The Lady Falcons of Florence had to battle their way to the championship at the Western B volleyball tournament in Anaconda. And they did just that. There were a stumble or two, but the Lady Falcons will advance to the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from the West.
Florence went into the tournament at Anaconda as the No. 3 seed. Their first game was against Eureka. Coach Christy Duchien said she knew the game would be tough as the Lady Lions had a couple of very close matches against Florence during the season.
“We practiced our defense on their hitters,” said Duchien. “And we won in four (games). They were fun to play.”
In that match,Gracie Houston, Mackenzie Little and Jayden Hendrickson had three aces apiece. Houston also had 11 kills and three blocks. Kolbi Wood had 35 digs.
Next up on the Lady Falcons’ agenda was conference winner, Anaconda. Duchien said the Copperheads are senior heavy and tough to get past. “We improved every set we played even though they got us in three games.”
With the loss, Florence had to make their way through the loser’s bracket. Their first opponent in that bracket was Bigfork. Florence began the match slowly and dropped the first game but then came back to win the next three and take the match,19-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-13. Kasidy Yeoman and Jaidyn Larson each had 12 kills and Larson had three blocks.
Eureka was once again their opponent and the Lady Lions were ready to take down Florence. Duchien said her players got a little gritty and found a way to pull out the win.
“Our theme this year has been ‘unity’ and they proved it in that match. It was a heck of a match for sure. It went back and forth before we took the win.”
Florence had 43 kills in the match with Yeoman knocking down 14 and Houston slamming 12 down. The duo also had six blocks between them. Kolbi Wood kept up her back row defense and dug up 32 balls. Larson and Yeoman had 23 and 21 digs respectively. Mackenzie Little had four aces. Florence won, 22-25, 25-13, 25-18, 18-25, 16-14, and secured a berth at the state tournament.
Florence next took on Thompson Falls. The Lady Falcons won in three games behind the play of Houston and Yeoman on the net. Florence had 22 kills with eight kills each for the duo. Larson had three of the 10 Falcon aces, and Wood once again controlled the back row with 23 digs. Florence was down, 19-24, in the third game and Houston stepped up to serve. She served seven points to take the win out of Thompson Falls’ grasp.
“Gracie (Houston) is a fighter,” said Duchien. “And the back row play of Mackenzie (Little) and Kolbi (Wood) made a big difference.”
That win put Florence in the championship game against Anaconda. Duchein said that Anaconda’s hitters were too difficult to stop. Florence lost in three games, 25-20, 25-16, 25-15. Houston and Yeoman eat had eight kills. Wood had 22 digs and Yeoman had 21 digs.
Florence will open against Huntley Project who has been the state champion for the last three years. In fact, in the last 10 years, the Red eDevils have either taken the championship or the runner up spot at the state level. Florence has been right there, taking third last year and second the previous two years.
Normally the state tournament is held at Bozeman in the Brick Breeden Field House. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Class B State tournament will be held in Shelby.
“It won’t have that true state tournament feel,” said Duchien. “But at least we are going.”