VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Libby wins 7B tourney; Columbia Falls finishes perfect regular season
EUREKA — Libby claimed the District 7B volleyball tournament title on Saturday evening by downing Eureka 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 in the championship match.
Libby and Eureka will advance to Western B divisional play on Thursday in Anaconda along with Bigfork, which finished third, and Thompson Falls, the fourth-place finisher. Top-seed Libby plays at 2 p.m. on Thursday versus Deer Lodge, the fourth seed from 6B.
Second-seed Eureka is on the court at noon.
“This puts us in a great seed for the divisional tournament,” Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston said.
“I was proud of them for playing hard and winning in three. Eureka is a tough team. They are relentless and don’t let up. They are fighters.”
Libby had 37 kills in the final, led by Jayden Winslow with 13 and Brooklyn Rainer with 11.
Eureka had 23 with Kassi Peterson totaling seven and Kaylee Kronsperger six.
“We’re the shortest (team) in the conference, we’re pretty small, but we played scrappy,” Eureka coach Charli Chapman said.
“We played hustle ball. Libby has two powerful, strong hitters. They served super tough and they were able to come out with a win tonight.”
Libby had eight aces in the match to one for Eureka.
Alli Collins had three aces and 28 assists for Libby, both team highs.
7B Championship
Libby def. Eureka 25-18, 25-20, 25-21
Kills — Eureka 23 (Kassi Peterson 7, Kaylee Kronsperger 6), Libby 37 (Jayden Winslow 13, Brooklyn Rainer 11), Blocks — Eureka 7 (Karley Bozarth 4), Libby 6 (Mehki Sykes 4, Emily Mossburg 3), Assists — Eureka 21 (Liz Pacella 21), Libby 29 (Alli Collins 28), Digs — Eureka 36 (Rylee Morgan 13), Libby 48 (Emma Gruber 13, Winslow 11), Aces — 1 (Ashlyn Waldo 1), Libby 8 (Collins 3).
Consolation Final
Bigfork def. Thompson Falls 25-10, 25-21, 25-13
No stats
Eureka def. Troy 25-18, 25-15, 25-18
Eureka Stats Only
Kills —38 (Peterson 15, Kronsperger 13), Blocks — 3 (Peterson 2, Jessica Wilson 1), Assists — 38 (Pacella 38), Digs — 37 (Erynn Their 11), Aces — 5 (Morgan 2, Peterson 2).
Eureka def. Thompson Falls 25-13, 25-15, 25-9
Kills — Thompson Falls 16 (Lexi Vanelswyk 4), Eureka 35 (Peterson 12, Kronsperger 10), Blocks — Thompson Falls 4 (Elsie Brown 2), Eureka 4 (Peterson 2), Assists — Thompson Falls 12 (Madison Wheeler 7), Eureka 34 (Pacella 33), Digs — Thompson Falls 24 (Bailey Pardee 5, Megan McKenzie 5), Eureka 26 (Pacella 7, Morgan 6), Aces — Thompson Falls 3, Eureka 4 (Ashlyn Waldo 2)
Libby def. Bigfork 25-12, 25-16, 22-25, 25-18
Libby Stats Only
Kills —47 (Winslow 15, Mehki Sykes 15); Blocks — 8 (Rainer 5), Assists — 42 (Alli Collins 39), Digs — 54 (Collins 12, Winslow 10), Aces — 15 (Winslow 6, Rainer 3).
Whitefish 3, Frenchtown 1
WHITEFISH — Whitefish prevailed in the final two sets after splitting the first two to best Frenchtown 25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 25-17 in the regular-seaon finale for both teams.
The win gave Whitefish a season sweep of Frenchtown in Northwest A matches.
“They are a good ballclub,” Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller said.
“They have some talent. We were able to control the ball, dug deep. They are a team to watch out for.”
Up next for both teams in the Northwest A divisional, which starts Thursday in Columbia Falls.
Kills — Frenchtown 30 (Alivia Williams 9), Whitefish 38 (Mirielle Kruger 13); Blocks — Frenchtown 12 (Williams 4), Whitefish 4 (Kruger 2); Assists — Frenchtown 24 (Kylie Willet 13), Whitefish 36 (Libby Nagler 32); Digs — Frenchtown 51 (Maddy Boller 15), Whitefish 55 (Serena Hemmingson 16); Aces —Frenchtown 3 (Lexi Statlen 2), Whitefish 9 (Annisa Brown 4).
Missoula Sentinel 3, Flathead 0
Flathead hung with the top team in the state for the first two games but ran out of steam late and fell 25-15, 27-25, 25-6.
The Bravettes (3-18 overall, 2-10 Western AA) were led by an inspired effort from senior Tiana Johnson in her final regular season home match. Johnson put down 12 kills and had a pair of blocks against the undefeated and top-ranked Spartans (22-0, 12-0), and their tall, athletic front line.
“Tiana stepped up huge today. It was fun to see her get some big blocks,” Flathead coach Courtney Baker said. “It was nice to play the two best teams in the conference this week. My girls just grew so much competitively.”
Sierra Wilhlem added 15 assists and 10 digs for Flathead.
The Bravettes will begin the postseason play at home, taking on Missoula Big Sky Tuesday night at 6 in a matchup of the sixth and seventh-seeded teams in the Western AA. The winner will move on to a state tournament play-in match later in the week.
The top four teams from the Eastern and Western conference qualify for the state tournament, Nov. 10-12 in Bozeman.
Kills — Sentinel 35 (Kylie Frohlich 10), Flathead 21 (Tiana Johnson 12). Blocks — Sentinel 7 (Frohlich 4), Flathead 3 (Johnson 2). Digs — Sentinel 39 (Sarina Moreno 9, Chelsea Bone 9), Flathead 33 (Sierra Wilhelm 10). Assists — Sentinel 33 (Bone 30), Flathead 18 (Wilhelm 15). Aces — Sentinel 13 (Frohlich 3), Flathead 4 (Wilhelm 3).
Columbia Falls 3, Polson 0
COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls wrapped up a perfect regular season by defeating Polson 25-18, 25-19, 25-14 in the Northwest A and regular-season finale for both teams.
Up next is the Northwest A divisional, which starts Thursday in Columbia Falls. The Wildkats (14-0, 6-0) are the top seed.
“Wins and losses are something we don’t talkabout, but being undefeated, that’s something they can be proud of,” Columbia Falls Jessy Matthews said. “It was senior night and they played with a lot of emotion. They came out strong and our serving game was pretty tough, too.”
Columbia Falls had 10 aces, six by KJ Schweikert, to none for Polson.
Kills — Polson 25 (Haley Fyant 12), Columbia Falls 40 (Morgan Stenger 10, Kaitlyn Casazza 10), Blocks — Polson 2, Columbia Falls 3 (Cydney Finberg 2), Assists — Polson 21 (Kaelyn Smith 20), Columbia Falsl 30 (Finberg 30), Digs — Polson 20 (Kyler Lundeen 4, Hannah Fryberger 4), Columbia Falls 45 (Casazza 12), Aces — Polson 0,Columbia Falls 10 (KJ Schweikert 6).