Class C Districts: One team to rule them all

The District 10C tournament will be taking place and it looks

like two Lake County teams, Arlee and Charlo, will be duking it out

for supremacy.

CHARLO - Mark your calendars for Friday and Saturday.

Circle them. Maybe even put a star next to them. The District 10C tournament will be taking place and it looks like two Lake County teams, Arlee and Charlo, will be duking it out for supremacy.

The Lady Vikings, who are hosting districts, will have the No. 1 seed going into the event while Arlee will be No 2. Both schools ended their regular season with identical 9-1 conference records but a preseason tie-breaking draw determined Charlo as the higher seed.

"It's really no difference," Arlee head coach Brian Big Sam said. "I'm really happy with who we're playing."

Both Arlee and Charlo have byes in the first round. If they both win their second round game, they will face off against one another in the semi-finals. It is a true double-elimination tournament, with the top two teams moving on to divisionals.

"They're all going to be aiming at us," Big Sam said of the other teams in the conference.

The Scarlets and Lady Vikings seem like they're playing at a high level heading into the playoffs. In their last match of the regular season against Lincoln on Wednesday, Charlo didn't trail the entire night en route to a 3-0 victory over the Lynx.

"I think they're starting to gel," Charlo head coach Sheryl Kain said.

Other than 0-0, Charlo was tied just once, 12-12, in the second game, prompting Kain to call a time out.

"I told them that they need to be ready for the short [attacks]," Kain said.

She went on to say that it was very promising to see her teamwork and adjust around Lincoln's short attack and blocking at the net.

"We started to figure it out," Kain said. "They talked to each other a lot between plays."

Junior Kinley Pope paced the Lady Vikings in the matchup with eight aces and eight digs while junior Dawn Blevins added 20 assists and nine kills. During the Lincoln game and last Monday's match against Alberton, which was a 3-0 sweep, the Charlo gymnasium was full of pink shirts, including the team as this week Kain organized "Think Pink." There was a bake sale and raffle to help raise money for the St. Luke Foundation for mammogram screening to help low-income individuals.

"The response was awesome," Kain said. "Everybody was very generous and the community members were really into it."

The Lady Vikings also enjoyed the two games in their pink jerseys.

"The girls wanted to wear them to districts," Kain said.

Arlee also finished their season with two non-conference wins. The Scarlets swept Valley Christian 3-0 on Monday in Missoula and then wrapped up their regular season with a 3-1 victory over Lincoln.

When asked about what has been the key to his team's success this season, Big Sam said it was movement.

"They're hustling after everything," he said. "They're willing to move and go for everything."

Big Sam said that his team will need to come out with high spirits against Charlo, but that his team knows they can defeat the Lady Vikings as they did earlier in the season.

"I just wish we didn't have to play at their home courts for districts," Big Sam said.

The short distance between Arlee and Charlo should mean an easier trip for fans and family. That could add to an already pressure-packed environment that's sure to see some great volleyball.

"Charlo and us are going to have to play at the top of our game," Big Sam said.