All year, teams fight for the best record to go into the tournament on top. However, when tournament time arrives, anything can happen. Records don’t matter when teams are fighting for their season’s life. That was proven in both the District 6B and District 10C this past weekend.

DISTRICT 10C

In the 10C District tournament this past weekend, Charlo went in as the number one seed with a perfect conference record. Arlee went in third and were coming off an important win against the number two seeded Plains Trotters the week before. Arlee carried that momentum through the first two matches, defeating Superior on Friday morning, then turning around and doing the same to Plains a few hours later. Against Superior, Carly Hergett led the attack with 11 kills. Abby Yocum, who goes under the radar for the Scarlets due to lack of stats, had a great game and tournament. She had two blocks against Superior, and made some important saves in both games on Friday to keep to Scarlets on the winning side of the bracket. Megan Reed also had a great tournament. Her service aces brought the Scarlets from behind in multiple games. Against Superior, she had nine aces, and later against Plains, she had five.

After defeating Superior, Arlee, with a surge in confidence and momentum, defeated Plains in five games. Bryndle Goyins had 10 kills, four blocks, and seven digs. Becca Whitesell, who was playing with a wrist injury, had 24 of the team’s 26 assists. That win put the Scarlets in the semifinal game against Charlo on Saturday morning.

Charlo’s tournament got started against Two Eagle River in a very early contest on Friday morning at 8 a.m. The Vikings defeated the Eagles in three quick games. Kaitlin Cox led the attack with nine kills and Cheyenne Nagy had three blocks to go along with her seven aces. Mikaylan Roylance had eight digs and 17 assists. For Two Eagle, Tyra Michel had 11 digs and one assist. Naomi Stevens and Misty Mendoza each added an ace.

Next up for Charlo was Noxon, who had defeated St. Regis. In another quick contest, Charlo won in three games. Nagy had 11 kills, Ashley Tryon had two blocks, Jaycee Andersen had eight digs, and Cox had five of the team’s 14 aces. With their second win of the day, Charlo was in the semifinals.

On Saturday morning, Charlo and Arlee matched up for a spot in the championship. Charlo had previously beaten Arlee twice during the regular season. However, the momentum of the Scarlets would not be stopped. It took four games, but the Scarlets came out on top and secured their spot in the divisional tournament, while Charlo would have to play Plains for the other spot in the championship game. Carly Hergett led Arlee against Charlo with 10 kills and two blocks. Nagy led Charlo with eight kills and 17 digs.

While Arlee got a break, Charlo got ready to take on Plains. Charlo had beaten the Trotters fairly easily in each of their regular season games, but the third time was a charm for Plains. In five games, the Trotters overwhelmed the Vikings. Kaitlin Cox had 13 kills, Ashley Tryon had four blocks, and Jaycee Andersen had eight aces. Mikaylan Roylance had 15 digs and 21 assists. With the loss, Charlo took the third place spot. That meant they would have to play another third place team from the 9C district, Phillipsburg, to get into the divisional tournament in Butte this weekend.

In the championship game, Arlee had the upper hand, as Plains would have to beat them twice to steal the district title from them. In an interesting line up change the night before, Plains put their setter, Kimberly Earhart, in as a libero, possibly to help deflect the kills from the tall Arlee spikers at the net. However, without her setting skills, Plains had struggled. On Saturday in the championship, Earhart was back in as setter, playing all the way around the court. That may have been the change the Trotters needed to defeat the Scarlets. Plains would win the first match in five games, then take control in the second match 3-0 to win the district championship.

Arlee will go into the Western C divisional tournament as the number two seed.

On Monday, Charlo traveled back to Superior to take on Phillipsburg to earn their spot in the divisional tournament.

Charlo found their footing fast after a tough weekend. The Vikings won in three games, two of which were wins by 10 points or more. Charlo will play White Sulphur Springs on Thusday, and Arlee will match up with Ennis.

Charlo def. Two Eagle River, 25-14, 25-7, 25-9.

Kills – Charlo 23 (Kaitlin Cox 9), Two Eagle 4. Blocks – Charlo 5 (Cheyenne Nagy 3), Two Eagle 0. Digs – Charlo 25 (Mikaylan Roylance) 8, Two Eagle 39 (Tyra Michel 11). Assists – Charlo 21 (Roylance 17), Two Eagle 2 (Michel 1, Casadi Wunderlich 1). Aces – Charlo 19 (Nagy 7), Two Eagle 2 (Naomi Stevens 1, Misty Blue Mendoza 1).

Arlee def. Superior, 25-18, 25-17, 14-25, 25-19.

Kills – Arlee 28 (Carly Hergett 11), Superior 26 (Danielle Ewoniuk 9). Blocks – Arlee 4 (Abby Yocum 2), Superior 1 (Marissa Koke). Digs – Arlee 40 (Kaylee Samsel 9), Superior 55 (Kaylee Ray 13). Assists – Arlee 24 (Becca Whitesell 20), Superior 24 (Morgan Sharp 15). Aces – Arlee 9 (Megan Reed 9), Superior 9 (Ewoniuk 4).

Charlo def. Noxon, 25-13, 25-20, 25-18.

Kills – Charlo 30 (Cheyenne Nagy 11), Noxon 18 (Asiah Jensen 6). Blocks – Charlo 3 (Ashley Tyron 2), Noxon 4 (Cory Brodmerkle 2, Delaney Weltz 2). Digs – Charlo 34 (Jaycee Anderson 8), Noxon 53 (Natalia Beardsley 13). Assists – Charlo 29 (Mikaylan Roylance 22), Noxon 14 (Anna Fitchett 7). Aces – Charlo 14 (Kaitlin Cox 5), Noxon 4 (Kristina Brown 3).

Arlee def. Plains, 12-25, 26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 16-14.

Kills – Plains 32 (Hailey Coe 12), Arlee 29 (Bryndle Goyins 10). Blocks – Plains 9 (Leah Thompson 5.5), Arlee 6 (Goyins 4). Digs – Plains 37 (Kimberly Earhart 7), Arlee 32 (Goyins 7). Assists – Plains 27 (Kristen Joesphson 19), Arlee 26 (Becca Whitesell 24). Aces – Plains 23 (Jessica Thompson 9), Arlee 7 (Megan Reed 5).

Arlee def. Charlo 19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20

Kills – Charlo 27 (Cheyenne Nagy 8), Arlee 22 (Carly Hergett 10). Blocks – Charlo 1, Arlee 5 (Hergett 2, Ashley Revis 2). Digs – Charlo 62 (Nagy 17), Arlee 46 (Shaylee Perry 12). Assists – Charlo 20 (Mikaylan Roylance 15), Arlee 20 (Becca Whitesell 19). Aces – Charlo 7 (Jaycee Andersen 3), Arlee 1 (Megan Reed).

Plains def. Charlo, 11-25, 25-19, 25-14, 18-25, 15-11

Kills – Charlo 33 (Kaitlin Cox 13), Plains 24 (Ronnie Black 12). Blocks – Charlo 6 (Ashley Tyron 4), Plains 12 (Leah Thompson 5). Digs – Charlo 67 (Mikaylan Roylance 15), Plains 33 (Kimberly Earhart 10). Assists – Charlo 28 (Roylance 21), Plains 24 (Earhart 21). Aces – Charlo 14 (Jaycee Anderson 8), Plains 6 (Kristen Josephson 3).

District 10-C

First Championship

Plains def. Arlee 3-2

Second championship

Plains def. Arlee, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15.

Kills – Arlee 15 (Carly Hergett 5), Plains 28 (Hailey Coe 9). Blocks – Arlee 7 (Hergett 4), Plains 3 (Leah Thompson 3). Digs – Arlee 36 (Shaylee Perry 10), Plains 27 (Kimberly Earhart 8). Assists – Arlee 8 (Becca Whitesell 8), Plains 22 (Earhart 20). Aces – Arlee 5 (Hergett 2), Plains 11 (Rachel Worrall 5).

Monday

Charlo def. Phillipsburg 25-12, 26-24, 25-15

CHARLO- Kills- (30) Kaitlin Cox 11, Cheyenne Nagy 8. Digs- (99) Nagy 22, Mikaylan Roylance 17, Cox 16, Allie Delaney 16, Teaira Truman 12, Jaycee Andersen 12. Assists- Roylance 26. Aces- (14) Jaycee Anderen-7.

At Superior

Friday

Charlo def. Two Eagle River, 3-0

Noxon def. St. Regis, 3-1

Plains def. Hot Springs, 3-0

Arlee def. Superior, 3-1

Charlo def. Noxon, 3-0

Arlee def. Plains, 3-2

St. Regis def. Two Eagle River, 3-0, LO

Hot Springs def. Superior, 3-2, LO

Saturday

Plains def. St. Regis, 3-0 LO

Noxon def. Hot Springs, 3-0 LO

Arlee def. Charlo, 3-1 Semifinal

Plains def. Noxon, 3-0, fourth

Plains def. Charlo, 3-2, third

Plains def. Arlee, 3-2 1 championship

Plains def. Arlee, 3-0 2 championship

DISTRICT 6B

In Florence this past weekend, the Ronan Maidens and Mission Bulldogs were both hoping to extend their seasons into the divisional tournament. With four teams moving on to divisionals, both teams had a great chance. Ronan was matched up against Deer Lodge and Mission matched up against Loyola. Against Deer Lodge, Ronan, who lost to Deer Lodge just last week, came out play. They took the first game, lost the second, then won the next two to move on in the tournament. Alicia Camel had 11 kills for the Maidens, and Lee Camel added three blocks. Shaina Snyder had 11 digs and six aces.

In the second match of the tourney, Mission was downed by Loyola in straight games. Jordyn Eichert had six digs and eight assists, four of which led to kills by Sydney Castor. Daisie VandenBos added six digs and an ace for the Bulldogs, who would take on the loser of the Florence versus Ronan game.

In that game, Ronan had their work cut out for them against the top seeded Falcons. In the first game, the Maidens played them close, losing by just two points. After that the Falcons picked up momentum and won the next two games by margins of six and 12 points.

The loss sent Ronan into the bottom of the bracket, where they would take on Mission for a chance to punch their ticket to the divisional tournament. Mission came out strong in that match, winning the first game by a score of 25-17. After that, Ronan got their momentum back, taking the next easily before sneaking by the Bulldogs in the third and getting back on track in the fourth. With the 3-1 win by the Maidens, Mission was knocked out of the tournament and Ronan was guaranteed a spot at the divisional tournament in Libby. Ashley Peterson led the Ronan attack in that game with 11 kills. Sydney Castor had 10 kills and five aces in her last game as a Bulldog.

On Saturday, Ronan took on Anaconda for a chance to move in to the third place game. They played Anaconda tough, winning the first game by two points. After that the momentum swung in Anaconda’s direction, and they took the next three to leave the Maidens in fourth place.

Shaina Snyder had six kills and 10 assists in that match. Lee Camel had thee blocks, and Sadie Wirz added 14 digs and three aces.

Ronan will take on the number one seed out of the 7B district, Thompson Falls, at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Ronan def. Deer Lodge, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-16.

Kills – Ronan (Alicia Camel 11). Blocks – Ronan (Lee Camel 3). Digs – Ronan (Snyder 11). Assists – Ronan (13). Aces – Ronan (Shaina Snyder 6).

Loyola def. Mission 25-13, 25-7, 25-10.

Kills – Mission (Sydney Castor 4). Digs – Mission (Daisie VandenBos 6, Jordyn Eichert 6). Assists – Mission (Eichert 8). Aces – Mission (VandenBos, Haley Carrol)

Florence def. Ronan, 25-23, 25-19, 25-13.

Kills – Florence (Sabrina Hopcroft 16), Ronan N/A. Blocks – Florence N/A (Megan Kiwalski 7), Ronan N/A. Digs – Florence N/A (Hunter Doty 20), Ronan N/A. Assists – Florence N/A (Rylie Hawkins 35), Ronan N/A. Aces – Florence 3 (Sabrina Hopcroft 3).

Ronan def. Mission, 17-25, 25-14, 27-25, 25-14.

Kills – Ronan (Ashley Peterson 11), Mission (Sydney Castor 10). Blocks – Ronan (Lee Camel 3), Mission (Afton Brander 1). Digs – Ronan (Sadie Wirz 21), Mission (Nalani Linsebigler 15). Assists – Ronan (Jordyn Clairmont 22), Mission (Jordyn Eichert 9). Aces – Ronan (Shaina Synder 4), Mission (Castor 5).

Anaconda def. Ronan, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18.

Kills – Ronan 18 (Shaina Snyder 6), Anaconda 36. Blocks – Ronan 3 (Lee Camel 3), Anaconda 10. Digs – Ronan 64 (Sadie Wirz 14), Anaconda 56). Assists – Ronan 20 (Snyder 10), Anaconda 27). Aces – Ronan 8 (Wirz 3), Anaconda 9.

POLSON

By JOHN HEGLIE

At Polson on Tuesday, the Lady Broncs and the Lady Pirates engaged in a tight contest. Both Bronc and Pirate played each other tight through the midpoint of each set that tallied at 20 ties over the course of the entire match.

The middle games were the most closely contested. Polson rallied from behind in the second to tie at 18 apiece on a Lydia Dupuis service ace, punctuating the culmination of that game with another ace by Erin Sampson to tie the match up at one game apiece. Both teams recognized the swing significance of the third set, only this time it would be Hamilton that would rally from a five point deficit to tie things up at 21 apiece before a pair of Haley Fyant spikes swung the game in Polson’s favor.

The fourth and final game was tied a half dozen times up through 10 apiece before Polson began to pull away, forcing a Hamilton timeout. The Lady Pirates built a 21-14 advantage when the Lady Broncs made a run that cut the lead in half. But Polson knuckled down and would prevail for their fourth win over a SWA team this season and their third victory in the past quartet of games.

Fyant led the Pirates with 20 points off 18 spikes, an ace and a block. Chadelle Smith, Lauren Lefthand and Nicole Lake collaborated on just under two dozen more kills. Lydia Dupuis, Erin Sampson and Marlee Congdon each served up a pair of aces. Dupuis spearheaded the defense with 16 digs, while Marlee Congdon and Shawna Lenz combined for another 28 digs. Hamilton (5-9) was without the services of All-State Lady Griz recruit Shannon Casale.

At Polson on Senior Night this past Thursday, the host Lady Pirates played some of the best volleyball of the season against the visiting then-undefeated WildKats by giving them a good scare before Halloween.

In the first game, Polson jumped out to an early 7-0 lead that included three service aces in a row by Haley Fyant. The Lady Pirates held a 20-15 lead after a Hannah Fryberger ace, but then the Kats mounted their rally, tying the game at 20 apiece before going up by two 20-22. Polson battled back to tie twice at 23 apiece and 24 all before Columbia Falls captured the match in extras. The Lady Pirates served seven of their nine aces in that opening set, only the second time through that juncture of the season that Columbia Falls had been forced to play out a set into extras.

The second set started out in reverse fashion as Polson trailed 0-4 before they would score a point. In a sort span, a Marlee Congdon service ace tied the set at 13 apiece, then a Fyant kill kept Kats close at 14 apiece. Back to back spikes by Lauren Lefthand and Fyant tied the set one last time at 23 apiece before an untimely service error and a subsequent Columbia Falls exclamation point would concede the game to the visitors for a 2-0 advantage.

There is a saying that “trouble comes in threes” and the third game was no exception. The game would tie five times through the midpoint, the final time at unlucky 13 apiece before Columbia Falls would edge ahead.

Haley Fyant contributed 11 points to the coffers on 8 kills and 3 aces, while four of the six honored seniors collaborated on another 11 points with Nichole Lake spiking a half dozen kills along with a block, Julia Sanderson adding a block and almost getting credit for a kill, while Lydia Dupuis along with Erin Sampson combined for a trio of service aces.

Polson (1-5, 6-8) faces Corvallis in game three of the first round of Divisional play on Thursday.

Polson def Hamilton 16-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-18

KILLS – Hamilton 35 (Caitlin Gillespie 9), Polson 42 (Haley Fyant 18, Chadelle Smith 9, Lauren Lefthand 7, Nicole Lake 7, Erin Sampson). ACES – Hamilton 9 (Brooke Huxtable 4), Polson 8 (Lydia Dupuis 2, Sampson 2, Marlee Congdon 2, Kaelyn Smith, Fyant). ASSISTS – Hamilton 24 (Caitlin Dillon 20), Polson 42 (Sampson 39, Kyler Lundeen, Lefthand, Julia Sanderson). BLOCKS – Hamilton 4 (Dillon 2, Gillespie 2), Polson 5 (Lefthand BS+BA, Lake BS+BA, Fyant BS, Chadelle Smith 2BA). DIGS – Hamilton 55 (Tristy Searle 21), Polson 64 (Dupuis 16, Shawna Lenz 14, Congdon 14, Fyant 7, Lefthand 4, Sampson 4, Lundeen 2, Kaelyn Smith 2, Sanderson)

Columbia Falls def. Polson 26-24, 25-23, 25-21

KILLS – C.Falls 28 (Morgan Stenger 10), Polson 27 (Haley Fyant 8, Lauren Lefthand 7, Nichole Lake 6, Chadelle Smith 5, Kaelyn Smith). ACES – C.Falls 5 (Kaitlyn Casazza 3), Polson 9 (Hannah Fryberger 3, Fyant 3, Lydia Dupuis 2, Erin Sampson). ASSISTS – C.Falls 26 (Cydney Finberg 26), Polson 26 (Sampson 26). BLOCKS – C.Falls 10 (Stenger 6), Polson 5 (Lauren Lefthand 2, Julia Sanderson, Chadelle Smith, Lake). DIGS – C.Falls 29 (Casazza 10), Polson 34 (Marlee Congdon 12, Shawna Lenz 6, Dupuis 4, Fyant 4, Kyler Lundeen 2, Kaelyn Smith 2, Sampson 2, Fryberger, Lefthand)