Volleyball is back at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman after a one-year hiatus of the Montana All-class tournament.

Due to the pandemic, the state tournament reverted to a home-site playoff format in 2020.

“It’s super exciting to be back in this tournament environment,” Glacier coach Christy Harkins said. “I think this is great for the kids and great for volleyball.”

Last year’s AA champion Helena Capital is notably absent, opening the door for Great Falls C.M. Russell, the 2020 runner-up with a stellar 27-0 record, to make a move. Billings West, which was third a year ago, brings in a 23-3 record and happens to be Glacier’s first round opponent. The Golden Bears are looking for their first state title since 2009. Glacier lost to West earlier this season.

“They have a lot of size, have good hitters,” Harkins said. “It’s going to be quite the challenging matchup, that’s for sure.”

Glacier (15-13) finished third at the Western AA divisional last week after losing to Butte in the first round. It was a big rebound for the Wolfpack, who knocked off No. 2 seed Helena en route to the consolation final, where they got another crack at the Butte Bulldogs and won to claim third place.

“I thought the girls worked really hard and played really well during divisional so we’re just trying to build on that.”

The Wolfpack has one of the top hitters in the state in Sidney Gulick, who averaged 4.38 kills per set in the regular season, 5.19 points per set and 3.78 digs.

Flathead (16-11) also has a big hitter in Savanna Sterck and her 3.27 kills per set. The Bravettes earned their first state tournament appearance since 2018 by beating Helena in the divisional semifinal.

They fell to Sentinel (22-5) in the final but it was still an impressive accomplishment from a program that has had a few down years and has been rebuilding under third-year coach Emily Russell.

Flathead has Bozeman (23-5) as a first-round opponent.

The Hawks finished third at the Eastern Divisional after falling to West in the semis.

Glacier and West start at noon today, and Flathead vs. Bozeman get going at 4 p.m.

Montana All-Class State Tournament

Nov. 11-13, MSU-Bozeman

State AA

Thursday

1-Missoula Sentinel vs. Billings Senior, 10 a.m.

2-Glacier vs. Billings West, Noon

3-Great Falls CMR vs. Butte, 2 p.m.

4-Bozeman vs. Flathead, 4 p.m.

5-Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 6 p.m.

6-Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8 p.m.

State A

Thursday

1-Miles City vs. Hamilton, 8 a.m., Schroyer Gym

2-Billings Central vs. Dillon, 10 a.m.

3-Ronan vs. Havre, noon\

4-Hardin vs. Corvallis, 2 p.m.

5-Polson vs. Winner 1, 4 p.m.

6-Winner 3 vs. Winner 2, 6 p.m.

7-Winner 4 vs. Winner 5, 8 p.m.

State B

Thursday

1-Choteau vs. Boulder, 10 a.m.

2-Thompson Falls vs. Townsend, Noon

3-Huntley Project vs. Malta, 2 p.m.

4-Glasgow vs. Florence, 4 p.m.

5-Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 6 p.m.

6-Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8 p.m.

State C

Thursday

1-Plentywood vs. Roy-Winifred, 10 a.m.

2-Fort Benton vs. White Sulphur Springs, Noon

3-Manhattan Christian vs. Simms, 2 p.m.

4-Bridger vs. Froid-Medicine Lake, 4 p.m.

5-Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 6 p.m.

6-Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8 p.m.