Pirates battled hard at state

BOZEMAN — The Pirates got past several tough obstacles to get to state, only to get an even tougher draw at the All-Class State volleyball tournament at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

The team took off to Bozeman to take on defending state champs, the Fergus County Eagles. The Pirates’ first match was a quick, rough 3-0 loss to the Eagles.

Next, they faced a team that would work its way back up through the losers bracket, only to be bested by the Eagles. On Friday morning, the Pirates again took a 3-0 loss and were knocked out by the Miles City Cowgirls.

The season over, junior hitter Loni Havlovick said it’s time to focus on what the team can do to get better.

After a few tears and hugs, the players quickly turned talk to next year. The team loses no seniors to graduation, has several sophomores who have started varsity all year and has seen players like freshman Riley Kenney step up as role players.

Kenney played half the year on JV, and was bumped permanently to varsity after Havlovick was injured. Her serve was consistently difficult for teams to defend, earning her praise from her teammates.

“It was really encouraging to see people step up,” junior hitter Christa Redcrow said. “We have a freshman starting, I bet no other teams (at state) did that.”

Redcrow will be back as a hitter next year.

“I believe getting the opportunity to come here is going to help us out tremendously next year,” she said.

The team got to see how it’s done at the big, big dance. Junior Nicole Davey said they watched a Class-AA game, along with parts of other matches, and will be ready to return better prepared next year.

The Pirates’ manager, junior Natasha Lafferty, said she thought the team left it all on the court, and that’s all they could ask of themselves.  She is also planning to be back next year.

Match one: Polson vs. Fergus County

It was easy to see why the Fergus County Eagles are state champs this year.

The team is big, confident and knows how to throw down a well-placed hit. The Eagles gave the Pirates, who were making their first trip to state in 14 years, all they could handle and then some. 

The succinct Eagle offense was extremely hard to defend. Redcrow said the Pirates were struggling with passing throughout the tournament.

“We weren’t doing things to keep them from winning,” Redcrow said. “Our passing was killing us and we weren’t moving on defense.”

The Pirates traveled to Bozeman last Wednesday night, stopping once along the way for a practice, setter Kayla Duford said.

The team hadn’t seen the inside of the expansive Brick Breeden Fieldhouse until Thursday morning.

The Eagles took the court and came out with an early 14-11 lead, never allowing Polson to find its balance and get its offense flowing.

Most notably, the Pirates came out of the match with not one ace. The Pirates haven’t put a zero in that column in a long time. The Eagles had enough momentum  that Polson didn’t spend much time serving – period. Other  than a three-point run from Duford late in the third game, the Pirates were going one and out on their serves.

“We knew we didn’t play as well as we could have,” Havlovick said. 

Davey had 12 of the team’s 27 kills, stumping the Eagle’s defense several times. Junior Breanne Kelley had seven kills.

Although the junior was consistently running across the court, Duford had all of Polson’s assists.

Sophomore Sallie Sams had the only block.

Fergus took game one, 25-16, game two, 25-17 and game three, 25-19.

The Eagles would go on to win their second state championship in a row, beating Miles City 3-1 on Saturday.

Match two: Polson vs. Miles City

Friday morning the Pirates took on the Miles City Cowgirls, who lost on Thursday to Dillon. The loser out match didn’t start well or end well for the Pirates.

Polson lost the first match 25-16. The team, like Thursday against Fergus, was struggling with defending the quick offense. Miles City boasts a big crew - with several players pushing six-foot. The Cowgirls never let Polson find its footing.

The Pirates were forced to focus most of their energy at the back court, starting with passing. Benson was her usual self, leading the teams in digs, with 13. Kelley helped out with 12 digs.

Late in game two, the Pirates were still swinging hard. Kelley had several kills swinging from the left side of the court. Junior hitter Nicole Davey rotated into the spot and knocked a few down as well.

The team had only 26 kills in the match, Davey with six and Kelley with eight. 

The Cowgirls led 18-7 in game two. The offense wasn’t coming quickly or consistently enough for the Pirates. The Cowgirls kept hammering, blocking and passing well, winning match two 25-14.

“You try to keep yourself up, but the score just kept getting more gapped,” Redcrow said.

The Pirates only ace came from Kelley. Sophomore setter Kayla Duford had all of the team’s 20 assists.  The team’s three blocks were spread between Davey, Kelley and junior Loni Havlovick.

Havlovick was back during Thursday’s match, recording several kills and getting plays at the net, an encouraging sign for next years returner-loaded Pirate team. As she took the triple tape off her ankle after Friday’s match, she said her ankle was swollen and not at 100 percent. She’ll take December off to rehab it some more.

Sams stepped up for some good net play. The Pirates lost game three, 25-16, and finished their season with a tough loss, but did have bright spots throughout.

“Our coach just said she was proud of us,” Havlovick said. “She said just to be happy with our accomplishments.”

The Pirates headed back to Polson Friday afternoon. Many to turn around and start basketball tryouts on Monday. The winter sports season officially began Monday.