Both Darby and Florence will play this weekend in the Western B Divisional tournament at Valley Christian in Missoula. Florence finished second behind Loyola and Darby was fourth in the District 6B tournament in Deer Lodge last weekend.

Darby took on Deer Lodge in their first game of the tournament. After losing the first two games, the Lady Tigers came back in Game 3 to win, 22-25. They only lost the fourth game by two points. Mariah Cress paced Darby all weekend. She had 11 kills, six blocks and 17 digs in the game against the Wardens.

Darby next took on Seeley-Swan in loser out action on Friday. The Lady Tigers topped the Blackhawks in four games. It was Cress again leading the team with 16 kills, 7 blocks and 14 digs. She and Lindsey Trowbridge each had two aces as well. Rachel Wetzsteon had 10 assists.

The win set up the next match against Deer Lodge in loser out action. Deer Lodge took the match in three games. Cress finished with eight kills and seven blocks. Miriam Bender had eight digs and Brianna Morris had three aces.

Florence began their title attempt with a match against Deer Lodge. The Lady Falcons came out focused and on fire, limiting the Wardens to nine points in both Game 1 and Game 2. They also won Game 3. Katie Niemeir and Jo Johnston each had 10 kills and Johnston had four blocks. Kayla Daniels ran the show for the Lady Falcons with 25 assists and four aces.

Next up for Florence was Loyola, their nemesis. Loyola once again knocked the Lady Falcons down, winning by 11 points in the first game and nine points in the second. But the girls in Maroon and Gold rallied and came back in the third game. Although they lost, it was a much tighter game with only a two-point margin. Daniels had four aces and Lindsay Bauck had six kills. Johnston had five blocks.

With the loss, the Lady Falcons had to play Deer Lodge again in loser out action. Once again the Falcons came out strong behind the play of Bauck at the net and Amanda Heffner in the back row.

Florence won and advanced to the championship game where they played Loyola, again. But Florence played tough and won the second game of the match. Johnston had six blocks and three aces.

The Western B Divisional will begin on Thursday. Darby will play Eureka in Game 3 at 2 pm. Florence will take on Thompson Falls at 4 o’clock. Loyola will open the tournament against Troy at 10 a.m. and St. Ignatius will play Deer Lodge at noon.

District 6 B

Thursday

Florence def. Deer Lodge 25-9, 25-9, 25-14

Kills – Deer Lodge 17, Florence 38 (Katie Niemeir 10, Jo Johnston 10). Blocks – Deer Lodge 4, Florence 7 (Johnston 4). Digs – Deer Lodge 21, Florence 46 (Amanda Heffner 14). Assists – Deer Lodge 17, Florence 28 (Kayla Daniels 25). Aces – Deer Lodge 0, Florence 13 (Daniels 4).

Deer Lodge def. Darby 25-16, 25-6, 22-25, 25-23

Kills – Darby 21 (Mariah Cress 11), Deer Lodge 38. Blocks – Darby 11 (Cress 6). Deer Lodge 17. Digs – Darby 63 (Cress 17), Deer Lodge 58. Assists – Darby 14 (Tara Sullivan 10), Deer Lodge 29. Aces – Darby 16 (Brianna Morris 5), Deer Lodge 13.

Friday

Loyola def. Florence 25-14, 25-20, 26-24

Kills – Loyola 41, Florence 20 (Lindsay Bauck 6), Blocks – Loyola 5, Florence 9 (Jo Johnston 5). Digs – Loyola 41, Florence 5 (Kayla Daniels 4). Assists – Loyola 33, Florence 14 (Daniels 14). Aces – Loyola 6, Florence 5 (Daniels 4).

Darby def. Seeley-Swan 25-18, 25-21, 26-24

Kills – Seeley 27, Darby 47 (Mariah Cress 16). Blocks – Seeley 1, Darby 14 (Cress 7). Digs – Seeley 42, Darby 56 (Cress 14). Assists – Seeley 19, Darby 19 (Rachel Wetzsteon 10). Aces – Seeley 4, Darby 5 (Cress 2, Lindsey Trowbridge 20).

Deer Lodge def. Darby 25-8, 25-20, 25-19

Kills – Darby 36 (Mariah Cress 8), Deer Lodge 31. Blocks – Darby 17 (Cress 7), Deer Lodge 5. Digs – Darby 33 (Miriam Bender 8), Deer Lodge 62. Assists – Darby 13 (Tara Sullivan 6, Rachel Wetzsteon 6). Deer Lodge 27. Aces – Darby 5 (Brianne Morris 3), Deer Lodge 7.

Championship

Loyola def. Florence 26-24, 22-25, 25-9, 25-18

Kills – Loyola 50 (Emma Priddy 20), Florence 32 (Katie Niemeir 11). Blocks – Loyola 4, Florence 10 (Jo Johnston 6), Digs – Loyola 36 (Brittany Dahlen 8), Florence 51 (Amanda Heffner 14), Assists – Loyola 42 (Abby Mansch 37), Florence 20 (Kayla Daniels 13). Aces – Loyola 14 (Colleen Miller 5), Florence 10 (Johnston 3).

Consolation

Florence def. Deer Lodge 25-19, 25-11, 17-25, 25-18

Kills – Deer Lodge 21, Florence 36 (Lindsey Bauck 9), Blocks – Deer Lodge 12, Florence 9 (Amanda Heffner 4). Digs – Deer Lodge 64, Florence 54 (Jo Johnston 10). Assists - Deer Lodge 16, Florence 18 (Kayla Daniels 13). Aces – Deer Lodge 9, Florence 11 (Daniels 3).

Corvallis heads to Divisional with momentum on their side

The Corvallis Blue Devils defeated Stevensville in volleyball action on Thursday night in Stevensville. Although Stevi played close throughout the first game, the Devils were able to take advantage of a few mistakes and take the 25-23 win in that game. Sophomore Milli Thorson showed great composure for the Yellowjackets as she served up two of her three aces to keep the ‘Jackets close.

“They came out serving like crazy,” said Corvallis’ coach Scott Warren of Stevensville. “When you serve that hard, it’s kind of a two edged sword. When you get them in, they’re hard to handle.”

Although many of many of the serves were good, Corvallis showed good composure as they worked the ball to the front row where Kim Gilder or Ali Bierer would swat it down for a kill. Gilder finished with 11 kills and nine digs. Corvallis put the first game away after a Yellowjacket serve went out of bounds.

Corvallis took command of the second game when Amber Bradshaw made a couple of strong plays at the net including a kill to end the game.

“We start off really well,” said Lori Lewis of her Stevensville team. “I don’t know, it’s just so hard for the girls to just stick with that. It’s like as soon as they start making a couple of errors, they just can’t fix it.”

Corvallis was gaining momentum in the third game and had built up an 11-point lead before Stevensville made some inroads. Although the ‘Jackets lost the third game, they did have some strong play from a few underclassmen which coach Lewis found encouraging.

“We brought two girls up, a sophomore and a freshman,” she said. “They haven’t practiced with us at all.”

Jessi Burnett’s seven kills and Maddie Jones’ eight digs led Stevensville.

Corvallis def. Stevensville 25-23, 25-18, 25-15

Kills – Corvallis 24 (Kim Gilder 11), Stevensville 17 (Jessi Burnett 7). Blocks – Corvallis 10 (Amber Bradshaw), Stevensville 0. Digs – Corvallis 47 (Gilder 9), Stevensville 18 (Maddie Jones 8). Assists – Corvallis 21 (Whitney Henderson 19), Stevensville 14 (Sionelle Beller 7, Christina Boberg 7). Aces – Corvallis 9 (Amber Bradshaw 2, Amy Warren 2, Gilder 2), Stevensville 12 (Milli Thorson 3, Janele Jessop 3, Christina Boberg 3).

Stevensville lost to Dillon on Saturday. Thorson had four kills and Christina Boberg added two aces.

Hamilton lost to Bigfork. Ashley Albert had seven kills, three blocks and 12 digs in the loss.

The Southwestern A Divisional Tournament will begin on Thursday in Anaconda with a match between No. 5 seed Hamilton and No. 4 seed Corvallis. Corvallis won both matches in the regular season but Warren isn’t looking to have the game handed to them.

“It’s always hard to beat someone three times. So we’re absolutely not looking past them at all,” said Warren.

He went on to say his team is going to have to be more consistent in their play and work on the small things. He’s encouraged to have veteran setter Whitney Henderson running the offense.

“Whitney is a great setter to have. She sets a lot of tough balls, it helps having the state’s 100 meter sprint champion as your setter.”

Warren says his team is healthy for the first time in a few weeks and that will be a plus as they begin the tournament. With seven seniors on the team, the Blue Devils bring experience as well as confidence and speed to the court.

“I like our chances,” concluded Warren.

Not to be overlooked is Hamilton with one of the toughest players around leading the charge. Ashley Albert can pound the ball down, serve up a deadly jump serve and dig a ball off the back row. Kyla Grymes has come on at the net as a blocker and Mary Conwell is finding the groove as the setter. Tiffani Kemig and Samantha Wood are both pretty deadly with their serves. The combination may just be what is needed for this Hamilton team to find success at Anaconda.

Stevensville, the No. 6 seed, will take on Frenchtown, the No. 3 seed. Lewis says her girls are scrappers and fighters. “They don’t give up.”

With Janele Jessop at the net, Maddie Jones playing tough on the back row and Jessi Burnett keeping the team’s spirits up, the Yellowjackets could just be the dark horse of the tournament.

Victor finishes 4th in conference

The Lady Pirates of Victor ended their season with a loss to perennial foe Philipsburg on Saturday at the District 10C tournament in Drummond. With the loss, Victor finished fourth in the conference. Arlee won the tournament and Philipsburg finished second. Both will move on to the Western C Divisional this week.

Victor opened their tournament play against Drummond. Last week the Lady Pirates took Drummond to four games but they couldn’t stop the Trojans this time. Hannah Johnson had three kills in the loss and Liz Taylor had seven digs.

After losing to Drummond, the Lady Pirates had to take on Lincoln. Both teams were determined and played tough. After losing big in the first game, the Lady Pirates rallied back to take the second one, 26-24. Lincoln came back in the fourth game to win, 25-27, setting up a fifth game. Usually Game 5 is only to 15 points but the two teams battled to a 21-29 victory for Victor.

Liz Taylor had 12 kills and Johnson added seven aces.

Philipsburg came out strong and controlled the Lady Pirates’ final match, defeating them in three games. Sophomore Taylor had five kills and three aces. Emily Copeland had eight digs and 12 assists.

Drummond def. Victor 25-15, 25-13, 25-17

Kills – Drummond 21, Victor 10 (Hannah Johnson 3). Blocks – Drummond 4, Victor 0. Digs – Drummond 13, Victor 26 (Liz Taylor 7). Assists – Drummond 19, Victor 7 (Emily Copeland 7). Aces – Drummond 20, Victor 7 (Copeland 2).

Victor def. Lincoln 8-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-27, 21-19

Kills – Victor 25 (Liz Taylor 12), Lincoln 7. Blocks – Victor 0, Lincoln 3. Digs – Victor 28 (Hannah Johnson 8), Lincoln 13. Assists – Victor 21 (Emily Copeland 20), Lincoln 20. Aces – Victor 21 (Johnson 7), Lincoln 22.

Loser out – Saturday

Philipsburg def. Victor 25-16, 25-9, 25-17

Kills – Victor 16 (Liz Taylor 5), Philipsburg 32. Blocks – Victor 0, Philipsburg 0. Digs – Victor 32 (Emily Copeland 8), Philipsburg 54. Assists – Victor 13 (Copeland 12), Philipsburg 29. Aces – Victor 8 (Taylor 3), Philipsburg 16.

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