Hi-Line Volleyball: Harlem having a strong season in the court

The high school volleyball season reached the halfway point this past weekend, with teams playing both important conference matches, and mid-season tournaments.

The week started with Rocky Boy earning a huge District 1B win Thursday night. The Morning Stars swept the Conrad Cowgirls by scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-22 for a conference win. Jeralyn Parker led Rocky Boy with three kills and two blocks.

Thursday night also saw the beginning of a big week for the North Star Knights. North Star swept Chester-Joplin-Inverness in a 6C East match, by scores of 25-23, 27-25 and 25-4. North Star dominated the third set, and got the sweep, but the Hawks were impressive in the first two sets, and Tatum Hull had a big match with nine kills, nine blocks and five aces.

Also on Thursday, the Fort Benton Longhorns win a crucial 7C match, defeating the Belt Huskies in a five-set thriller. Mckenzie Clark was the key for the Longhorns, with 10 kills, three blocks and four aces.

Friday, Harlem got into the winning act. The improving Wildcats beat Poplar by scores of 25-11, 25-9 and 25-19 in a 2B affair. Aspen Baker had eight aces, Sarah Billmayer and Baker had six kills each, Naveah Spotted Eagle had six digs, and Aria Owens had eight assists.

Saturday night, Harlem beat rival Wolf Point 4-1 in Wolf Point. The Wildcats were led by Taehson Scheaffer who had seven aces and 21 digs, while Layla Skidmore had eight kills and Shyan Krass had six kills. Scheaffer and Owens had nine assists each.

The Wildcats have improved their win/loss record to what might be the best start in the school's history. Right now, the Wildcats are in second place in the 2B only behind Glasgow. Their conference record is 3-1 and overall record is 7-2. This week the Wildcats will travel to Malta Thursday and Glasgow Saturday for a showdown with the Scotties.

Meanwhile, the Knights kept things rolling Friday night by making quick work of Sunburst. The Knights won by scores of 25-9, 25-13 and 25-9. Olivia King had 12 kills and four digs for North Star, while Shayla Borlaug had four blocks and four aces.

North Star also proved to be a worthy opponent at home Saturday. The Knights, and many other area teams took a break from conference play for the annual North Star Showcase, which was held in both Rudyard and Gildford.

And for the third straight year, North Star won its own tournament. The Knights were perfect in pool play, and perfect in the bracket tournament, finishing the day by beating Power in the championship match.

CJI and Big Sandy also made it to the championship bracket in the tournament, while Dutton-Brady won the consolation bracket in Gildford.

In other local matches last week, Big Sandy fell to Geraldine-Highwood by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-23, while Chinook swept Big Sandy by scores of 25-6, 25-19 and 25-8. Box Elder also bested Hays-Lodge Pole in three sets, by scores of 25-15, 25-14 and 26-24.

THURSDAY

Fort Benton def. Belt

25-23, 17-25, 15-25, 25-23, 15-9

Belt - Kills 38 (Abby Marquis 12), Assists 38 (Kelly Pimperton 35), Digs 51 (Adelle Meissner 13), Blocks 6 (Kylie Marquis 2), Aces 8 (Kolby Pimperton 3).

FB - Kills 38 (McKenzie Clark 10), Assists 32 (McKenna Hanford 19), Digs 35 (Cassie Nack 9), Blocks 6 (Clark 3), Aces (Clark 4).

Rocky Boy def. Conrad

25-12, 25-18, 25-22

Rocky Boy - Kills 6 (Jeralyn Parker 3), Assists 6 (Jaynah Gopher 4), Digs 6 (Sasha Coffee 4), Blocks 3 (Parker 2), Aces 4 (Gopher 2).

Conrad - N/A.

North Star def. CJI

25-23, 27-25, 25-4

CJI - Kills (Taum Hull 9), Assists (Courtney Alley 13), Digs (Molly Nelson 13), Blocks (Tatum Hull 9), Aces (Hull 5).

North Star - N/A.

FRIDAY

Harlem def. Poplar

25-11, 25-9, 25-19

Harlem - N/A.

Poplar - N/A.

North Star def. Sunburst

25-9, 25-13, 25-9

North Star - Kills 26 (Olivia King 12), Assists 24 (Kenidee Wolery 24), Digs 18 (Saige O'Neil 4, King 4), Blocks 5 (Shayla Borlaug 4), Aces 8 (Borlaug 5).

Sunburst - Kills 4 (Four with 1 each), Assists 1, Digs 64 (Laurie Meyer 17), Blocks 1 (McKenzie Wilson 1), Aces 1 (Annika Furr 1).

SATURDAY

North Star Showcase

Elimination Matches

in Rudyard – Championship Bracket

North Star V defeats Power V 25-21, 25-13 (2-0)

**North Star wins the Showcase for the 3rd year in a row

Chester-Joplin-Inverness V defeats Big Sandy V 25-20, 25-23 (2-0)

Power V defeats Big Sandy V 25-18, 22-25, 15-13 (2-1)

North Star V defeats Chester-Joplin-Inverness V 25-12, 25-23 (2-0)

in Gildford – Consolation Bracket

Dutton-Brady V defeats Shelby JV 26-24, 14-25, 15-10 (2-1)

Sunburst V defeats Hays-Lodgepole V 25-23, 25-19 (2-0)

Dutton Brady V defeats Hays-Lodgepole V 26-24, 23-25, 15-2 (2-1)

Shelby JV defeats Sunburst V 25-16, 12-25, 15-13 (2-1)

Pool Play

In Rudyard

North Star V defeats Dutton-Brady V 25-7, 25-16

Big Sandy V deafeats Shelby JV 25-21, 25-16

North Star V defeats Big Sandy V 25-15, 25-10

Dutton-Brady V defeats Shelby JV 25-17, 25-9

North Star V defeats Shelby JV 25-12, 25-7

Big Sandy V defeats Dutton-Brady V 22-25, 25-13

In Gildford

Power V defeats Chester-Joplin-Inverness V 25-19, 24-26

Sunburst V defeats Hays-Lodgepole V 25-16, 12-25, 15-13

Chester-Joplin-Inverness V defeats Sunburst V 25-12, 25-15

Power V defeats Hays-Lodgepole V 25-8, 25-17

Chester-Joplin-Inverness V defeats Hays-Lodgepole V 25-23, 25-14

Power V defeats Sunburst V 26-24, 23-16