The Corvallis Blue Devils performed like clockwork this weekend in the Southwest volleyball divisional in Hamilton. The young Blue Devil team played a poised and deliberate game throughout the tournament and never lost sight of where they wanted to end up.
“I feel like they meant business and they were focused. That was one of our goals to be in the moment, point by point. And that’s what they did,” concluded coach Kasey Arceniega
The route to the championship was not easy. Corvallis had to play a tough and scrappy Butte Central team twice, once in the undefeated match and again in the championship match. The Maroons pushed the Blue Devils a couple of times in the championship match but were very tired after playing Dillon in the consolation. Joanna Avery had 14 kills and a block to lead the Blue Devils.
Corvallis def. Butte Central, 25-9, 25-21, 25-14.
Kills – Corvallis 34 (Joanna Avery 14), Butte Central 21 (Cooney 9). Blocks – Corvallis 2 (Kelsey Raynal, Avery), Butte Central 1 (Harrington). Digs – Corvallis 57 (Alex Price 14, Katie Patterson 14), Butte Central 57 (Leary 20). Assists – Corvallis 30 (Laura Berner 16)
Corvallis opened their tournament play against Hamilton. Corvallis took advantage of a few minor mistakes and won, 3-1. Hamilton came on strongly in the third second game and won the third game. Coach Arceniega said her team was pretty tight in the match.
“When we came out and started to play Hamilton, they (Corvallis) were way too serious, analyzing everything. I told them hey, you guys are a crazy group of girls and I want to see you celebrate and smile. It’s okay to make mistakes, just recover from them.”
The Blue Devils rallied and came back to take the match. Kelsey Irwin had 15 kills for the Blue Devils. Irwin said the coach told the team throughout the tournament to just stay consistant.
Corvallis will open their state tournament play against Columbia Falls on Thursday at 2pm. Corvallis played in the state tournament last year but Coach Arceniega feels her team is ready for the experience this year.
“It’s not going to be shock and awe, a lot were sophomores last year. It was the experience. And now they have that experience.”
Irwin concluded, “we’ll keep grounded.”
Second round
Corvallis def. Hamilton, 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-10.
Kills – Hamilton 31 (Penny Gwynn 16), Corvallis 47 (Kelsey Irwin 15). Blocks – Hamilton 8 (Cara Schulz 4, Ellie Hurlbert 4), Corvallis 6 (Avery 2, Berner 2, Raynal 2). Digs – Hamilton n/a, Corvallis 37 (Patterson 19). Assists – Hamilton 32 (Val Tayler 24), Corvallis 42 (Berner 22). Aces – Hamilton 6 (Kennedy Chadwick 3), Corvallis 16 (Irwin 5).
Undefeated match
Corvallis def. Butte Central, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19.
Kills – Butte Central 26 (Leary 8), Corvallis 27 (Berner 10). Blocks – Butte Central 6 (Pica 4), Corvallis 5 (Irwin 3). Digs – Butte Central 72 (Leary 24), Corvallis 82 (Berner 21). Assists – Butte Central 20 (Marthaller 12), Corvallis 23 (Alex Price 14). Aces – Butte Central 2 (McLaughlin, Cooney), Corvallis 9 (Berner 6).
Hamilton and Stevensville met in the opening match of the tournament. Every point was hard-earned in the first two games with neither team backing off. Hamilton won those games but then Stevensville came back to win the second. It was looking as if the Lady Yellowjackets would win the fourth game too before Kennedy Chadwick stepped up and served up eight straight points to give the Lady Broncs the win.
Hamilton def. Stevensville, 27-25, 28-26, 15-25, 25-17.
Kills – Stevensville 49 (Kyla Paulsen 17), Hamilton 38 (Gwynn 16). Blocks – Stevensville 7 (Mackinzie Zimmerman 3), Hamilton 10 (Hurlbert 4, Amber Powell 4). Digs – Stevensville 42 (Paulsen 12, Carly Vercruyssen 12), Hamilton 52 (Chadwick 21). Assists – Stevensville 28 (Tralyn Gardner 18), Hamilton 34 (Tayler 31). Aces – Stevensville 6 (Zimmerman 2, Paulsen 2), Hamilton (Chadwick 8).
After losing to Corvallis, Hamilton had to take on the Dillon Beavers. Hamilton took the third game of the match and pushed Dillon in the fourth but ultimately fell. Penny Gwynn finished with 18 kills. Chadwick ended her high school career with five aces in the match. Hamilton finished with a record of 5-14.
Dillon def. Hamilton, 25-19, 25-10, 19-25, 28-26.
Kills – Dillon 50 (Southam 18), Hamilton 29 (Gwynn 18). Blocks – Dillon 8 (Southam 4), Hamilton 3 (Schulz 2). Digs – Dillon 66 (Linder 14), Hamilton 42 (Chadwick 20). Assists – Dillon 46 (Richardson 41), Hamilton 18 (Tayler 18). Aces – Dillon 13 (Judge 5), Hamilton 9 (Chadwick 5).
Stevensville played Anaconda in loser out action on Friday. The Lady ‘Jackets dropped the first game but then came back to win the next two. They pushed the Copperheads in the final game but couldn’t take the win. Mackinzie Zimmerman had 19 kills and Kyla Paulsen had 24 digs and a couple of aces. Stevensville finished their season with a 6-11 record.
Loser out
Anaconda def. Stevensville, 25-17, 16-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13.
Kills – Stevensville 39 (Zimmerman 19), Anaconda 54 (Chapman 17). Blocks – Stevensville 11 (Malachinski 7), Anaconda 3 (Strommen, Flynn, Estes). Digs – Stevensville 78 (Paulsen 24), Anaconda 111 (Flynn 35). Assists – Stevensville 39 (Megan Elam 20), Anaconda 41 (Jorgensen 40). Aces – Stevensville 5 (Paulsen 2), Anaconda 12 (Estes 4, Flynn 4).