Volleyball: Wolfpack ready to go
FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 2 weeks AGO
Glacier's Grace Lingle (13) goes to the net for a kill against Flathead at Glacier High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
SPORTS EDITOR Fritz Neighbor is the Sports Editor for the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees sports coverage across the Flathead Valley, including high school athletics, youth sports, and regional competitions. In his leadership role, he helps shape the newspaper’s sports coverage and editorial direction. Fritz’s column, Full Count, taps into his decades’ long career covering Montana sports. You’ll also see Fritz sharing his thoughts and insights on the Big Sky Now podcast. IMPACT: Fritz’s work celebrates the athletes and teams that bring Northwest Montana communities together. | August 26, 2025 9:05 PM
First-year head coach Jaimie Nelson figures if her Glacier Wolfpack play as a team, the results will show at the net.
Having coached the Glacier freshmen team the last two seasons, Nelson knew most of the Wolfpack squad that went 8-6 in Western AA matches a year ago (and 11-18 overall) under the now-retired Christy Harkins.
Seven seniors and four juniors fill out the roster, though notably one senior, Cassidy Daniels, is questionable for the season because of an injury dating back to basketball season. Another standout, second-team all-Western AA middle hitter Mali Carroll, transferred out of state.
The seniors that will suit up Friday, when the Pack plays host to Gallatin High: Middle hitters Grace Lingle and Marlo Carpenter; defensive specialists Quinn Berkram and Addison Malchi; outside hitter Avaieh Thomas and setter/hitter Stella Bayard.
“We had a great offseason,” Nelson said. “We had camps, open gyms, lifting, and the seniors showed up and set the standard. I really believe this group understands that being great doesn’t just happen. They’re working at it and they’re relentless.”
The juniors include second-team all-Western AA middle hitter Allie Krueger, Madi Stevens, Addison Thramer and Rylee Bigelow.
“We have great juniors,” Nelson said. “Right now, we’re not focusing on the individual players; we’re working on building a united team. We want a group that’s focused on playing well together. I think if we do that our individual talents will shine through.”
The Pack will be tested early: Gallatin went 28-2 last season enroute to the State AA championship. The Raptors come in Friday at 4 p.m.; on Saturday Glacier has home matches with Great Falls Russell at 12:30 p.m. and Great Falls High at 4:30.
The following Saturday is a Crossover tournament at Great Falls. It’s notable that the Eastern AA went a combined 82-16 against the West last season; among Western AA teams only Helena High won as many as four intra-conference matches.
“We have a challenging start to our season but we’re looking forward to it,” Nelson said. “But we’re excited. The girls are ready go.”
ARTICLES BY FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Sluggers: Familiar faces head out on road
There’s an odd dichotomy at work in the local baseball scene, in that it looks on paper — OK, on GameChanger — like more athletes are playing than ever while in places Legion ball is losing ground.
Wolfpack takes 3rd at AA softball
The Glacier Wolfpack’s annual sojourn through the consolation bracket ended a game early this spring, with a 7-5 loss to Great Falls CMR in the State AA softball third-place game Saturday.
AA softball: Pack wins 3, plays CMR next
The Glacier Wolfpack got better the longer Friday got, and when you add in a 3.5-hour lightning delay, that’s pretty long.