On the line: District 7C volleyball tourney will be tough

Class C volleyball on the Hi-Line was gong to be different this fall, long before coronavirus entered the picture. The Northern C's realignment made sure of that, as the District 6C East and members of the original 7C formed to create the new 7C this fall.

So, with that in mind, this weekend's District 7C tournament was always going to be a big event. Of course, COVID-19 is also going to make it an unusual one, too.

The first-ever 7C tournament will be held Thursday through Saturday, and per MHSA COVID-19 protocols, two gyms will be used. That means host Big sandy will share the tournament with co-host Fort Benton, with matches taking place at both locations Friday and Saturday.

All of the coronavirus protocols put in place to ensure a safe tournament will change things dramatically, but the 7C was already changed dramatically anyway.

Fort Benton went 12-0 in the first season of the newly-formed 7C and will be the top seed this weekend. The Longhorns won the Northern C a year ago. Chinook wound up second in the final standings at 9-3, followed by North Star and Geraldine-Highwood finishing third and fourth, respectively. Chester-Joplin-Inverness is the fifth seed, while Big Sandy and Centerville round out the field. Box Elder and Hays-Lodge Pole have both opted out of the volleyball postseason due to the pandemic.

With that, the field has been reduced, meaning only three first-round matches will take place, with Fort Benton getting a bye into the semifinals. The tournament begins Thursday with Chinook battling Centerville in Big Sandy at 3 p.m. and North Star taking on the Pioneers in Big Sandy at 6 p.m., while Rivals face CJI in Fort Benton at 6 p.m. The tournament will pick back up Friday with loser-out matches at noon in both Big Sandy and Fort Benton, while winner's bracket semifinal matches will be played at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in both locations.

Saturday will see all the action take place in Fort Benton with loser-out matches in the morning followed by the third-place match at 5 p.m. and the championship match at 8 p.m. The format has also changed this season so there will be no true double elimination bracket, and no if-necessary championship match since both finalists will be undefeated. The top four teams then advance to the Northern C next week, also in Fort Benton.

This week marks the start of the Class B postseason, as well. The District 1B Tournament will be held Thursday and Friday in Fairfield, while the 2B Tournament will take place in Malta Thursday through Saturday.

The 7C Tournament will start Thursday afternoon and run through Saturday night in both Fort Benton and Big Sandy.