Charlo qualifies for divisionals; Arlee out

At the District 14C Volleyball Tournament in Hot Springs last Thursday and Friday, both the undefeated Charlo Lady Vikings and the second-seeded Arlee Scarlets succumbed to early-round bouts of hiccups that rerouted them from their anticipated trajectory of an all-Mission Valley semifinal into the consolation rounds — despite drawing first-round byes on account of their top tier regular schedule records.

Although Charlo had swept Plains during the regular season, the Trotters sprung an upset over the Lady Vikings to saddle them with their first loss of the season.

Arlee had split the regular schedule with Hot Springs, but the Lady Savage Heat singed the Scarlets in three sets that all extended into extras.

Once relegated to the consolation bracket, both teams would eventually meet up to face one another. Arlee would exorcize the Lady Red Devils of Noxon, while Charlo tamed the Lady Tigers from St. Regis. Thereafter, the Lady Vikings and Scarlets matched up in the fourth-place match, splitting the difference between the first two sets. The strategic third set would tilt in favor of Charlo, extending into extras with the Lady Vikings emerging with a set advantage, 28-26. The Scarlets would push hard to even the match, but their quarry evaded capture as Arlee fell 3-1 to finish fourth.

THE LADY VIKINGS were then tasked to cool off the Lady Savage Heat of Hot Springs, who put Charlo on notice as they captured the opening set by a 2:1 margin. Shocked into the realization that their postseason aspirations could very well ground to a halt, the Lady Vikings started to play more like the team reflected in their strong record and swept the next three sets to punch their ticket to the Western C Divisional as they vaulted into the championship for a rematch with Plains. It was the fourth match of the day for head coach Rhondell Volinkaty’s Charlo squad, including the last three in a row.

The championship between the Lady Vikings and the Trotters would be a genuine spikefest with both teams combining for just under a hundred kills. The match went to a fifth and final set, then extended into extras with the Trotters edging out the Lady Vikings for the District crown.

Plains will have a No. 1 seed going into the Western C Divisional Tournament this Thursday through Saturday at Manhattan Christian, and Charlo will have a No. 2 seed. Plains will face Twin Bridges (12-5), the runnerup in the District 12C Tournament, at 1 p.m. Charlo will take on undefeated District 12C champion Ennis (15-0) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

ARLEE FIRST-YEAR head coach Cortney Dix believes the quality of play in District 14C has improved overall.

“It’s a lot better volleyball now,” Dix said, and she gave credit to Plains and Hot Springs for their wins over Charlo and her Arlee team. “They came out with a lot more energy and motivation to win. I thought we were a little too relaxed. That was a big struggle.

“It was kind of cool see the lower seeds come out and fight for it,” Dix added.

DISTRICT 14C

(Results listed chronologically)

Plains over Noxon 3-2

Plains wins 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 13-25, 15-10

Plains stats — Aces: 10 (Emma Morgan 4). Assists: 30 (Haley Josephson 17). Blocks: 14 (Rachel Huenink 7). Kills: 42 (Kylee Altmiller 18, Huenink 16). Digs: 56 (Audrey Brown 18).

Hot Springs over St. Regis 3-1

Hot Springs wins 25-11, 15-25, 25-9, 25-7

Hot Springs stats — Aces: 12 (Katelyn Christensen 4). Assists: 32 (Sydney Jackson 23). Blocks: 8 (2 with 3). Kills: 33 (McKennzie Cannon 12). Digs: 37 (Sydney Jackson 9).

Plains over Charlo 3-1

Plains wins 27-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23

Plains stats — Aces: 7 (Dakota Butcher 2, Altmiller 2, Josephson 2). Assists: 31 (Josephson 22). Blocks: 12 (Huenink 8). Kills: 38 (Huenink 16, Altmiller 15). Digs: 50 ( Brown 22).

Hot Springs over Arlee 3-0

Hot Springs wins 26-24, 29-27, 26-24

Hot Springs stats — Aces: 11 (Sage Jackson 3). Assists: 26 (Sydney Jackson 24). Blocks 14 (Liz Fisher 7). Kills: 30 (McKennzie Cannon 11). Digs: 99 (Sage Jackson 25).

Arlee stats — Aces: 2 (Sydney Rogers 2). Assists: 37 (Rogers 36). Blocks: 3 (Nellie Desjarlais 2). Kills: 40 (Louetta Conko-Camel 13). Digs: 143 (Emily Fiddler 40).

Arlee over Noxon 3-1 (loser out)

Arlee wins 25-13, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17

Arlee stats — Aces: 10 (Tomi Brazill 5). Assists: 45 (Rogers 43). Blocks: 3 (Desjarlais 2). Kills: 51 (Conko-Camel 20). Digs: 121 (Fiddler 42).

Noxon stats not available

Charlo over St. Regis 3-0 (loser out)

Charlo wins 25-14, 25-12, 25-11

Charlo stats — Aces: 16 (Bella Hawk 6). Assists: 26 (Teaira Truman 25). Blocks: 3 (Kira McPhail 2). Kills: 27 (Kaitlin Cox & Hawk 7). Digs: 39 (Allie Delaney 9).

Plains over Hot Springs 3-0

Plains wins 25-13, 25-15, 25-23.

Plains stats — Aces: 5 (Morgan 2). Assists: 19 (Josephson 12). Blocks: 9 (Altmiller 6). Kills: 29 (Altmiller 11). Digs: 31 (Brown 12).

Hot Springs stats — Aces: 6 (Sydney Jackson 3). Assists: 15 (Sydney Jackson 13). Blocks: 8 (Cannon 5). Kills: 17 (Cannon 5). Digs: 51 (Sydney Jackson 11).

Charlo over Arlee 3-1 (loser out)

Charlo wins 25-15, 17-25, 28-26, 25-23

Arlee stats — Aces: 7 (Brazill 4). Assists: 37 (Rogers 36). Blocks: 6 (Noelle West 2, Shelby Smith 2, Desjarlais 2). Kills: 46 (Conko-Camel 15). Digs: 143 (Fiddler 37).

Charlo stats not available

Charlo over Hot Springs 3-1 (loser out)

Charlo wins 12-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-18

Hot Springs stats — Aces 4 (Sydney Jackson 2). Assists: 39 (Sydney Jackson 35). Blocks 6 (Cannon 6). Kills: 46 (Cannon 19). Digs: 99 (Sage Jackson 30).

Charlo stats not available

Championship Match

Plains over Charlo 3-2

Plains wins 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 18-16

Plains stats — Assists: 49 (Josephson 34). Blocks: 13 (Huenink 7). Kills: 57 (Altmiller 35). Digs: 69 (Brown 21).

Charlo stats — Assists: 32 (Truman 30). Blocks: 6. Kills: 40 (Cox 16). Digs: 40 (Cox 24).

— Joe Sova contributed to this article.