Hi-Line Volleyball: Local volleyball season reaches the halfway point

The halfway point of the volleyball season meant last Saturday, there were a couple of big mid-season tournaments. It was a break before the final push to the postseason begins on the Hi-Line.

Early in the week though, District 7C play continued with the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks notching a pair of big wins. The Hawks beat first-place Highwood by scores of 24-26, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-19, then they took down the rival North Star Knights in a five-set thriller, by scores of 24-26, 21-25, 25-13, 25-12 and 15-13. The wins catapulted CJI up the 7C standings with just a couple of weeks left in the regular season.

Fort Benton also fell to Highwood this past week, in a five-set marathon. The Mountaineers won by scores of 25-15, 21-25, 22-25, 28-26 and 15-11. The Longhorns were led by Emerson Giese with 19 kills and three blocks.

In other 7C matches, Chinook beat Big Sandy by scores of 25-18, 27-25 and 25-18, while Fort Benton swept Box Elder by scores of 25-6, 25-20 and 25-19. Big Sandy lost a heartbreaker to Centerville, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 23-25 and 15-17, while North Star swept Hays-Lodge Pole twice. CJI also beat Box Elder by scores of 25-7, 25-17 and 25-10.

Meanwhile, the North Star Showcase took place in Rud-yard and Gildford Saturday.

In Pool Play, Big Sandy tied PDB and Great Falls Central at 4-1 in the Rudyard Pool, while North Star was a perfect 5-0 in the Gildford Pool.

In the tournament, Power-Dutton-Brady defeated North Star in the championship match, while Big Sandy edged rival Centerville for third. Hays-Lodge Pole also beat Heart Butte for 11th place in the tourney that also featured Cascade, Valier, Sun Burst, the Cut Bank JV and the North Star JV.

There was also a mid-season tournament in Fort Benton Saturday.

17th annual North Star Knights Showcase

Pool Play

Rudyard Pool

PDB 4-1

Big sandy 4-1

GFCC 4-1

Valier 2-3

Cut Bank JV 1-5

Hays-Lodge Pole 0-5

Gildford Pool

North Star 5-0

Centerville 4-1

Cascade 3-2

North Star JV 2-3

Sunburst 1-4

Heart Butte 0-5

Tournament

PDB def. North Star 2-1 1st

Big Sandy def. Centerville 2-0 3rd

Cascade def. GFCC 2-1 5th

Valier def. North Star JV 2-1 7th

Sunburst def. Cut Bank JV 2-1 9th

HLP def. Heart Butte 11th

Highwood def. Fort Benton

25-15, 21-25, 22-25, 28-26, 15-11

FB - Kills Emerson Giese 19, Aces Casha Corder 3, Assists Corder 24, Digs Hailee Wang 15, Blocks Giese 3.

HW - N/A.