Frantic finish in Frenchtown

FRENCHTOWN — The Lady Pirates were down 14-9 in the fifth game of their match against Frenchtown last Thursday, but reeled off seven-straight points to knock off their Northwestern A rivals 26-28, 25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 16-14.

FRENCHTOWN — The Lady Pirates were down 14-9 in the fifth game of their match against Frenchtown last Thursday, but reeled off seven-straight points to knock off their Northwestern A rivals 26-28, 25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 16-14.

With her team on the cusp of defeat, Polson head coach Jan Toth knew she needed to get her team refocused if they were to pull off the remarkable comeback.

“I called a timeout and told the kids that it wasn’t over,” Toth said. “We play point-for-point.”

That’s when her daughter Jaiden stepped up to the service line and led her team on its incredible scoring streak.

“That showed a lot of poise on her part as a sophomore,” Jan Toth said. “She is just mentally tough. I was really proud to see her be able to gain the confidence and know that she belongs on that court.”

She led the team with four aces on the day, while also coming away with the second-highest dig total on the team with 20.

Toth said the Lady Pirates didn’t start the match as fiery as they finished, worrying more about their opponents than themselves.

“At the beginning I think they weren’t playing to win, they were playing not to lose,” Toth said. “They just wanted to stay with them.”

However, she saw them them gradually gain confidence once they started putting some aggression into their hits.

“We were a little apprehensive to come out swinging, but when we did it was huge and [Frenchtown] couldn’t return,” Toth said.

Each player on the team seemed to step up their games in the match, according to Toth, giving her numerous tools to use at her disposal.

“This was the first time all year that all my hitters were ready to hit,” Toth said. “To be able to have all our hitters available, you’re going to win.”

One of those hitters was Chloie Huerta, who looked “absolutely powerful” in the match  and finally showcased her full potential according to Toth.

“She had a big game for us,” Toth said. “I think this was her coming out. I saw it in her face. At one point, I looked at her and could tell she had that self-confidence that she hadn’t quite grasped yet.”

Huerta racked up 17 kills, nine digs and posted two aces against the Broncs.

Jessica Hoel also lit up Frenchtown with her hitting, tallying 14 kills on the day.

“She doesn’t get a lot of sets, but when she does she puts it down,” Toth said. “She has a lot of finesse. She was playing awesome.”

Tanisha Matt had a strong showing in the kills department, notching eight of the team’s 64 kills in the match.

However, it was Heidi Rausch who led all Lady Pirates in this category hitting the Broncs for 19 kills  on the day. She also notched 15 digs, an ace and a block.

The beneficiary of all these great hitting weapons was standout setter Shalaina Duford, who connected with her teammates for 53 assists in the match.

“Shay did a great job finding all of her hitters,” Toth said. 

Duford also helped her team out with 18 digs, three kills, an ace and a block against Frenchtown.

Libero Mackenzie Banner shined on defense, leading the Lady Pirates with 29 digs. She had two aces in the match as well.

Polson (3-1, 2-1) looks to be hitting its stride as the team prepares to take on Thompson Falls on the road on Sept. 20.

From what the Lady Pirates showed against the Broncs, Toth is confident her team will be able to handle anything thrown at them.

“What showed me so much about their character was their self-confidence to play through and to be able to play point-by-point in that fifth game,” Toth said. “To beat great teams at divisionals and state, we’re not going to be able to beat them in three and four [games].”