State voleyball: Valley teams drop openers

BOZEMAN — The State Volleyball Tournament was not kind to the Flathead Valley Thursday.

All three area teams — Glacier in AA, and Bigfork and Columbia Falls in A — lost their opening matches at the tournament at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. 

Glacier fell to top-ranked Gallatin in three sets; both Columbia Falls and Bigfork won a set but lost in four: Billings Central beat the Wildkats and Hardin upended the Valkyries. 

Gallatin def. Glacier 3-0 

Kansas State volleyball recruit Cadence Lundgren had 10 kills, three aces and was in on seven of her team’s 13 blocks as the Raptors won 25-20, 25-15, 25-21.  

McKayla Coleman had seven kills and shared in five blocks for Gallatin (25-1). 

For the Wolfpack (11-7), Avaieh Thomas had a match-high 11 kills, with Cassidey Daniels and Grace Lingle added four each. Daniels and Mali Carrol had two blocks each; Daniels and Addison Malchi had two aces apiece. 

Glacier will face Missoula Sentinel in a loser-out match Friday at 10 a.m. Sentinel won their two regular-season meetings.  

Gallatin def. Glacier 25-20, 25-15, 25-21. 

Kills — Gallatin 35 (Cadence Lundgren 10, Emma Hardman 8, McKayla Coleman 7), Glacier 24 (Avaieh Thomas 11, Cassidy Daniels 4, Grace Lingle 4). Assists — Gallatin 31 (Jorie Houk 16, Markie Wiseman 15), Glacier 22 (Stella Bayard 14, Madi Stevens 7). Digs — Gallatin 29 (Taylor Speake 8), Glacier 19 (Kenedee Moore 6, Daniels 4, Bayard 4). Blocks — Gallatin 13 (Lundgren 7), Glacier 5 (Mali Carroll 2, Daniels 2, Allie Krueger). Aces — Gallatin 7 (Lundgren 3), Glacier 5 (Daniels 2, Addison Malchi 2, Bayard). 

Billings Central def. Columbia Falls 3-0 

Central’s Kamryn Reinker had a huge match with 17 kills, five aces and 14 digs.  

The Wildkats showed some moxie, rallying from a 25-4 second-set loss to take the third set 26-24. The Rams then pulled out the fourth set 25-23. 

Emalee Alton had a nice all-round match for the Kats: 11 kills, 13 digs and three aces. Kierra Kemppainen filled up the stat sheet with 13 assists and 12 digs; Rylee Sweeney had six kills and four blocks. 

Columbia Falls dropped into a noon loser-out match Friday against Lockwood. 

Billings Central def. Columbia Falls 25-13, 25-4, 24-26, 25-23 

Kills — Columbia Falls 22 (Emalee Alton 11, Rylee Sweeney 6, Sadie Cheff 3), Billings Central 47 (Kamryn Reinker 17. Ryen Hadley 9. CC Case 9). Assists — Columbia Falls 14 (Kierra Kemppainen 13, Jez Brooks 1), Billings Central 44 (Annie Hanser 34). Digs — Columbia Falls 72 (Alton 13, Ava Scholz 12, Kemppainen 12), Billings Central 76 (Kaitlyn Foster 20). Blocks — Columbia Falls 4 (Sweeney 4), Billings Central 9 (Gracie Loveridge 2.5, Case 2.5). Aces — Columbia Falls 8 (Scholz 4, Kemppaine 3, Annika Reid 1), Billings Central 11 (Reinker 5). 

Hardin def. Bigfork 3-0 

Like Columbia Falls, Bigfork fell behind two sets to zero before taking the third. The defending champion Hardin Bulldogs prevailed 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17. 

Freshman Maddie Hayes Corona had a huge match for the Vals with 18 kills, 18 digs and a block. Hardin was able to offset that with Makenna Torske, who had 21 kills and six blocks. 

Taylor Howlett had 28 set assists and three aces for Bigfork, which has a 10 a.m. loser-out match with Lewistown. 

Hardin def. Bigfork 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17 

Kills — Hardin 44 (Makenna Torske 21, Johanna Limberhand 10), Bigfork 42 (Maddie Hays Corona 18, Piper Lee 8, Ragan Waller 7). Assists — Hardin 34 (Taiya Guptill 32), Bigfork 28 (Taylor Howlett 28). Digs — Hardin 85 (Torske 18, Ella Carleton 18), Bigfork 83 (Olivia Claybourn 21, Hayes Corona 18, Casse Schlicht 17). Blocks — Hardin 11 (Torse 6), Bigfork 4 (Lillie Suffia 3, Hayes Corona 1). Aces — Hardin 7 (Liberty Koyama 3), Bigfork 8 (Waller 4, Howlett 3, Lee 1). 

Scores and Pairings

State AA 

Thursday

Match 1: Gallatin def. Glacier 25-20, 25-15, 25-21 

Match 2: Bozeman def. Missoula Sentinel 25-19, 25-15, 25-19 

Match 3: Billings West def. Helena 18-25, 28-30, 25-22, 25-12, 15-12 

Match 4: Billings Senior def. Missoula Hellgate 25-18, 25-12, 25-16 

Match 5: Gallatin def. Bozeman 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 

Match 6: Billings Senior def. Billings West 25-21, 25-23, 25-15 

Friday

Match 7: Glacier (11-17) vs. Sentinel (12-14), 10 a.m. 

Match 8: Helena (15-11) vs. Hellgate (13-14), noon 

Match 9: Winner 7 vs. Billings West (18-10), 2 p.m. 

Match 10: Bozeman (24-5) vs. Winner 8, 4 p.m. 

Match 11: Gallatin (26-1) vs. Billings Senior (23-3), semifinal, 6 p.m. 

Match 12: Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, loser is fourth, 8 p.m. 

Saturday

Match 13: Winner 12 vs. Loser 11, loser is third, 10 a.m. 

Match 14: Winner 11 vs. Winner 13, championship, noon 

Match 15: If necessary, 2 p.m. 

State A 

Thursday

Match 1: Hardin def. Bigfork 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17 

Match 2: Dillon def. Lewistown 25-22, 25-13, 25-23 

Match 3: Frenchtown def. Lockwood 25-11, 25-18, 25-15 

Match 4: Billings Central def. Columbia Falls 25-13, 25-4, 24-26, 25-23 

Match 5: Dillon def. Hardin 25-16, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 15-12 

Match 6: Billings Central def. Frenchtown 27-25, 25-10, 28-26 p.m. 

Friday

Match 7: Bigfork vs. Lewistown, 10 a.m. 

Match 8: Lockwood vs. Columbia Falls, noon 

Match 9: Winner 7 vs. Frenchtown, 2 p.m. 

Match 10: Hardin vs. Winner 8, 4 p.m. 

Match 11: Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, semifinal, 6 p.m. 

Match 12: Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, loser is fourth, 8 p.m. 

Saturday

Match 13: Winner 12 vs. Loser 11, loser is third, 10 a.m. 

Match 14: Winner 11 vs. Winner 13, championship, noon 

Match 15: If necessary, 2 p.m. 

State B 

Thursday

Match 1: Boulder def. Fairfield 25-10, 26-28, 25-22, 19-25, 15-8 

Match 2: Huntley Project def. Florence 25-23, 26-24, 25-15 

Match 3: Baker def. Shelby 25-13, 25-20, 25-19 

Match 4: Anaconda def. Chinook 25-20, 29-27, 25-17 

Match 5: Huntley Project def. Boulder 25-17, 25-9, 25-19 

Match 6: Baker def. Anaconda, score unavailable 

Friday

Match 7: Fairfield vs. Florence, 10 a.m. 

Match 8: Chinook vs. Shelby, noon 

Match 9: Winner 7 vs. Anaconda, 2 p.m. 

Match 10: Boulder vs. Winner 8, 4 p.m. 

Match 11: Baker vs. Huntley Project, semifinal, 6 p.m. 

Match 12: Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, loser is fourth, 8 p.m. 

Saturday

Match 13: Winner 12 vs. Loser 11, loser is third, 10 a.m. 

Match 14: Winner 11 vs. Winner 13, championship, noon 

Match 15: If necessary, 2 p.m. 

State C 

Thursday

Match 1: Gardiner def. North Country 23-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-16 

Match 2: Belt def. Bridger 25-20, 25-18, 25-23 

Match 3: Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine def. Big Sandy 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22 

Match 4: Circle def. White Sulphur Springs 25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-17. 

Match 5: Gardiner def. Belt 25-27, 25-12, 25-23, 25-19 

Match 6: Circle def. DGSG, score unavailable 

Friday

Match 7: North Country vs. Bridger, 10 a.m. 

Match 8: Big Sandy vs. White Sulphur Springs, noon 

Match 9: Winner 7 vs. DGSG, 2 p.m. 

Match 10: Belt vs. Winner 8, 4 p.m. 

Match 11: Gardiner vs. Circle, semifinal, 6 p.m. 

Match 12: Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, loser is fourth, 8 p.m. 

Saturday

Match 13: Winner 12 vs. Loser 11, loser is third, 10 a.m. 

Match 14: Winner 11 vs. Winner 13, championship, noon 

Match 15: If necessary, 2 p.m.