Polson, Ronan volleyball teams gear up for postseason and each other

POLSON - After toughing it out, Polson junior Riley Kenney has decided to rest her injured shoulder.

"She's such a gamer," head coach Jan Toth said. "We have to physically keep her off the court."

Her shoulder, which has been diagnosed as a separation, flared up before last Wednesday's game against Corvallis and even though Kenney didn't say anything to Toth about it, the head coach could just tell something was very wrong with her player.

"You could just watch her and know she was hurting," Toth said.

Toth told her she was done and decided the best option was to rest until hopefully the team was in the state tournament but remain a core central part of the team in spirit.

"She is having to redefine her role," Toth said. "I just need her presence, she is so strong, we need her."

Toth adjusted her lineup and made changes as Polson defeated Hamilton 3-0 behind 19 kills by senior Breanne Kelley and Corvallis 3-1 last Wednesday.

However, they would get a rare taste of defeat on Saturday, dropping a matchup against Dillon 3-2.

"It was tough to lose," Toth said. "They weren't used to it."

It was the first match to go to five games for the Pirates in two years.

Toth said key serves hurt the Lady Pirates, but for the most part, the game allowed players to step up against the No. 1 team from the South.

Juniors Kenzie Clay and Ashley Johnson both had 11 kills in that match, despite a 6'3" player for Dillon that tried to impose blocks.

"I told them after the game that if this is the worst game they play then you can't hang your head," Toth said. "We had kids play the games of their lives."

Toth said the girls are in great spirits and that they just didn't like the feeling of losing to Dillon.

"It was good to lose now," she said. "They can feel how much they hate losing."

With conference matches against Columbia Falls and Ronan this week, the Lady Pirates will be working on strategy and plays that showcase the power hitters on the team. They know what Ronan is capable of, as the Maidens took the first game from Polson when the two teams played earlier in the season. Polson ended up winning 3-1.

"It's a bittersweet rivalry, it's definitely not a negative one," Toth said. "They have a lot of respect for that team."

The Lady Pirates do want to erase that loss to Dillon by finishing the season strong.

"It's pretty important to go into the postseason off a win," Polson head coach Jan Toth said.

Ronan is coming off two losses last week. They lost to Frenchtown last Tuesday 3-0 despite five kills apiece from senior Tailyr Irvine and sophomore Whisper Ivin.

Then they lost to Hamilton 3-1 on Saturday with seniors Marissa McCrea tallying 26 digs and Alice Van Gunten leading the Maidens with 11 kills.

With several players on Ronan that once played for the Lady Pirates, it's sure to be an emotional and tense end to the regular season.

Then it's off to divisionals.

"Divisionals is a whole different season in itself," Ronan head coach Naomi Mock said. "Whatever you did in the season gets thrown out the window."

One can't really throw what both Ronan and Polson accomplished during the season out of the window, per se, as Ronan showed a great amount of improvement with a third-place finish and the Lady Pirates finished atop the conference.

"They need to come out with the attitude that nothing can come between them and the ball," Mock said.

While Polson and Whitefish we're the top two teams in the standings, Columbia Falls will be the host and have the home court advantage to help back them up.

"They need to believe in it, be aggressive and have fun," Mock said of her team. "I'm hoping they'll keep the momentum going forward."

The Northwestern A Divisionals will take place next weekend at Columbia Falls, on Nov. 4-6.