Pack, Bravettes ready for divisional volleyball
Glacier would like to at least hold serve at this weekend’s Western AA Divisional volleyball tournament, which starts today in Missoula. Flathead would like to do a little more.
Both teams are vying for one of four berths into the all-class state tournament Nov. 10-12 in Bozeman. Glacier comes in as the No. 3 seed and takes on Missoula Hellgate at 6 p.m. at the Hellgate gym; Flathead is the No. 5 seed and battles Helena Capital at 2:30 p.m. at Big Sky High School.
The Bravettes and Bruins tied for fourth in the Western AA, and Capital got the higher seed via two regular-season wins over Flathead. But the Bravettes climbed the standings late in the regular season, including a sweep of Hellgate and Big Sky last week.
“I think we have good momentum going into this week,” Flathead coach Emily Russell said. “We told the team, ‘The new season begins Monday.’ We’re looking forward to playing Capital again, and showing how our team plays its best. We’re coming off two awesome wins last week, and we’re looking to keep it going.”
Flathead has a number of players racking up stats, led by Sienna Sterck. The junior ranks second in the conference in kills and leads in aces. In fact four Bravettes rank in the league’s top 10 in aces: Olive Lyngholm — who is also among the leaders in kills and digs — is also a top server along with Emma DeLong and Cyan Mooney.
“Serving and passing, we’ve been in the top 10 every single week,” Russell said.
Capital has standouts in middle blockers Tey’Ana Lintner and Nyeala Herndon, but the Bruins have struggled at times. Russell noted they needed to rally from two sets down to beat No. 8 seed Butte last week.
“It’s anybody’s game,” Russell said. “We just have to be mentally tough going into divisionals.”
Glacier won its two regular-season meetings with Hellgate, including one last week, but both went five sets.
The Knights have Camille Sherrill filling up the stat book (she leads the league in kills per set) and a new coach with a great pedigree: Hellgate alum Erin Keffeler guided Missoula Sentinel to back-to-back State AA titles in 2016-17.
“Close matches, but we came out on top,” Wolfpack coach Courtney Baker said. “(Sherrill) is a strong player, and they’re very well coached. Being in their home gym won’t be easy.
“We’ve had a great week of practice and we’ve prepped well. I think we’ve peaked at the right time. They’re showing a lot of heart, and I think we’re ready to go.”
Glacier’s Haven Speer is the lone Western AA player among the top 10 in both kills and assists; Sarah Downs and Ella Farrell lend more muscle to the attack.
Maddie Frazier is among the league leaders in digs, and Baker looks for continued strong play from defensive middles Kenedee Moore and Natalie Herne.
“We’re excited to compete and we’re looking forward to a great weekend,” Baker said.
The tournament concludes Saturday at Big Sky; the championship is at 4 p.m.
