Review: District 13 Volleyball Tournament
MISSOULA – It was three wild days of competition at the District 13 Volleyball Tournament in Missoula last week.
After No. 4 Valley Christian blanked No. 5 Victor in three straight, local teams Granite and Drummond got things underway. But before the event even began, the Lady Prospectors were informed that Lincoln had dropped from the tournament, giving them a first-round bye and a trip straight into the winner’s bracket semifinals.
Thursday
Drummond def. Darby
It was clear from the get go that the Lady Trojan had Darby’s number, but the Lady Tigers made a run to even the match in the second set that the locals survived.
Juniors Holly Hauptman and Jesse Struna started hinting at what would prove to be epic tourney runs, with the former posting 18 kills and the latter 20 assists.
SCORING
Darby – 19/25/15 – 0
Drummond – 25/27/25 – 3
Kills – (DR) Wagner 5, Spencer 2, Hauptman 18, Struna 1, Nelson 1, Perry 3, Rasor 1; (DA) Berry 1, Hawkinson 6, Reed 1, Anderson 4, Nelson 3
Blocks – (DR) Hauptman 4, Perry 1; (DA) Anderson 3
Assists – (DR) Struna 20, Nelson 2; (DA) Zeiler 7, Fisher 2, Reed 1
Digs – (DR) Parke 10, Wagner 4, Spencer 4, Hauptman 6, Struna 8, Nelson 1, Perry 1, Williams 6, Rasor 6; (DA) n/a
Aces – (DR) Spencer 2, Hauptman 2, Struna 1, Perry 1, Williams 3; (DA) Zeiler 3, Berry 1, Hawkinson 3, Anderson 1
Granite def. Drummond
Rested and ready to go, the Lady Prospectors held off a tough run by the Lady Trojans in their first match of the tournament. Tied 1-1 Granite posted a comeback win in Set 3 that gave them a 2-1 lead. Drummond managed to win Set 4, but the Lady Prospectors prevailed in Set 5 to win the match and advance to the winner’s bracket finals against Seeley Swan, who had dispatched Valley Christian in a 5-set match as well.
Reece Pitcher led Granite’s attack with 16 kills, while Lucia Lee added nine blocks. Ella Tallon and Rachel Ward dished the assists with 10 and 15, respectively.
Drummond’s attack was more spread, with Hauptman getting nine kills and Liz Perry 10. Struna had 24 assists and four aces, tying her for the team lead in the latter category with Hadley Spencer.
SCORING
Drummond – 24/25/26/26/10 – 2
Granite – 26/22/28/24/15 – 3
Kills – (D) Parke 2, Wagner 5, Spencer 1, Hauptman 9, Struna 3, Nelson 1, Perry 10; (G) Lee 7, Comings 8, Hill 2, Ward 1, Pitcher 16, Lilyquist 3
Blocks – (D) Hauptman 7, Perry 1; (G) Lee 9, Comings 2.5, Ward 1, Pitcher 5.5, Lilyquist 1
Assists – (D) Struna 24, Nelson 1; (G) Lee 2, Tallon 10, Ward 15
Digs – (D) Parke 18, Wagner 3, Spencer 1, Hauptman 18, Struna 8, Parsons 3, Nelson 2, Perry 5, Williams 3, Rasor 9; (G) Comings 5, Hill 3, Locke 23, Tallon 8, Smith 2, Ward 3, Pitcher 1, Lilyquist 1
Aces – (D) Spencer 4, Hauptman 1, Struna 4, Perry 3, Williams 1; (G) Comings 4, Hill 1, Locke 2, Tallon 5, Ward 1, Pitcher 1
Friday
Drummond def. Victor
It would prove to be the start of an epic tournament run, with the Lady Trojan defeating a beleaguered Lady Pirate team in three straight.
Struna started the day handing out 23 assists with Hauptman hitting 11 of them for kills. The latter also had team bests in blocks (4) and aces (4). While Perry had an off match statistically, sophomore Delaney Wagner stepped up to fill the void with six kills.
SCORING
Victor – 23/15/22 – 0
Drummond – 25/25/25 – 3
Kills – (D) Wagner 6, Spencer 2, Hauptman 11, Struna 2, Nelson 1, Perry 3; (V) Brown 6, Schicalone 2, McKinley 2, Bahr 3, Tacker 1, Kay 7
Blocks – (D) Hauptman 4, Perry 2; (V) McKinley 1, Bahr 3, Tacker 1
Assists – (D) Struna 23; (V) Brown 1, Schicalone 3, Tacker 2, Kay 3
Digs – (D) Parke 8, Spencer 3, Hauptman 7, Struna 3, Nelson 1, Perry 3, Williams 5, Rasor 12; (V) n/a
Aces – (D) Spencer 2, Hauptman 4, Struna 2, Perry 1, Williams 2, Rasor 1
Seeley Swan def. Granite
The winner’s bracket final pitted the two best teams thus far in the event, each having only played one game to reach this spot. But the Lady Prospectors seemed out of sync as the Lady Blackhawks swept them into the consolation bracket 3-0. They would play the winner of the Drummond-Valley Christian match immediately following theirs.
Pitcher and Asha Comings could only manage 13 kills between them, with Ward and Tallon handing only two more assists at 15.
SCORING
Granite – 14/18/14 – 0
Seeley Swan – 25/25/25 – 3
Kills – (G) Lee 4, Comings 6, Ward 3, Pitcher 7, Lilyquist 1; (S) Thornsberry 1, Stone 5, Maughan 14, Debernardi 1, Wendel 6, Sallfeld 2
Blocks – (G) Lee 1, Comings 1; (S) Maughan 2, Wendel 1
Assists – (G) Lee 1, Tallon 7, Ward 8; (S) Alexander 4, Thornsberry 8, Stone 3, Wendel 1
Digs – (G) n/a; (S) n/a
Aces – (G) Comings 2, Hill 1, Pitcher 1; (S) Stone 1, Wendel 7
Drummond def. Valley Christian
DHS Head Coach Paige Fickler knew her team’s day would be long of they were to have a chance at challenging for the title, and the wear was apparently showing as they opening with as 25-23 loss to the Lady Eagles. But the Lady Trojans rallied to beat the tournament’s host school by a total of 10 points over the next three sets to capture the win and advance one to the consolation bracket finale.
The attack was more balanced in this match, despite Hauptman logging 16 kills. Additional offensive support was given by Wagner and Perry, with five and seven kills respectively.
Drummond had 31 assists in the match, with 26 coming from Struna.
SCORING
Valley Christian – 25/26/20/22 – 1
Drummond – 23/28/25/25 – 3
Kills – (D) Parke 1, Wagner 5, Spencer 1, Hauptman 17, Struna 2, Nelson 2, Perry 7; (VC) Kelly 3, Rahn 3, Harvey 1, DeGroot 5, Hover 22, Goldbar 3
Blocks – (D) Wagner 1, Hauptman 2, Perry 3; (VC) Rahn 1, Harvey 2, DeGroot 2
Assists – (D) Spencer 1, Struna 26, Nelson 3, Rasor 1; (VC) Kelly 15, Rahn 12
Digs – (D) Parke 11, Wagner 1, Spencer 4, Hauptman 18, Struna 6, Parsons 1, Nelson 3, Perry 5, Williams 6, Rasor 10; (VC) n/a
Aces – (D) Spencer 3, Hauptman 2, Struna 7, Perry 1, Rasor 1; (VC) Kelly 1, Rahn 8, Hover 3, Goldbar 1
Saturday
Drummond def. Granite
It seemed only fitting that the two county rivals would face each other one more time with a spot in the tournament final on the line.
But for the second straight match, the Lady Prospectors just couldn’t find their rhythm and lost to Drummond in three straight sets. Granite battled hard in the second set, forcing extended play until Drummond claimed a 28-26 win and a 2-0 set lead.
The win put the Lady Trojans into the championship match against Seeley Swan.
Hauptman (11K) and Wagner (4K) provided some offense, with Perry, Hadley Spencer and Paytn Rasor combining for seven service aces to aid in the cause.
Comings had her best match of the tournament with 10 kills, with Pitcher adding seven and Gretchen Hill and Lucia Lee chipping in four apiece. Ward handled the bulk of the setting duties with 18 assists.
SCORING
Drummond – 25/28/25 – 3
Granite – 19/26/14 – 0
Kills – (D) Wagner 5, Hauptman 11, Struna 1, Parsons 1; (G) Lee 4, Comings 10, Tallon 1, Pitcher 7
Blocks – (D) Hauptman 4, Nelson 1, Perry 1; (G) Comings 1, Hill 1, Pitcher 4, Lilyquist 2
Assists – (D) Struna 12, Nelson 4; (G) Lee 1, Tallon 4, Ward 18
Digs – (D) Parke 5, Wagner 1, Hauptman 11, Struna 4, Parsons 2, Perry 2, Williams 4, Rasor 4; (G) n/a
Aces - (D) Spencer 3, Hauptman 2, Struna 1, Perry 2, Williams 1, Rasor 3; (G) Tallon 2, Ward 4, Pitcher 1
Championship Matches
Drummond def. Seeley Swan
After dropping the opener to the Blackhawks by eight, Drummond won the next three sets to claim the match and force the tie-breaker as both squads now had a single loss. On a roll, the Lady Trojans claimed the first two sets of the rubber match before Seeley could right their ship and win the next two, forcing a Set 5 race to 15.
Tied at 6-6 in the final set, it seemed like everyone from players to fans were drained of both their physical and emotional energy. But then a group of fans – arriving from the Flint Creek Titans’s 8-man football playoff game that had concluded some two hours prior – suddenly appeared in the gym and ramped up the hype for the Lady Trojans.
The added energy seemed to spur on Hauptman, who proceeded to drive two aces into the Seeley defense. Liz Perry followed with a dink kill and suddenly Drummond was up 9-6, forcing a Blackhawk timeout. Seeley rallied back with a point, but the Lady Trojans extended their advantage to as many as five before the Blackhawks would eventually even the match against 13-all. Each team scored once to make it 14-14 before Drummond collected the finale two points, highlighted by Hauptman’s block to score the match winner.
As they head into the Divisional Tournament this week at Manhattan Christian, Drummond will take on Gardiner in the first round Thursday while Seeley Swan draws White Sulphur.
Championship Match 1
SCORING
Drummond – 17/25/25/25 – 3
Seeley Swan – 25/22/20/21 – 1
Kills – (D) Parke 1, Wagner 5, Spencer 1, Hauptman 18, Struna 4, Parsons 1, Nelson 4, Perry 8; (S) Stone 5, Maughan 19, Debernardi 2, Wendel 10, Sexton 1
Blocks – (D) Hauptman 8, Perry 1; (S) Thornsberry 1, Stone 2, Maughan 4, Debernardi 1, Wendel 3
Assists – (D) Struna 33, Nelson 1; (S) Alexander 3, Thornsberry 21
Digs – (D) Parke 20, Hicks 1, Wagner 4, Spencer 5, Hauptman 20, Struna 4, Parsons 1, Perry 4, Williams 8, Rasor 12; (S) n/a
Aces – Hauptman 1, Struna 3, Perry 2, Williams 3, Rasor 3; (S) Stone 1, Debernardi 5, Wendel 1
Championship Match 2
SCORING
Drummond – 25/26/22/17/16 – 3
Seeley Swan – 21/24/25/25/14 – 2
Kills – (D) Wagner 4, Hauptman 30, Struna 2, Parsons 2, Nelson 1, Perry 15; (S) Thorsnberry 2, Stone 6, Maughan 16, Debernardi 3, Wendel 10
Blocks – (D) Hauptman 5; (S) Thornsberry 1, Maughan 4, Debernardi 1
Assists – (D) Struna 43, Nelson 3, Rasor 1; (S) Alexander 1, Thorsnberry 17, Stone 4, Wendel 2, Sexton 1
Digs – (D) Parke 24, Wagner 9, Spencer 1, Hauptman 31, Struna 13, Parsons 1, Nelson 2, Perry 6, Williams 12, Rasor 11; (S) n/a
Aces – (D) Spencer 1, Hauptman 5, Struna 2, Perry 1, Rasor 2; (S) – Thorsnberry 5, Stone 4, Maughan 2, Debernardi 2, Sexton 1
