The Lady Loggers were looking for a little magic in their bid for a trip to the state tournament, but were not able to conjure a win against the Polson Pirates on Saturday.

The Loggers started off the tournament as the fifth seed taking on the Pirates on their home floor. The Loggers scrapped on defense and kept the Pirates off-balance with their attack in the first set. After two Dayln Germany aces put the Loggers up 22-20, right-side hitter Hailley Moe went down with a twisted ankle on a block attempt and the shell-shocked Loggers once again saw a late lead disappear and lost 25-22.

The Loggers lost the second set 25-22 after staging a furious rally. The team struggled in the final set before succumbing 25-9.  

In the evening loser-out contest, with Moe playing almost flat-footed, the Loggers pulled out their third win of the season against Whitefish in four sets. Devon Gallagher’s 14 kills and four aces led the Lady Loggers. After dropping a tough 25-27 decision in the first set, Libby responded with 25-21, 25-20 and 25-22 wins.  

The win moved them to the next loser-out contest against Polson, who had lost their semifinal match against Frenchtown. With Moe on the sidelines, the Loggers battled, but couldn’t find an answer for the curse of the Pirates.

They played solid volleyball, winning many long defensive rallies, but Polson beat the Loggers for the fifth time this season, 25-17, 25-18, 25-21.

1st Round: Polson-Libby

Kills – Polson 33 (Chloie Huerta 12), Libby 29 (Gallagher 7); Blocks – Polson 3, Libby 0

Libby-Whitefish

Kills – Whitefish 31 (Myndie Holbrook 9), Libby 47 (Gallagher 14); Blocks – Whitefish 9 (Marlow Schultz 2), Libby 2 (Gallagher, Staci Regh, Germany 1)