Maidens stumble against Lady Loggers, but get a second chance

Senior night didn’t quite go as scripted for the Ronan volleyball team Friday, but the Maidens are hoping the sequel will have a happier ending.

The Lady Loggers of Libby came to town sporting a 2-6 league record and swept the Maidens on Friday, 25-21, 25-19, 26-23. The home loss spoiled Ronan’s shot at a potential No. 2 seed in the Western A divisionals, which begin Thursday. Instead, Polson gets the No. 2 seed — a Ronan win Friday would have forced a coin toss in Pablo for the No. 2 seed. Undefeated Columbia Falls is the top seed out of the Northwest.

As a result, No. 4 seed Ronan (5-5 in league play) will host No. 5 seed Libby again at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a play-in game for the divisional bracket. Whitefish (5-5 league), which barely edged Ronan in a tiebreaker on points for the No. 3 seed, will advance since No. 6 Browning is in quarantine and no longer competing this season.

Since Whitefish and Ronan have identical league records, the tiebreaker for the No. 3 seed came down to points scored, with Whitefish edging the Maidens 180-175, according to Ronan High School Athletic Director Lucky Larson.

Wednesday’s match is actually Round 3 this season for the Maidens and Lady Loggers. Ronan won the first match in five sets way back on Sept. 1.

On Friday, Libby built leads in the first two sets and was able to hold off Ronan rallies both times. A kill by Ronan junior Olivia Clairmont tied the first set at 11-11, but Libby was able to regroup, build a six-point lead at 18-12 and hang on for the set.

The Lady Loggers built a formidable 15-5 lead in the second set and again held on to take the set, by six points.

With the match on the line, the Maidens jumped out to a modest early lead in what would end up being a dramatic third set. Libby stood tall, however, and the teams were locked up at 15-all, 17-all and 22-all en route to a wild finish.

Trailing 24-22, the Maidens avoided one match set and appeared to tie things at 24-all. However, officials ruled that a Libby kill that clearly landed out of bounds had been touched by a Ronan player. After a lengthy delay and a discussion with first-year Ronan coach Lacey Phelan, the lead official affirmed the call and ended the match.

The Lady Loggers held a distinct advantage in serving with 10 aces to Ronan’s one. Libby also held a 31-17 edge in kills, with senior Olivia Gilliam-Smith recording a team-high 13 of her own.

Clairmont led Ronan with six kills and added three blocks. Junior Rylie Lindquist had 11 of the Maidens’ 45 digs. Sophomore Leina Ulutoa was responsible for 15 of Ronan’s 16 assists.

A ceremony prior to the match honored the team’s four seniors — Katie Beh, Kiana King, Madeline McCrea and Jaylea Lunceford.

In divisional matches on Thursday, Polson will host the highest remaining seed from Wednesday’s Southwest District play-in games: No. 3 Stevensville vs. No. 6 Butte Central and No. 4 Hamilton vs. No. 5 Dillon. The winner of the Ronan/Libby match Wednesday moves on to face Southwest No. 1 Corvallis. Whitefish will travel to Frenchtown.

Divisional play runs Thursday through Saturday. Ronan originally was selected as the site for the Western A divisional tournament, but officials decided to avoid having all teams at a single site due to COVID-19 concerns. Instead, higher-seeded teams will host.

The Class A state volleyball tournament is scheduled to be played Nov. 12-14 at Bozeman.