Hi-Line Volleyball Roundup: Chinook rolls, Harlem wins 2B rivalry match

In the first few weeks of the prep volleyball season teams are just getting their feet wet. Preseason tournaments give teams a chance to get the new season started without the pressures of conference play.

However, the pressures on the Hi-Line are real now as district and regular season play started to heat up last week.

The Chinook Sugarbeeters got their week off on the right foot, by sweeping Class B Malta Tuesday night. But by Thursday night, everyone was getting in on the act.

In Chester, the Chester/J-I Hawks earned a hard-fought, four-game win over the much-improved Box Elder Bears. The Hawks won by scores of 25-11, 25-15, 18-25 and 25-21, while Box Elder showed it’s not going to be a pushover the in the 6C East this season. Madeline Woods led the Hawks with six kills and 10 digs.

In a District 2B match Thursday night, Harlem was at home to host the Malta M-Ettes, and though the Wildcats played well, they lost in three games. Malta won by scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-20. Erin LaMere totaled six kills and six assists for the Wildcats, while Ticia Cliff had 13 digs and an ace and Chandra Sears added 13 digs.

Rocky Boy went on the road Thursday night, to face Class A Browning. Like Harlem, the Morning Stars played well, but came up short. The Indians won by scores of 17-25, 25-17, 25-16 and 25-20. Ariana Patacsil had five kills for the Morning Stars while Rainey Singer had a match-high 20 digs.

Things didn’t go much better for Rocky Boy Friday night, as the Morning Stars were beaten in Cut Bank in straight sets. In the 1B match, the Wolves won by scores of 25-4, 25-15 and 25-7. Jurnee LaForge had three kills for the Morning Stars, and Singer added 14 digs.

Harlem did bounce back Friday night, as the Wildcats beat Poplar in four games in a 2B showdown. Harlem won by scores of 18-25, 25-14, 25-22 and 25-22. Erin LaMere and Ticia Cliff had nine kills each for the Wildcats, while LaMere finished the match with 13 service aces and eight digs. Brooke LaValdo added a stuff block as Harlem won for the third time this season.

Friday night also saw the first of several big 6C East matches over the weekend, and this one belonged to Chinook. In Gildford, the Beeters crushed North Star by scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 26-24. The commanding second-set win was the difference for Chinook, which remained unbeaten this season.

Hannah Weber had eight kills and 12 assists for the Beeters, while Cortney Gunderson served up six aces and Brooke Nicholson totaled 15 digs. The Knights got five kills from Sheridan O’Neil, while Mackenzie Hansen had 44 digs and Kiera Miller nine blocks.

Chinook kept its winning streak intact with a sweep of Hays-Lodge Pole on Saturday. In Hays, the Beeters won by scores of 25-8, 25-9 and 25-6. Weber again had nine kills, while Kelsey Mathon added 10 digs. Shelby Denny had two kills and Shania Doney totaled two aces and five digs for the Thunderbirds.

North Star rebounded from its loss to Chinook with a dramatic 6C East win over C/J-I Saturday night in Rudyard. The Knights won by scores of 20-25, 25-17, 25-15 and 25-18, coming back from a first-set loss.

Tylynn Rettig totaled 13 kills, while Kiera Miller had six blocks and Graysen Spicher tallied seven aces for the Knights. The Hawks got 12 kills from Allix Goldhahn, while Kristina Dahinden had 13 digs.

In another important 6C match Saturday night, Big Sandy swept Box Elder by scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-23 in Box Elder. Abby Gregory led the Pioneers with two kills.

And in another District 2B match Saturday, Harlem was dropped by Plentywood by scores of 25-9, 25-22 and 25-15 in Plentywood. In the battle of the Wildcats, Harlem got seven kills from Brooke LeValdo, while Adena Wing had 15 digs. Erin LaMere also had 15 digs, seven assists and one ace in the loss.

Thursday

Malta def. Harlem

25-18, 25-16, 25-20

Malta: Kills 24 (Larimie Scheffelmear 5, Markelle Lett 5), Blocks 4 (Scheffelmear 2), Aces 16 (Kelsey Kuehn 6), Digs 36 (Kourtney Simonson 6), Assists 24 (Kuehn 5)

Harlem: Kills 14 (Erin LaMere 6), Blocks 2 (Brooke Levaldo 2), Aces 3 (Ticia Cliff 1, Alexa Longknife 1, Sami Werk 1), Digs 50 (Cliff 13, Chanda Sears 13), Assists 10 (LaMere 6)

Chester/J-I def. Box Elder

25-11, 25-15, 18-25, 25-21

Box Elder leaders – No stats available

C/J-I – Kills 19 (Madeline Woods 6, Allix Goldhahn 6); assists 14 (Emma Earl 6); aces 16 (Kristina Dahinden 6); digs 45 (Madeline Woods 10); blocks 0.

Browning def. Rocky Boy

17-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-20

Rocky Boy – Kills 13 (Ariana Patacsil 5); assists 10 (no leader reported); aces 17 (Savannah Stump 5); digs 34 (Rainy Singer 20); blocks 1 (Jurnee The Boy 1).

Browning – Kills 39 (Kaylea Skunkcap 11); assists 35 (Haley Brown 22); aces 9 (Melissa Flammond 3); digs 24 (Kaylea Skunkcap 5); blocks 8 (Terine Whitcomb 6).

Friday

Harlem def. Poplar

18-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-22

Harlem: Kills 30 (Erin Lamere 9, Ticia Cliff 9), Blocks 1 (Brooke Levaldo), Aces 23 (Lamere 13), Digs 75 (Chanda Sears 15), Assists 16 (Lamere 8, Alexa Long Knife 8)

Poplar: Kills 20 (Jessica Pipe 5, Brittany Whiteman 5), Blocks 2 (Pipe 2), Aces 18 (Brittany Whiteman 6) Digs 16 (Avery Azure 6), Assists 12 (Kylee Stump 7)

Cut Bank def. Rocky Boy

25-4, 25-15, 25-7

Cut Bank: Kills 18 (R Laird 5), Blocks 5 (M. VandenBos 1.5, R. Thompson 1.5), Aces 12 (A. Kraft 6), Digs 26 (VandenBos 6, A. Suta 6), Assists 15 (VandenBos 6)

Rocky Boy: Kills N/A (J. LaForge 3), Blocks N/A, Aces N/A (J. Gamble 3), Digs N/A (R. Singer 14), Assists (Gamble 3)

Chinook def. North Star

25-19, 25-14, 26-24

Chinook: Kills 31 (Weber 8). Aces 11 (Gunderson 6). Digs 93 (Nicholson 15). Blocks 11 (Neibauer 9). Assists 28 (Weber 12).

North Star: Kills: 15 (O'Neil 5). Aces 2 (Rettig 1, S. Spiker 1). Digs 105 (Hansen 44). Blocks 20 (Miller 9). Assists 15 (S. Spiker 15).

Saturday

Plentywood def. Harlem

25-9, 25-22, 25-15

Harlem -- Kills: 16 (Brooke Levaldo 7). Blocks: 6 (Ticia Cliff 3). Aces: 3 (Emma Humphreys, Erin LaMere, Chandra Sears). Digs: 70 (Adena Wing 15, LaMere 15). Assists: 10 (LaMere 7).

Plentywood -- Kills: 4 (Lindsey Wangerin 13). Blocks: 2 (Paige Harris, Clara Jensen). Aces: 14 (Jensen 7). Assists: 37 (Victoria Obergfell 20).

Big Sandy def. Box Elder

25-13, 25-16, 25-23

Big Sandy: Kills 6 (Gregory 2), Blocks 1 (Kain), Aces 9 (Johnson 4), Digs 12 (Kain 3)

Box Elder: No stats reported

Chinook def. Hays-Lodge Pole

25-8, 25-9, 25-6

Chinook: Kills 26 (Hannah Weber 9). Blocks 5 (Katelyn Niebauer 3). Aces 22 (Brooke Nicholson 6). Digs 39 (Kelsey Mathon 10). Assists 16 (Weber 9).

HLP: Kills 4 (Shelby Denny 2). Blocks 1 (Kiara Iron Man). Aces 5 (Shania Doney 2). Digs 17 (S. Doney 5). Assists 2 (Kaylin Doney 2).

North Star def. Chester/J-I

20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18

C/J-I: Kills: 18 (Allix Goldhahn 12). Blocks: 4 (Madeline Woods 1.5, Erin Wolfe 1.5). Digs: 54 (Kristina Dahinden 13). Assists: 14 (Woods 10).

North Star: Kills: 47 (Tylynn Rettig 13). Blocks: 12 (Keira Miller 6). Aces: 15 (Graysen Spicher 7). Digs: 33 (Mackenzie Hansen 15). Assists: 39 (Spicher 34).