Lady Pirates battle their way to third-place finish
POLSON — The dust has settled after a weekend jam-packed with volleyball action, and while there is still room for improvement, a promising season looks to be in store for head coach Jan Toth and the Polson volleyball program.
Hosting the season-opening Northwestern A/Southwestern A Tip-Off Tournament at both the high school and Linderman Elementary, the Lady Pirates got the chance to see how they stack up against divisional competition as well as opponents from throughout the western half of the state.
The 12-team tournament format pitted each school against all six teams from the opposite conference in pool play. Overall, the Southwestern A schools flexed their muscle and outperformed the northerners, as only Stevensville toted a losing record into the championship round, while just one Northwestern school (Frenchtown, 7-5) finished above .500 in pool play.
After splitting against every team they faced in pool play and clawing their way to a 6-6 mark, Toth’s squad proved that they can play with anybody. Though the .500 mark may be unassuming to some pundits, others are taking the “glass half full” outlook at this early point in the season when hope springs eternal.
The highlight from pool play came in Polson’s second taste of action on Friday, when the went up against juggernaut (and eventual tournament champion) Corvallis.
The Lady Pirates handed the Blue Devils their only loss of the tournament when they prevailed 25-21 in their opening bout.
Following the conclusion of pool play, the teams were ranked within their conference based on their cumulative records, and then pitted against a foe from the opposing conference with the corresponding rank.
The Lady Pirates, the second-best Northwestern school, drew Anaconda, who, at 10-2, boasted the second-best round-robin mark overall, in a rematch to decide the tournament’s third-place team.
The pairing would result in another confidence-building takeaway, as the Lady Pirates unseated the Anaconda Copperheads to lay claim to third-place in the tournament.
Despite being underdogs heading into the battle for third, Polson mustered a spirited rally with their backs to the ropes to the best-of-three finale after dropping the opening contest.
Toth’s players weren’t the only ones in purple and gold who were taking care of business on the court, as another positive that the program can take away from the weekend is the strongly encouraging play of the JV team, who more than held their own against varsity competition.
The only JV unit represented at the tournament, the up-and-coming Lady Pirates notched four wins and finished eighth overall in the 12-team competition.