Columbia Falls had a tough time against Class AA opponents at the Missoula Invitational volleyball tournament Oct. 11. The Wildkats went 5-9 overall in the tournament.

The Kats lost to Glacier 25-14, 25-13 and to Flathead 25-23, 25-16 in the championship bracket.

In pool play, Missoula Hellgate beat Columbia Falls 20-18, 20-16, and Helena Capital beat the Kats 20-19, 20-17. The Kats split with CMR Great Falls 20-12, 10-20 and with Missoula Big Sky 13-20, 20-10.

Against Class A schools, the Kats beat Whitefish 20-16, 20-8 and split with Frenchtown 20-19, 10-20.

But coach Josie Brown said the scores don’t really tell the story. The Wildkats were down five players in the tourney — two to homecoming, others were taking SATs and other college entrance exams.

As a result, the team was primarily playing its sophomores, and they did really well, she said.

“We were the only A school to make it the championship bracket,” she said.

The Wildkats continue their long road trip this week as they face Libby away on Thursday and Frenchtown away on Saturday in key conference matchups. They’ll be at full strength for those games.