The volleyball match Thursday night in Hamilton could well be a preview of the championship game at the divisional tournament later this fall. Hamilton and Stevensville are very good teams with a lot of talent on both sides. The difference may be experience. With seven seniors, Hamilton has a balanced team that plays well together. Stevensville has five seniors on their team and although they play a few more underclassmen, they are also a tough team.
“The Tip Off Tournament was a huge thing for us to realize the potential we have,” according to Hamilton coach DeEtte Monson. “I was really excited to see how tonight was going to go.”
Although the match was only three games, each game was hard-fought with both teams fighting for every point. It came down to a few small mistakes by Stevensville.
“It’s not a lack of want and they all want it (the win),” said Stevensville coach Lindsey Day. “They played hard, but when they fall apart, they have a hard time bouncing back. I’m not disappointed in the girls’ play. They fought to the end. I mean, we knew Hamilton was going to be tough.”
Although no stats were provided by Stevensville, Britney Chilcott and Molly Brewer were tough at the net with their blocking. Kyla Paulsen added to the mix with a few kills, as did Mackenzie Zimmerman.
Hamilton was led by sophomore Penny Gwynn’s 13 kills and Mary Conwell and Nicole Hood who each had two blocks. Conwell also had four blocks.
Hamilton def. Stevensville, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22.
Kills – Hamilton 34 (Penny Gwynn 13). Blocks – Hamilton 4 (Mary Conwell 2, Nichole Hood 2). Digs – Hamilton 51 (Kennedy Chadwick 19). Assists – Hamilton 28 (Conwell 25). Aces – Hamilton 9 (Conwell 4).
Hamilton wasn’t very welcoming to the Southwest A’s newest member, Butte Central. After dropping the first game, the Lady Broncs came back with a vengeance to topple the Maroons. Gwynn was strong again at the net with 10 kills. Rebecka Hood added 10 more kills. Conwell had 40 assists and five aces.
Hamilton def. Butte Central 20-25, 25-20, 25-5, 25-16.
Kills – Hamilton 44 (Penny Gwynn 10, Rebecka Hood 10), Butte Central 21 (Mariah Cooney 6). Blocks – Hamilton 7 (Nichole Hood 3, Rebecca Lyons 3), Butte Central 3. Digs – Hamilton 52 (Kennedy Chadwick 14), Butte Central 56 (Danika Neuman 23). Assists – Hamilton 44 (Mary Conwell 40), Butte Central 19 (Carlee Norbeck 10). Aces – Hamilton 20 (Conwell 5), Butte Central 8 (Brynne Kambich 3).
Corvallis upset perennial powerhouse Dillon in five games over the weekend. All around play by the team gave the Blue Devils the edge. Corvallis had three more aces than Dillon with Whitney Jessop leading the team with three aces.
Corvallis def. Dillon, 25-27, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12.
Kills – Dillon 37 (Carly King 15), Corvallis 33 (Brooke Heckeroth 10). Blocks – Dillon 9 (Josee Pendleton 5), Corvallis 4 (Laura Berner 2). Digs – Dillon 71 (Taryn Judge 20), Corvallis 48 (Katie Patterson 13). Assists – Dillon 41 (Jacki Richardson 38), Corvallis 31 (Berner 20). Aces – Dillon 6 (King 3), Corvallis 9 (Whitney Jessop 3).
Florence continued to ace their opponents. They defeated Plains in three games on Thursday. Courtney Byrne had six kills and Melody Maki and Samantha Mitchell continued their dominance at the net with two blocks each. Makenie Bauck had six aces.
Florence def. Plains, 25-19, 25-16, 25-9.
Kills – Plains 13 (Kayla Revier 4), Florence 31 (Courtney Byrne 6). Blocks – Plains 3 (Diamond LaDeaux 2), Florence 7 (Melody Maki 2, Samantha Mitchell 2). Digs – Plains 13 (Kelsey Beagley 5), Florence 33 (Taylor Maricelli 16). Assists – Plains 11 (Felicia Earhart 10), Florence 36 (Makenzie Bauck 30). Aces – Plains 6 (Ashley Thompson 3), Florence 21 (Bauck 6).
On Saturday, the Lady Falcons made the long trip north to Eureka and Troy. They continued their streak, topping the Lions of Eureka in three games. They also defeated Troy but no information was available for that game.
Casey Mann had 12 kills for the Lady Falcons against Eureka. Taylor Maricelli had 19 digs in the win.
Florence def. Eureka, 25-20, 25-20, 25-17.
Kills – Florence 44 (Casey Mann 12), Eureka 29 (Cassidy Morgan 9). Blocks – Florence 16 (Melody Maki 6), Eureka 4 (Jenna Peterson 4). Digs – Florence 44 (Taylor Maricelli 19), Eureka 32 (Morgan 10). Assists – Florence 43 (Makenzie Bauck 37), Eureka 29 (Alyssa White 15). Aces – Florence 12 (Mann n/a), Eureka n/a.
Darby defeated Valley Christian in Western C action. Julie Abrahamsen had 13 kills and Brianna Massey added six blocks for the Lady Tigers.
Darby def. Valley Christian, 25-12, 22-25, 22-25, 25-18, 16-14.
Kills – Valley Christian 26 (Kaylee Velin 9), Darby 35 (Julie Abrahamsen 13). Blocks – Valley Christian 8 (Audrey Huber 3), Darby 9 (Brianna Massey 6). Digs – Valley Christian 14 (Velin 4), Darby 54 (Abrahamsen 30). Assists – Valley Christian 23 (Huber 14), Darby 55 (Halie Rennaker 29). Aces – Valley Christian 12 (Huber 5), Darby 8 (Abrahamsen 3).
Philipsburg def. Victor, 25-10, 25-12, 25-15.
Kills – Philipsburg 18 (Shanna Johnson 6), Victor 16 (Desiree Charlton 7). Blocks – Philipsburg 2 (Johnson 2), Victor 0. Digs – Philipsburg 8 (Johnson 2, Kylie Connors 2), Victor 26 (Shailyn Scheffer 8). Assists – Philipsburg 18 (Liz Graham 14), Victor 11 (Kristyne Corkern 6). Aces – Philipsburg 14 (Anna Pence 5), Victor 5 (Kaylee Yamaguchi 3).