Bulldogs battle, bested at Western B
At Eureka for the Western B Divisional, the third-seeded Mission St. Ignatius Lady Bulldogs would battle valiantly in a pair of matches, but would get fenced off from any further postseason forays.
Victimized by Vipers
In their opening round, Mission would stretch the Lady Copperheads in the first set that gravitated into the 20s. But Anaconda would squeeze its way out of the tight space to take a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs battled into the mid to high teens over the course of the next two sets, but the second-seed from neighboring District 6B would capture the match with a sweep.
Karolyna Buck, Olivia Garland and Syd Brander combined for a dozen and a half kills. Brander and Hunter Eichert each served multiple service aces. River Gonzalez led the Lady Bulldogs with a dozen digs.
Wardens on lock down
In their subsequent consolation round, the 6B Lady Wardens and the 7B Lady Bulldogs would embark upon a marathon that not only extended five sets like their last encounter toward the end of September, but would also include the longest running set of the postseason to date.
Mission took charge in the first set, 25-20, for a 1-0 lead in an attempt to shape the tempo of the contest. But Deer Lodge battled back in the second set to knot the contest at one apiece despite the Lady Bulldogs tallying among the high teens.
The third set would stretch well beyond typical parameters as both teams pushed the other beyond regulation, battling back and forth in an ebb and flow contest until the Lady Wardens were able to lock down the final two points at 33-31 to gain a 2-1 set advantage.
Mission would knot the contest up again at two sets apiece with a 25-22 finish.
The fifth set finale would go down to the wire, both teams tallying among the teens. But the Lady Wardens of Deer Lodge would prevail to take the match and advance to the next round.
Sydney Brander, Karolyna Buck, Olivia Garland and Courtney Mitchell collaborated on more than fifty kills in the marathon match. Azia Umphrey, Garland and Brander each stroked multiple service aces. Collaborating on more than six dozen defensive digs were River Gonzalez, Hunter Eichert, Mitchell and Umphrey.
2019 postseason prep VB longest extending sets:
Western B: Deer Lodge def. Mission 33-31,
District 11C: Lone Peak def. White Sulphur Spgs 32-30
Northern C: Chinook def. Geraldine-Highwood 27-29
2019 Western B Divisional
at Eureka
Thursday-Saturday
November 7-9
(top two teams advance)
Deer Lodge def. Mission 3-2 (lo)
(#3-7B) Mission (11-9), (#4-6B) Deer Lodge (6-14)
Deer Lodge def. Mission 20-25, 25-19, 33-31, 22-25, 15-13
KILLS – DL34 (Jordan Smith 13, Marian Jones 9), MSI 53 (Sydney Brander 21, Karolyna Buck 16, Olivia Garland 7, Courtney Mitchell 7, Keana Thomas, Gonzalez). ACES – DL 6 ( ), MSI 10 (Azia Umphrey 3, Syd Brander 2, Garland 2, Mitchell, Gonzalez, Maysa Couture). ASSISTS – DL34 (Amy Fjell 30), MSI 49 (Hunter Eichert 49). BLOCKS – DL5 (Nia McClanahan 3), MSI 9 (H.Eichert 3, Garland 3, Buck 2, Mitchell). DIGS – DL 37 (Madi Johnson 16, Jordan Smith 12), MSI 94 (River Gonzalez 36, H.Eichert 14, Mitchell 14, Umphrey 9, S.Brander 7, Garland 7, Buck 4, Thomas 3). (Fr08Nov19gm7div) MSI43tae/DL42tae, MSI18se/DL7se
Anaconda def. Mission 3-0
(#3-7B) Mission (11-8), (#2-6B) Anaconda (15-5)
Anaconda def. Mission 25-23, 25-17, 25-19
KILLS – MSI 21 (Karolyna Buck 10, Olivia Garland 4, Sydney Brander 4, Keana Thomas, Gonzalez, Mitchell), A23 (Aubrey Tuss 12, Logan Stetzner 4, Mia Sullivan-Sanders 3, Megan Reich 2, Briana Puyear, M.Harris). ACES – MSI 7 (Sydney Brander 3, Eichert 2, Gonzalez, Azia Umphrey), A6 (Malia Harris 4, M.Matosich, B.Puyear). ASSISTS –MSI 19 (Hunter Eichert 19), A22 (Macy Matosich 12, L.Stetzner 10). BLOCKS – MSI 2 (Garland, Mitchell), A3 (Stetzner, Puyear, Tuss). DIGS – MSI 39 (River Gonzalez 12, Courtney Mitchell 8, Syd Brander 7, Garland 5, Buck 3, Umphrey 3, Thomas), A49 (Malia Harris 12, Tuss 11, M.Matosich 9, Stetzner 7, Reich 6, Sullivan-Sanders 2, Puyear, Isabel Saltenberger). (Th07Nov19gm2div) MSI 25tae/A9[18]tae , MSI8se/A9se, MSI5be
expanded stat specs courtesy of respective coaching staffs
Saturday
(gm14) Florence def. Anaconda 25-20, 25-16, 25-16 (1st pl)
(gm13) Anaconda def. T-Falls 25-10, 25-20, 25-19 (3rd pl)
Friday
(gm12) Anaconda def. Deer Lodge 25-12, 25-21, 25-14 (4th pl)
(gm11) Florence def. T-Falls 14-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-10 (semi)
(gm10) Anaconda def. Loyola 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 (lo)
(gm9) Deer Lodge def. Eureka 24-26, 28-26, 25-19, 26-28, 15-13 (lo)
(gm8) Loyola def. Bigfork 25-20, 25-21, 25-15 (lo)
Thursday
(gm6) Florence def. Eureka 25-12, 25-15, 25-15
(gm5) T-Falls def. Anaconda 25-21, 25-23, 25-22
(gm4) Eureka def. Loyola 9-25, 25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 15-12
(gm3) Florence def. Bigfork 25-18, 25-14, 25-8
(gm1) T-Falls def. Deer Lodge 25-18, 25-21, 25-17