VOLLEYBALL: No. 4 Glacier blown out by No. 1 Sentinel
Fourth-ranked Glacier surrendered 20 of the match’s first 26 points and was swept at home by top-ranked and undefeated Missoula Sentinel, 25-9, 25-18, 25-16 Tuesday night in a meeting of the top two teams in the Western AA conference.
The Wolfpack (8-6, 3-2 Western AA) needed a timeout just seven points into game one and never recovered, falling behind 20-6 and looking up at the Spartans on the scoreboard most of the rest of the night.
“Clearly, we were not ready to play,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said. “I’m disappointed with our lack of competitiveness. Sentinel’s a good team; we didn’t give them much of a challenge today.”
Glacier came out stronger in game two as the two teams went back-and-forth, neither separating by more than one point until the Spartans went on a four-point run to lead 17-13. The Wolfpack was its own worst enemy early in the second game, struggling badly from the service line with service errors accounting for seven of Sentinel’s first 10 points.
“Clearly I need to do a better job preparing our servers,” Harkins said. “I’m not doing a good enough job.”
The Wolfpack did not record an ace in the match and were dominated at the net. Sentinel had more than twice as many kills (39-18) and Glacier notched just a single block, coming on the first point of the second game.
The Spartans (12-0, 5-0) have been the unanimous number one team in the state in the Class AA coaches poll each of the last two weeks and looked every bit the top team in Montana. Three Spartans — Elsa Goodwin, Shelby Schweyen and Kylie Frohlich — had 10 kills and Chelsea Bone passed out 31 assists.
“They’re great,” Harkins said of the Spartans. “They have competitive hitters at every spot and can put the ball away. They bounce back from errors that they make, which are few and far between. Their setter is great, their passers are solid, their servers are good. They’re a great team.”
Nikki Krueger and Kali Gulick had six kills apiece to lead Glacier. Brietta Russell led the defense with 10 digs.
Glacier will head south to take on Flathead in the first of two crosstown matches Thursday at 7 p.m.
Missoula Sentinel def. Glacier 25-9, 25-18, 25-16
Kills — Sentinel 39 (Elsa Goodwin 10, Shelby Schweyen 10, Kylie Frohlich 10), Glacier 18 (Nikki Krueger 6, Kali Gulick 6). Blocks — Sentinel 2 (no leader), Glacier 1 (no leader). Digs — Sentinel 34 (Sarina Moreno 13), Glacier 26 (Brietta Russell 10). Assists — Sentinel 37 (Chelsea Bone 31), Glacier 15 (Ashley Montini 8). Aces — Sentinel 6 (Moreno 3, Frohlich 3), Glacier 0.