VOLLEYBALL: Glacier fends off Flathead

Nikki Krueger blasted 23 kills and Glacier overcome a boisterous crowd and a loss in the opening game to win the first crosstown match of the year, at Flathead, 20-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-20 Thursday night.

Both school’s student bodies showed up en masse at a loud and muggy Flathead gym, injecting instant energy into a volleyball match that saw neither team create much separation in any game. The largest lead in the match for either side was seven points.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Bravettes coach Courtney Baker said after the match. “The student sections were awesome. There was one point where I was yelling as loud as I could and I couldn’t even hear myself.”

“Playing at Flathead is a huge atmosphere, I’m going to say it’s probably better than Glacier because of how it’s built,” Krueger, Glacier’s middle/outside hitter, said. “It helps you want to jump higher and hit harder and make them cheer louder.”

Krueger was a force from the outset, the 6-foot-1 senior ferociously attacking the Flathead defense all night. Her 23 kills were only 10 fewer than the entire Bravettes team, and she would have had more were it not for 73 digs from the Flathead back line.

“I thought Nikki was great tonight,” Wolfpack coach Christy Harkins said. “We took her out of the back row a little bit to give her a little bit of a break knowing it was going to be a tough match and she was going to be doing a lot of jumping. I thought she responded really well in the front row.”

“I felt so much better coming off the bench than I have in a while,” Krueger said. “Playing all the way around is definitely draining. It was a huge advantage to me, coming off of fresh legs, and it helped my team.”

A young Flathead (2-10, 1-4 Western AA) team that started two sophomores and a freshman was not intimidated by the rowdy atmosphere, taking the first game and rallying back from a five-point deficit to tie the second game at 24.

Glacier was resilient, though, winning the second game 26-24 and bouncing back after a 10-3 lead turned into a 13-12 deficit in game three. The Wolfpack would answer with an 11-2 run. Glacier would not trail again in either of the last two games.

“That’s one of the hardest things about volleyball is the ebbs and flows are so huge,” Harkins said. “If you can even them out a little bit then you’ll be better. We continue to work on trying to stay a little bit tough in the head.”

The Wolfpack (9-6, 4-2) switched formations during the match, using Ashley Montini as their sole setter, and the junior responded with a match-high 36 assists.

“We’ve never done that before, we’ve never even practiced it before,” Harkins said of the formation change. “[Montini] took that right on and said ‘I can do that’ and I was really pleased with her effort there.”

Kali Gulick added four blocks for Glacier. The Wolfpack has won four times in its last five matches.

Senior Allie Gagnon led Flathead with 11 kills and classmate Tiana Johnson had seven blocks. The Bravettes defense was terrific, easily outpacing Glacier in blocks (11-5) and digs (73-49).

“Abbi Chavez (21 digs) had a big night defensively and that was something we were really focusing on,” Baker said. “I’m really proud of my girls. That was a fun game.”

Freshman Julia Burden added seven kills against only one error for the Bravettes, who will travel to take on undefeated Missoula Sentinel on Saturday.

“What I’ve been telling the girls is ‘tough situations make you better,’” Baker said. “We want to be put in 25-27 games and we want to battle because at the end of the season, when it matters, we will have learned a lot of lessons.”

The second and final crosstown match of the regular season will be at Glacier, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

Glacier def. Flathead 20-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-20

Kills — Glacier 62 (Nikki Krueger 23), Flathead 33 (Allie Gagnon 11). Blocks — Glacier 5 (Kali Gulick 4), Flathead 11 (Tiana Johnson 7). Digs — Glacier 49 (Brietta Russell 20), Flathead 73 (Abbi Chavez 21), Assists — Glacier 53 (Ashley Montini 36), Flathead 24 (Sierra Wilhelm 23). Aces — Glacier 8 (no leader), Flathead 6 (Julia Burden 2).