Polson hosts divisional tourney

Jenna Cederberg

POLSON - The Northwestern-A divisional volleyball tournament will begin today at 5 p.m. with a match between No. 5 Whitefish and No. 4 Columbia Falls at the Linderman Elementary School gym. The No. 3 Pirates and area rival No. 6 Ronan play tonight at 7 p.m.

Six teams will compete at Linderman Middle School this weekend for the two state tournament spots. The All-Class state tournament will be held in Bozeman Nov. 20-22.

Libby comes in as the dominant force, with a 8-1 record. The Loggers only loss was to Bigfork earlier in the season.

The Libby team has a bye for the first round; they will play the winner of the 5 p.m. Thursday match.

Polson leapfrogged Whitefish in the second half of the regular season, beating both Bigfork and Whitefish, for a 6-3 record.

The Pirates, who have home court advantage, are coming off a tough 3-0 loss to Bigfork last Thursday. With the loss, the Pirates saw the No. 2 conference spot slip away, but went 2-0 against Ronan this year - most recently beating the Maidens on Oct. 31 in Polson, 3-0.

Ronan comes in without a conference win, but with eight seniors who know it's their last chance to shine.

Both Whitefish and Bigfork have plenty of seniors as well, and team histories of playing well during the post season. Whitefish won the state from 2005-2007, losing to Fergus County High school in 2008 for second place.

The tournament will conclude with the championship match at 5 p.m. on Saturday, with a second deciding match at 7 p.m., if necessary.