The measure of a champion is how they handle themselves when they are down. Thursday night, the Corvallis Blue Devils let the rest of the Southwest A Conference and the state know that they are championship material again this year.
The Frenchtown Lady Broncs came play and stayed right with the Blue Devils throughout the first game. There were several long volleys and Corvallis began to pull ahead, leading by as much as eight points before the Lady Broncs came back to tie the game at 23 all on a Emily Rehbein serve. However, Brooklynn Powell’s tip caught the Frenchtown team off balance and gave Corvallis the serve and the 25-23 win.
The momentum was going Corvallis’ way in the second game. Madeline Gilder served up nine points to give the Blue Devils a comfortable lead. Katelyn Behner also had a couple aces in the game but it was another tip, this time by Jenna Jordan, that finished off the 25-14 win.
However the third game didn’t start out with Corvallis in control. Frenchtown quickly built a lead and the Blue Devils were faltering. Coach Laurie Jones said it was just a collection of random errors by everyone.
But then the insanity began. After being down, 7-18, Jordan smacked down a big block that seemed to spur the Blue Devils. The next play, she had a tip and Corvallis was on the rebound. Powell stepped up to serve and promptly knocked down two aces. Gilder bracketed the aces with a kill on each side. Gilder, when she makes a kill, fully extends her arm and has a strong vertical jump. Defenders tend to step back and she used this tactic to set up the final point. After a strong kill, she went for the match point with a small tip onto the Frenchtown side. Corvallis came back to win, 25-21.
“We knew that we could (come back),” said Jordan. “We’ve got tenacity and we execute well.”
Jones summed it up. “It was insane. We learned a lesson the hard way. But we came out okay.”
Corvallis def. Frenchtown 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
Corvallis – Kills 40 (Madeline Gilder 14); Blocks 7.5 (Jenna Jordan 5); Digs 46 (Hailey Anderson 10); Assists 29 (Brooklynn Powell 24); Aces 8 (Powell 3, Katelyn Behner 3).
Frenchtown – Kills 16, Blocks 16, Digs 28, Assists 15, Aces 5.
The Hamilton/Butte Central game was cancelled on Saturday due to an athlete from Butte Central being exposed to the corona virus.
Victor won their match against Lincoln in five games and lost to Seeley-Swan. Darby fell to Seeley-Swan and Hot Springs.