Volleyball season ends at state for Polson, Ronan
The Ronan Maidens wrapped up a good season at the state volleyball tournament in Bozeman, where losses to Hardin and Stevensville ended their season Friday. (Darralyn Adams photo)
Both the Polson Lady Pirates and Ronan Maidens bowed out of the All-Class State Volleyball tournament in loser-out action on Friday. The tourney was hosted at the MSU Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.
After winning their second consecutive Western A divisional title the previous weekend, the number-one seeded Lady Pirates opened tourney action on Thursday with a 9-25, 16-25, 25-17, 11-25 loss to eventual state champions Billings Central Rams.
Avery Starr led the Lady Pirates with 20 assists and two aces, while Clara Todd posted nine kills and three blocks. Lucy Violett chipped in with 11 digs.
In loser-out action on Saturday morning, Polson defeated Hamilton in three straight sets 25-9, 25-13, 25-19, but fell in an afternoon match to Laurel in four sets 25-16, 25-17, 20-25, 25-20.
Against Hamilton, Starr booked a game-high 27 assists. Also for the Lady Pirates, Hannah Simpson had eight digs and 10 kills.
In the Laurel game, Clara Todd floored three aces and booked eight kills, while Samantha Rensvold had a Lady Pirates’ team high 12 kills and two blocks.
The Lady Pirates finish the season with an overall record of 18-8 and a Western A divisional title.
The Western A divisional fourth place finishers, the Ronan Maidens, opened state tourney bracket action on Thursday with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-14 loss to the Hardin Lady Bulldogs.
The Maidens were led by Leina Ulutoa with 16 kills and 15 digs followed by Seattle Chartraw with an ace and 22 assists.
The rebound performance the Ronan volleyball team needed after Thursday’s loss never came, and the Maidens were out of the Class A state tournament Friday afternoon with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-23 sweep at the hands of the Stevensville Lady Yellow Jackets.
Stat team leaders for the Maidens were Margaret Cordova with 10 digs, Ulutoa with eight kills, and Chartraw, who posted 14 assists and two blocks.
“We were playing some of our best volleyball and I felt great going into state,” said Ronan Maiden head coach Lacey Phelan. “The girls played hard and with a lot of heart. Making it to the state tournament is an honor in of itself. I wish we could have had a win or two over in Bozeman, but at the end of the day I was just so proud of where we finished compared to where we started.”