by Scott Sacry
The volleyball teams from Stevensville, Hamilton, and Corvallis are all headed to the Class A State tournament. All three teams competed in the Western A Divisionals on November 3rd-5th in East Helena. Stevensville finished in 2nd place, Hamilton took 3rd, and Corvallis took 5th. All three teams qualified for the Class A State tournament, which takes place at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman on November 10th-12th.
Stevensville had an exceptional divisional tournament, taking 2nd place, losing 2-3 to Polson in the championship game. They won their first round game 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-19) over Columbia Falls on Thursday. This sent them to face Hamilton that night. The two evenly matched teams played an epic first set which Stevensville lost, 29-31. Hamilton took the next two games to win 3-0 (29-31, 23-25, 13-25). This loss sent Stevensville to the loser’s bracket where on Friday afternoon they beat Corvallis 3-1 (25-10, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20). Hours later they defeated Ronan 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-14). This victory earned them a rematch against Hamilton in the semifinal game on Saturday. In a back and forth battle, Stevensville prevailed 3-2 (16-25, 31-29, 18-25, 25-18, 15-9), including a gut wrenching 31-29 second set victory for Stevensville. This win sent them to play Polson in the Championship match hours later. Stevensville lost in a close match, 2-3 (25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 9-15).
Stevensville plays Laurel in the first round of the State Tournament on Thursday, November 10th at 2 p.m.
Hamilton had a tremendous divisional tournament, finishing in 3rd place, losing to Stevensville in the loser’s bracket semifinal game. Hamilton defeated Ronan 3-0 in their first round game on Thursday. Later that day they played Stevenville and defeated them 3-0 (31-29, 25-23, 25-13). This win sent them to the undefeated semifinal against Polson on Friday night. In this game, Hamilton lost in a five set classic 2-3 (26-24, 21-25, 25-15, 20-25, 12-15). This loss sent them to a rematch with Stevensville in the semifinal game, where they lost in another grueling 5-set contest 2-3 (25-16, 29-31, 25-18, 18-25, 9-15).
Hamilton plays Havre in the first round of the State Tournament on Thursday, November 10th at 12 noon.
The Corvallis girls have had an eventful couple of weeks. Since losing to Dillon 0-3 on October 22nd, they have had a resurgence. First, they won two straight games over Frenchtown and Butte Central to earn the 4th seed in Divisionals. Then in Divisionals, they went 2-2 and took 5th place, earning a place in the state tournament. Corvallis lost their first round game in Divisionals to eventual champion Polson 0-3 on Thursday. This sent them to the loser out bracket where they faced Dillon on Friday morning. Dillon beat Corvallis 0-3 in both regular season contests. But in one of their best performances of the season, Corvallis won 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-9). This sent them to play Stevensville a couple hours later, where they lost 1-3 (10-25, 25-21, 17-25, 20-25). This loss sent them to the 5th place game against Whitefish on Saturday morning, where they won 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21).
Corvallis plays Billings Central in a State play-in game on Wednesday, November 9th in Livingston at 6 p.m. The winner then plays Polson in Bozeman on Thursday, November 10th at 10 a.m.
Florence hosted the Western B Divisional Volleyball Tournament on November 3rd-5th. Florence played four matches in three days and ended up in 4th place, missing out on the state tournament. In the opening round on Thursday, they played eventual champion Thompson Falls and lost 0-3. This sent them to the loser out bracket where they played three games on Friday. First, they beat St. Ignatius 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-12) on Friday morning. Rylee Yeoman had 15 digs, Maggie Schneiter had 14 assists, and Ava Philbrick had 9 kills in the win. This sent them to play Deer Lodge a couple hours later and they won 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 16-25, 25-12). Olivia Coulter had 13 assists, Elise Schneiter had 10 digs, and Ava Philbrick had 10 kills and 6 blocks. This win sent them to play Anaconda later that night, where they lost 1-3 (26-24, 21-25, 14-25, 18-25). In that game, Maggie Schneiter had 15 assists, Ava Philbrick had 13 kills and 3 blocks, and Elise Schneiter had 16 digs.