Wolfpack falls to Bulldogs in three
Glacier's Sidney Gulick (2) bumps against Butte during Round 1 of the Western AA Volleyball Tournament at Glacier High School on Thursday, Nov. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier head coach Christy Harkins talks to the Wolfpack during a timeout against Butte during Round 1 of the Western AA Volleyball Tournament at Glacier High School on Thursday, Nov. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier's Haven Speer (3) sets for a teammate against Butte during Round 1 of the Western AA Volleyball Tournament at Glacier High School on Thursday, Nov. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Sidney Gulick did some heavy lifting for the Glacier Wolfpack Thursday at the Western AA Divisional tournament but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Butte Bulldogs, who won 3-0.
The Bulldogs get to play in the semifinals while Glacier will face Missoula Hellgate in a loser-out match today at 11 a.m.
Butte won the first set 25-21. The Bulldogs trailed most of the way in set two but went on a 4-0 run to close it out and win 25-23.
Glacier led the third set 7-5 after going down 4-2, but once the Bulldogs went up 10-8, they never trailed again, though the Woflpack did tie once.
Butte went on an 11-2 run to end the third set, complete the sweep and advance to the semifinal, where it will play Missoula Sentinel, who beat Hellgate earlier Thursday.
Gulick’s 14 kills and 13 digs led the Wolfpack, as did Haven Speer’s 21 assists and 10 digs. Maddie Frazier had 19 assists.
For the Bulldogs, Brooke McGrath contributed nine kills, four blocks and 14 digs and Mollee Conlan had four blocks, 13 digs, and two aces. Katie Keller recorded 19 of Butte’s 32 assists.
Notably, Glacier had no service aces, though it did have more kills than Butte, 29-24, and digs (67-57).
Glacier fell to 12-13 overall. Butte is now 10-15. The Wolfpack had beaten Butte in both previous meetings this year.
Looking ahead to today’s games, Glacier defeated Hellgate twice in the regular season and as recently as Oct. 26. Butte also has lost twice to Sentinel.
The top four teams at the Western AA tournament earn a spot at the state tournament in Bozeman, on Nov. 11-13.
Butte def. Glacier 25-21, 25-23, 25-16
Kills — Butte 24 (Ashley Olson 12, Brooke McGrath 9, Kennadie McMahon 8); Glacier 29 (Sidney Gulick 14). Assists — Butte 32 (Katie Keller 19, Olivia Quinn 12); Glacier 24 (Haven Speer 21). Blocks — Butte 8 (Mollee Conlan 4, Olson 4, McGrath 4); Glacier 2 (Ella Farrell 2). Digs — Butte 57 (McGrath 14, Conlan 13, Jordyn Bolton 11); Glacier 67 (Maddie Frazier 19, Gulick 13, Speer 10). Aces — Butte 4 (Conlan 2); Glacier 0.