (Emilie Hinrichs 5).

Eureka 3, Stillwater 0

EUREKA —Eureka (7-5) capitalized on the net play of Kassi Peterson and Eryn Their along with a team effort to beat Stillwater Christian School 25-18, 25-14, 25-22 in a nonconference matchup.

Peterson had nine kills to eight for Their.

Peterson also led in blocks with four.

Dorothy Smith had 13 kills and Helena Hashley five blocks for Stillwater (11-5).

“A good one for us,” Eureka coach Charli Chapman said.

“We were coming off a couple of conference losses and the last time we played Stillwater they beat us in three. We played great team volleyball. Everyone contributed. It was great.”

Kills — Stillwater 22 (Dorothy Smith 13), Eureka 28 (Kassi Peterson 9, Erynn Their 8); Blocks — Stillwater 8 (Helen Hashley 5), Eureka 4 (Peterson 4); Digs — Stillwater 17 (Adrianna Lambert 8), Eureka 29 (Liz Pacella 8); Assists — Stillwater 19 (Raney Metzger 19), Eureka 28 (Pacella 28); Aces — Stillwater 12 (Metzger 3), Eureka 5.

Thompson Falls 3, Troy 0

TROY — Ember Schwindt led Thompson Falls in kills, blocks and digs in a three-set sweep of Troy in a District 7B match, 25-10, 25-14, 25-21.

Schwindt had 13 kills, three blocks and eight digs for the Blue Hawks, which beat Troy 25-10, 25-14, 25-21.

Alyssa Lewis and Allie Coldwell each had four kilss and Kaitlyn Downey had 15 digs for the Trojans.

Kills—TF 37 (Ember Schwindt 13), Troy 10 (Alyssa Lewis 4, Allie Coldwell 4). Assists—TF 36 (Haley Wilson 34), Troy 12 (Allie Brown 10). Blocks—TF 5 (Schwindt 3), Troy 6 (Sami Rohrich 3). Digs—TF 30 (Schwindt 8), Troy 24 (Kaitlyn Downey 15). Aces—TF 9 (Bailey Pardee 3, Sierra Sorlie 3), Troy 6 (Brown 3)