by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton, Stevensville, Corvallis, and Florence volleyball teams traveled to Butte on Friday, October 14th and Saturday, October 15th for the 2022 Blocktober Classic. The Blocktober Classic included 25 Class A and Class B volleyball teams from around the state. The teams were divided into three pools and on Friday played other teams within their pool for one game to 30 points. Then, based on their record in pool play, they were funneled into three Saturday brackets. The top teams went to the Championship bracket, the middle teams went to the Consolation bracket, and the lower teams went into the Copper bracket. The teams then played three set matches within each bracket in a double elimination mini tournament.
Stevensville had a terrific tournament, finishing 2nd overall. They went 8-0 in pool play on Friday and qualified for Saturday’s Championship Bracket where they beat Dawson County and Billings Central to make it to the finals. In the finals, they lost to Boulder and finished in 2nd place.
Hamilton finished 4-3 in pool play and went to the consolation bracket where they beat Lockwood, Butte Central, and then Fergus to win the Consolation bracket.
Florence, one of the few Class B schools in the event, took third in pool play and qualified for the Championship Bracket, where they lost to Class A Laurel and Class A Hardin.
Corvallis struggled to find their footing in the tournament and went 0-7 in pool play and lost to Custer County and Anaconda in the Copper Bracket.