Polson volleyball heads to the state tournament for the third

straight year

COLUMBIA FALLS - Down two games to Whitefish in the championship game of the Northwestern A volleyball tournament last Saturday, the Lady Pirates found a way to shine in the spotlight and do something no Polson volleyball team had done before.

"We were making all the mistakes, it wasn't like Whitefish was doing anything to hurt us," head coach Jan Toth said.

Toth said she saw the team begin to click after a slow start against the Bulldogs, and she made a change in offense - going into a strategic hitting mode as opposed to a power one.

"We have great hitters that can see the entire floor and we can put it anywhere," Toth said.

Polson recouped from 20-25 and 18-25 losses by winning three straight, 25-18-25-22 and 15-7 for the 3-2 win. In true Lady Pirate fashion, it was a team effort all around.

Junior hitter Kenzie Clay was on fire in games three and four. Senior libero Kendyall Rochin backed her team up effectively with 21 digs.

"Kendyall had a great tournament defensively," Toth said.

Kayla Duford was setting masterful passes for the offense with 37 assists while seniors Breanne Kelley and Sallie Sams put the ball away with 16 and 12 kills, respectively.

"I felt like we were in control the entire time," Toth said. "It wraps up everything we've worked on for the past four years."

Toth said that in the fifth match when the Lady Pirates went up 12-7, she saw the elation in the girls' eyes. In practical fashion, she called a timeout and told them that there's no way this match is over until the last point is scored.

Macall Banner was key from the serving line, scoring nine straight points, and while Klay and junior Riley Kenney scored the 13th and 14th points off of blocks. For the 15th and championship clinching point, Rochin passed the ball to Du-ford who set up a quick shoot option for Kelley who put the ball down.

"The second the ball went down they huddled up," Toth said. "They were emotional, you could see it, you could feel it."

Toth said that the Northwestern A conference is tough and that winning the district tournament shows that a team is among the best in the state. That wouldn't have happened though, without the hard work of the girls on the team these past four years.

One of those girls, Kenney, was held out during the later stages of the season because of her separated shoulder. Before divisionals, she got a diagnosis from her doctors.

"The doctors have told her she can't hurt it any worse," Toth said.

The gritty Kenney had two blocks against Colum-bia Falls on Friday, which was a 3-0 victory with 25-10, 25-12, 25-9 scores. In that game, Kelley had 18 kills and Duford dished out 30 assists.

Before their matchup against Ronan that same day, Kenney's shoulder popped out and Toth kept her out of the game until she asked to go back in to pass the ball before it popped out again.

"Riley wanted to be out there," Toth said.

Toth said she had talked to Kenney's parents about the shoulder injury and they said that they would do whatever Kenney wanted to, and ever the competitor, she toughed it out.Polson beat Ronan 3-0, with scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-17.

That win clinched a state playoff berth for the Lady Pirates for the third straight year.

"Playing Ronan, it wasn't easy," Toth said. "They came out at us strong."

Kelley was her usual brilliant self, collecting 18 kills and four aces. Junior Ashley Johnson added five aces.

"It's tough because they have nothing to lose," Toth said of playing the lower seeded teams in the tourna-ment. "They come at you, they're going to try things they've never tried before. We were confident as a team and played as powerful as we can in the Columbia Falls and Ronan games."

Polson will play Laurel in the first round of the state tournament at 2 p.m. today in Bozeman. Toth said that while a top seed gives her team an easier road, everybody at state is a solid squad to face.

"We have to rely on what's taken us this far," Toth said. "We can't get in a mental slump if we get blocked. We're going to get blocked. A lot of teams are going to be like us in the tournament. They're going to have good hitters. We can't start to panic."

Polson's quick offense is important and Toth said that the Lady Pirates need to continue to be strategic with their hitting.

And if their game against Whitefish is any indicator, it should take them far.