Polson ends season with deep run into divisional tournament
Polson, Ronan, Charlo and Arlee all moved on to their respective divisional tournaments this past weekend. Arlee and Charlo traveled to Butte, Ronan traveled to Libby, and Polson went to Hamilton.
ARLEE
After gaining momentum and confidence in the district tournament, the Scarlets went into the divisional tournament in second place. They took on a tough Ennis team in the first game. Ennis would have 34 kills to Arlee’s 12, which made winning tough. The Scarlets were defeated by 13 or more in each of the three games to lose their first match. Junior Bryndle Goyins had five kills for the team, and fellow junior Carly Hergett had four of the Arlee’s seven blocks. Megan Reed had the team’s only ace, Abby Yocum had three digs, and Becca Whitesell had 10 assists.
On Friday, Arlee dropped down to the backside of the bracket, taking on White Sulphur Springs, who had beat Charlo the day before. The Scarlets had better luck than the Vikings, but they would still take the loss. They lost the first game by two, the second by four, and took the third to extra points, losing 25-27. The loss ended their season. In that match, Carly Hergett and Ashley Revis each had 10 kills, and Hergett also contributed five blocks and three aces. Yocum had 11 digs and Becca Whitesell had 26 assists in her last volleyball game as a Scarlet.
Ennis def. Arlee, 25-12, 25-10, 25-12.
Kills – Arlee 12 (Bryndle Goyins 5), Ennis 34 (Caitlin Klatt 9). Blocks – Arlee 7 (Carly Hergett 4), Ennis 10 (Jourdain Klein 6.5). Digs – Arlee 15 (Abby Yocum 3), Ennis 38 (Klatt 9). Assists – Arlee 11 (Becca Whitesell 10), Ennis 31 (Makenzie Moen 24). Aces – Arlee 1 (Megan Reed), Ennis 10 (Brigit Croy 4).
White Sulphur Springs def. Arlee, 25-23, 25-21, 27-25.
Kills – Arlee 30 (Carly Hergett 10, Ashley Revis 10), White Sulphur 34 (Mesa Williams 7). Blocks – Arlee 7 (Hergett 5), White Sulphur 3 (Williams 1.5). Digs – Arlee 30 (Abby Yocum 11), White Sulphur 38 (Meghan Tome 9, Amber Coburn 9). Assists – Arlee 29 (Becca Whitesell 26), White Sulphur 29 (Cassie Coburn 27). Aces – Arlee 9 (Megan Reed 3, Hergett 3), White Sulphur 8 (Tome 3).
CHARLO
After a strong regular season, the Charlo Vikings struggled at districts and snuck into the divisional tournament in third place. On Thursday they took on White Sulphur Springs, with Valley Christian awaiting the winner. White Sulphur Springs would come out strong, defeating the Vikings by ten points in the first game. In the second, Charlo, who was playing their sixth match in six days, didn’t get much closer, losing 25-17. The third was more of the same, and Charlo dropped their first match of the divisional tournament. Kaitlin Cox had seven kills and an ace for the Vikings. Ashley Tryon had four blocks, and Mikaylan Roylance had 25 out of the 103 digs by Charlo. She also had 13 of their 14 assists.
The next morning, Charlo took on Seeley-Swan, a team that had given the Vikings their only regular season loss. The Vikings were pounded by hits from the Blackhawks, and managed only 17 kills compared to their 30. The first game was close, but Charlo lost momentum in the second before regaining some of it in the third. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough for the Vikings, who ended their season with just five losses.
In her last high school volleyball game, senior Mikaylan Roylance had 21 digs and all 11 assists for her team. Fellow seniors Ashley Tryon and Jaycee Andersen had good games as well. Tryon had five blocks and Andersen had two aces. Kaitlin Cox added eight kills.
White Sulphur Springs def. Charlo 25-15, 25-17, 25-15
Kills – Charlo 17 (Kaitlin Cox 7), White Sulphur 26 (Mesa Williams 7). Blocks – Charlo 10 (Ashley Tryon 4), White Sulphur 10 (Williams 6). Digs – Charlo 103 (Mikaylan Roylance 25), White Sulphur 45 (Meaghan Tome 15). Assists – Charlo 11 (Roylance 11), White Sulphur 23 (Cassie Coburn 20). Aces – Charlo 5 (Three with 1), White Sulphur 5 (Tome 3).
Seeley-Swan def. Charlo, 25-22, 25-10, 25-18.
Kills – Charlo 17 (Kaitlin Cox 8), Seeley-Swan 30 (Paige Holmes 10). Blocks – Charlo 13 (Ashley Tryon 5), Seeley-Swan 6 (Holmes 3). Digs – Charlo 112 (Mikaylan Roylance 21), Seeley-Swan 56 (Holmes 13). Assists – Charlo 14 (Roylance 13), Seeley-Swan 23 (Alex Bohlman 11). Aces – Charlo 4 (Jaycee Andersen 2, Cox 2), Seeley-Swan 10 (Holmes 8).
RONAN
The Ronan Maidens traveled to Libby this past week to compete in the Western B divisional tournament. After a good district tournament, the Maidens were hoping to continue with their success. In their first match, they took on Thompson Falls. Although they lost in three, they improved in each game, losing by less in each. Ashley Peterson had six kills and Lee Camel added three. Sadie Wirz had 17 of Ronan’s 48 digs, and Tania Ulutoa had four aces. Shaina Snyder had a kill, four digs, and seven assists.
With the loss, Ronan dropped down to take on Eureka. In the first game, Ronan had all of the momentum, winning by 11 points. Then, in the second, Eureka came back to win 25-20. The third was Ronan’s, and the fourth was Eureka’s. That led to a fifth game, which went in Eureka’s favor by a score of 15-12. The tough loss ended Ronan’s season, although they didn’t go down without fight. Shaina Snyder and Lee Camel each had 10 kills for the team. Jordyn Clairmont had 16 assists, and Sadie Wirz had 34 of the Maidens’ 100 digs. Snyder also had six aces for the Maidens.
Thompson Falls def. Ronan 25-15, 25-17, 25-18
RONAN- Kills (11) Ashley Peterson-6, Lee Camel-3, Shaina Snyder, Siliye Pete, Alicia Camel-1. Digs (48) Sadie Wirz-17, Tania Ulutoa-9, Jordyn Clairmont-8, Ashley Peterson-5, Shaina Snyder-4. Aces (9) Ulutoa-4, A. Camel-2. Blocks (2) Lee Camel-2. Assists (10) Snyder-7, Clairmont-2.
Eureka def. Ronan 14-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 15-12
Kills — Ronan 36 (Shaina Snyder, Lee Camel 10). Assists — Ronan 30 (Jordyn Clairmont 16). Digs — Ronan 100 (Sadie Wirz 34). Blocks — Ronan 8 (Camel 5). Aces — Ronan 14 (Snyder 6).
POLSON
By JOHN HEGLIE
At Hamilton during the Western A Divisional, the Lady Pirates competed in their opening round exercise against Corvallis with the intent of binding the strengths of the Lady Blue Devils with the equivalent of a volleyball ritual exorcism. But the 2013 State A champion and eventual 2015 Western A Divisional champs proved too elusive for such tactics and refused to cooperate. Twice as many spikes by Corvallis coupled with the 3:1 ratio advantage from the service line would prove counterproductive toward a favorable Polson outcome. The Lady Pirates had hung a 27-25 loss on Corvallis upon the inception of the season back at the Tip-Off Tournament, but their opponent had vastly improved since that early encounter. Haley Fyant and Chadelle Smith combined for a dozen spikes, while Lydia Dupuis and Hannah Fryberger combined for a quartet of service aces. Polson (6-9) slid into the consolation rounds to face Stevensville.
The expression “third time is the charm” provides an apropos assessment of this consolation round skirmish, but the beneficiary of this close encounter of a third kind would hang in the balance until the outcome of the fifth and final set. The Lady Pirates had swept their regular schedule games against Stevi 3-0 and 3-1, but the Lady Yellowjackets showed that they still packed plenty of sting in their offensive attack. Stevensville would manufacture more kills over the duration of this match than their cumulative combined total from their previous pair of encounters. Two of the sets would venture into extras to determine a winner, but the Lady Pirates ratcheted up their game and captured the final two sets to capture the match.
Chadelle Smith and Haley Fyant combined for 28 spikes, while Hannah Fryberger served up a quintet of aces. At the defensive end of the spectrum, Lauren Lefthand stuffed four and a half blocks, while Shawna Lenz, Lydia Dupuis and Fyant notched double digits as they combined for 31 defensive digs. Polson (7-9) advanced another round to face the Beaverhead County Lady Beavers from Dillon.
The Lady Pirates rallied from a one set deficit by sweeping the final trio of games against the Lady Beavers from Dillon. Chadelle Smith and Haley Fyant combined for 30 kills, while Erin Sampson along with Marlee Congdon generated seven service aces. At the defensive end, Polson got a quartet of blocks at the net with Lauren Lefthand in collaboration with Chadelle Smith, Nichole Lake along with Fyant, while Congdon as well as Lydia Dupuis collaborated upon 25 defensive digs. Polson (7-9) advanced another round to face NWA runnerup Whitefish (11-5).
The volleyball spikefest between the Lady Pirates and the Lady Bulldogs during the consolation semifinal rated as one of the marquee matches of the entire Western A Divisional. The outcome of two sets required playing into extras to determine who would prevail in this loser out campaign. This four set match yielded the second highest spike total among tournament tilts, one of a quartet that cumulatively crested the century plateau for combined team kills with the remainder encompassing five set skirmishes.
While the outcome did not yield the preferred result for the purple and gold, perhaps Lady Pirate players can derive some solace from their marathon efforts which provided an apt illustration of the expression, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” The epic 35-33 third set marathon will go down as one of the longest played games among the annals of Lady Pirate volleyball records. Trailing by two sets to a team that had swept them in straight sets during the regular season, these Lady Bucs buckled down and refused to go quietly into the night. This particular game would seesaw back and forth so many times that it’s a wonder heads didn’t swim from dizziness or necks sustain whiplash. While Polson would have preferred to punch their ticket to state with a win, head coach Patty Luetzen acknowledged that she was pleased that her team made their presence known by peaking at the right juncture of the season.
At the team contribution level, Polson spiked more kills in this contest than their cumulative totals stemming from their two regular schedule matches (17+24) combined. In terms of individual accomplishments, Haley Fyant generated more kills during the course of this loss than the team as a whole accrued during either of their regular season skirmishes against this same Whitefish squad.
In this finale, Polson held a slight edge on attack as well as at the service line, and even out blocked the taller Lady Bulldog lineup. At the defensive end of the spectrum, Fyant, Nicole Lake and a concerted Smith combo collaborated on nine stuffs, while seniors Marlee Congdon, Lydia Dupuis along with Shawna Lenz combined for just under three dozen defensive digs.
Polson (8-10) wraps up their season and bids farewell to a sensational set of seniors that include Julia Sanderson, Marlee Congdon, Shawna Lenz, Erin Sampson, Lydia Dupuis and Nichole Lake.
Thursday
Corvallis def. Polson, 25-18, 25-21, 25-14
Kills – Corvallis 37 (Hannah Capko 13), Polson 18 (Haley Fyant 7). Blocks – Corvallis 5 (Genesis Keith 3), Polson 4 (Chadelle Smith 2). Digs – Corvallis 56 (Holly Wilson 12, Ashley Davis 12, Taia Tully 12), Polson 29 (Lydia Dupuis 9). Assists – Corvallis 36 (Wilson 32), Polson 18 (Erin Sampson 18). Aces – Corvallis 17 (Tully 5), Polson 5 (Dupuis 2, Hannah Fryberger 2).
Polson def. Stevensville, 23-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-13, 15-12
KILLS – Stevensville 53 (Mariah Hinson 16), Polson 43 (Chadelle Smith 14). ACES – Stevensville 12 (McCoy 4), Polson 10 (Hannah Fryberger 5). ASSISTS – Stevensville 46 (Rylee McCoy 45), Polson 43 (Erin Sampson 42). BLOCKS – Stevensville 9 (Tori Scothorn 4), Polson 7 (Lauren Lefthand 4). DIGS – Stevensville 95 (Abby Austin 26), Polson (Shawna Lenz 11).
Friday
Polson def. Dillon 15-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-18
KILLS – Dillon 29 (Lexie Belice 9, Kylie Christiansen 8), Polson 47 (Chadelle Smith 15, Haley Fyant 15, Lauren Lefthand 9). ACES – Dillon 15 (Alex Rouse 5, Bailey Berriochoa 4, Adrianna Pittman 4), Polson 8 (Erin Sampson 4, Marlee Congdon 3). ASSISTS – Dillon 28 (Berriochoa 23), Polson 40 (Sampson 40). BLOCKS – Dillon 5 (Belice 1BS+1BA, Christiansen 1BS+1BA), Polson 4 (). DIGS – Dillon 77 (Kodi Ferris 18, Christiansen 16, Alex Rouse 14), Polson 49 (Congdon 14, Lydia Dupuis 11, Shawna Lenz 8).
Whitefish def. Polson, 28-26, 25-22, 33-35, 25-19
KILLS – Whitefish 54 (Cailyn Ross 18), Polson 57 (Haley Fyant 27, Chadelle Smith 17, Nichole Lake 5, Kaelyn Smith 5, Lauren Lefthand 2, Julia Sanderson). ACES – Whitefish 10 (Allie Schulz 3, Ellie Dewan 3, Serena Hemmingson 3), Polson 11 (Shawna Lenz 3, Lydia Dupuis 3, Hannah Fryberger 2, Erin Sampson, Marlee Congdon, Fyant). ASSISTS – Whitefish 54 (Schulz 28), Polson 55 (Erin Sampson 51, Shawna Lenz 2, Lydia Dupuis, Lake). BLOCKS – Whitefish 7 (Ross 2, Schulz 2), Polson 9 (Fyant 3, Lake 2, C.Smith 2, K.Smith 2). DIGS – Whitefish 72 (Dewan 19), Polson 57 (Marlee Congdon 14, Dupuis 11, Lenz 9, Sampson 6, Kyler Lundeen 5, Fyant 5, C.Smith 4, Hannah Fryberger 2, Sanderson).