by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton, Stevensville, Corvallis, and Florence volleyball teams traveled to Butte on Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19 for the 2024 Blocktober Classic.
The annual Blocktober Classic included 26 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.
Based on their record in pool play, teams were then 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.
Teams then played three-set matches within each bracket in a double elimination mini tournament.
Hamilton took 4th overall in the Championship bracket. In pool play they went 5-2 and took second in their pool. This qualified them for the Championship bracket. In the first round they lost to Frenchtwon 14-25, 18-25. In the next game they defeated Lockwood 25-19, 26-28, 15-12, then defeated Florence 10-25, 25-23, 15-5. This sent them to the consolation game where they were defeated by their nemesis Frenchtown 15-25, 20-25.
Florence went 7-1 during pool play and took first place in their pool, which is an exceptional result given that Class B Florence was playing against mostly Class A competition. This sent them to the Championship bracket. In the first round they defeated Dillon 17-25, 27-25, 15-11, then in the semifinals they lost to Jefferson 25-21, 25-23. This loss sent them to the loser-out bracket where they faced Hamilton and they were defeated 25-10, 23-25, 5-15.
Stevensville went 3-4 in pool play and went to the Consolation bracket. In the first round they lost to Laurel 25-21, 20-25, 9-15, then in the loser-out bracket they lost to Bigfork 17-25, 22-25.
Corvallis went 1-7 in pool play, which sent them to the Copper bracket. In the first round they defeated Butte Central 25-12, 25-16, then in the semifinals they lost to East Helena 24-26, 25-12, 4-15. This sent them to the loser-out bracket where they were defeated by Ronan 25-17, 21-25, 4-15.
Earlier in the week, Florence went to Deer Lodge on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and defeated the Wardens 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-16). For Florence, Maggie Schneiter had 6 aces and 19 assists, Ava Philbrick had 10 kills, Emory Ralston had 7 digs, and Elise Schneiter had 2 blocks.
Then on Thursday, Oct. 17, they hosted Anaconda and won 3-1 (25-19, 25-4, 14-25, 25-12). For Florence, Emory Ralston had 7 aces, 12 kills and 2 blocks, Maggie Schneiter had 29 assists, and Ella Goeltz had 23 digs.
The Corvallis and Stevensville volleyball teams played in Corvallis on Wednesday, Oct. 16. This was an evenly matched contest with Corvallis winning a competitive game 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-16, 25-21).