Bravettes capture title; 'Dogs 2nd, Loggers 3rd
The Daily Inter Lake
MISSOULA - Northwestern Montana showed its power, depth and talent at the Missoula County Public School Invitational Saturday.
The two-day event ended with Flathead taking top honors, Whitefish placing second and Libby third.
"It bodes pretty well for the Flathead Valley to have both of us in there," said Flathead coach Christy Harkins.
"That was a good thing. It was great to play Whitefish. They threw some great offense at us and played really well."
Flathead defeated Whitefish in the title match, 25-14, 25-21.
"I'm really proud," said Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller.
"The Flathead Valley represented itself really well in this tournament. They should be proud Whitefish and Flathead played for the championship."
Harkins said Flathead trailed 21-18 in the second game before battling back.
"We had some good serving," she said.
"Emilee Hashley served well to finish it off."
Before her, Kelsey Kottraba came through at the service line.
"The two of them had tough serves," Harkins said.
"It got Whitefish out of their offense a little bit. Whitefish was really pounding the ball hard at us."
This marked the first time Flathead has won the invitational.
"It feels very good, real exciting," said Harkins.
"I'm very proud of the kids."
Harkins said the team played consistently both days.
"We worked together a little bit better every match," she said.
Harkins said Hashley did an outstanding job stepping in for the injured Shaina Evans. Hashley had seven kills and three aces versus Whitefish.
"She (Hashley) played an unbelievable game," Fuller said.
"Their serving took us out of our offense.
"I'm really happy with the way the kids played, worked in this tournament," Fuller continued.
"Whitefish has never been in the championship (game here). Last year we took third, a couple years ago we took third, so it was a good tradition to start."
Libby just missed out on a chance to play in the championship bracket by a game. That meant it came down to a tie-breaker with another team and Libby lost out.
"We were real disappointed to not make the championship bracket," said Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston.
"It was hard to take when it was one game."
But the Loggers remained focused and won the consolation title instead.
Libby has won this tournament twice, 1997 and 2003.
The Loggers defeated C.M. Russell for the consolation title, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12."
"We did a better job blocking in that match than we did all year," said Ostrem-Johnston.
"That made a difference in the match."
Libby had six blocks versus CMR with Karen Byrns getting four.
Jackie Mee had 11 kills, only two errors, in the final and Brooke Hageness eight kills and three errors.
"Jackie's attack percentage was .409, which is awesome," said Ostrem-Johnston.
"Brooke's was .208. Those were real strong performances."
Ostrem-Johnston said Megan Wedel and Laice Dedtick passed well against CMR and "they were also strong on defense.
"A good tournament for us," she continued.
"We gained a lot of experience, we learned a lot about our team. We worked through some adversity, which is good."
Championship Bracket
Quarterfinals
Flathead defeated Butte 25-17, 26-24
Kills - Flathead 23 (Chelsea Vaudt 7, Kendalyn Habel 5, Emilee Hashley 5); Blocks - Flathead 4 (Hashley 4); Assists - Flathead 20 (Lindsay Ingram 13); Digs - Flathead 28 (Habel 10); Aces - Flathead 14 (Kelsey Kottraba 6, Habel).
Semifinals
Flathead defated Missoula Sentinel 25-16, 25-19
Kills - Flathead 20 (Ashlea Vaudt 5, Hashley 5); Blocks - Flathead 5 (Hashley 3); Assists - Flathead 23 (Ingram 15); Digs - Flathead 27 (Habel 8, Ingram 4); Aces - Flathead 8 (Ingram 3)
Championship
Flathead defeated Whitefish 25-14, 25-21
Kills - Flathead 28 (C. Vaudt 9, Hashley 7); Blocks - Flathead 6 (C. Vaudt 3, A. Vaudt 3); Assists - Flathead 24 (Ingram 17); Digs - Flathead 39 (Habel 11, Ashley Robinson 11); Aces - Flathead 5 (Hashley 3, Kottraba 2).
No stats for Whitefish
Consolation Bracket
Quarterfinals
Libby defeated Missoula Loyola 25-7, 26-24
Kills - Libby 26 (Laice Dedrick 6, Brooke Hageness 6, Karen Byrns 6, Jackie Mee 5); Blocks - Libby 1 (Byrns); Assists - Libby 19 (Shelby Barton 17); Digs - Libby 35 (Dedrick 7, Hageness 7, Mee 6); Aces - Libby 8 (Mee 3, Byrns 2, Barton 2).
Semifinals
Libby defeated Bigfork 25-18, 25-12
Kills - Libby 24 (Byrns 8, Hageness 7); Blocks - Libby 0; Assists - Libby 22 (Barton 16); Digs - Libby 16 (Dedrick 5); Aces - Libby 14 (Mee 4)
Championship
Libby defeated CMR 23-25, 25-20, 15-12
Kills - Libby 26 (Mee 11, Hageness 8); Blocks - Libby 6 (Byrns 4); Assists - Libby 21 (Barton 19); Digs - Libby 35 (Dedrick 12, Megan Wedel 7); Aces - Libby 8 (Barton 3)
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Other championship bracket games - Helena Capital def. Big Sky 25-19, 25-16; Whitefish def. Great Falls High 25-21, 25-18; Sentinel def. Hellgate 25-9, 22-25, 15-13; Great Falls High def. Big Sky 20-25, 25-13, 15-11; Butte def. Helena 25-14, 25-15; Whitefish def Cap 25-22, 25-17; Sentinel def Great Falls 25-15, 21-25, 15-12; Capital def. Butte 27-25, 25-19; Sentinel def Capital 25-22, 25-20 for third place.
Consolation bracket games - Bigfork def. Hellgate 25-19, 25-21; Great Falls Russell def. Polson 25-22, 21-25, 15-13; Anaconda def. Columbia Falls 25-17, 25-6; Hellgate def. Loyola 25-20, 19-25, 15-10; Columbia Falls def. Polson 25-17, 28-30, 15-10; Great Falls Russell def Anaconda 25-8, 25-16; Anaconda def. Hellgate 21-25, 25-22, 15-9; Columbia Falls def. Bigfork 25-12, 25-22; Anaconda def Columbia Falls 25-17, 25-6 for third in consolation.