After a memorable run at the Class AA state volleyball tournament, the Glacier Wolfpack came up just short of the title match and had to settle for third place.
Still, it was an impressive performance for the young program and one of the top finishes for any team in Glacier High School history.
Glacier, the No. 1 seed from the west, beat Billings Skyview and Billings Senior on the tournament’s opening day to advance to the semifinals on Nov. 12. But the Wolfpack ran into conference rival Helena High and lost in straight sets 25-18, 25-16, 25-22.
Then Glacier lost a tightly contested loser-out match to Billings West, the defending champion. West beat Glacier 26-28, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 16-14 to move on to the title match, where it lost to Helena.
It was the first time since 2002 a school outside of Billings has won the Class AA title. Helena Capital won in the fall of that year, and Billings Senior won in the winter, as 2002 was a scheduling transition year for volleyball. In 2001, Flathead was the champion.
Flathead, which entered the tournament as Western AA’s fourth seed, lost in straight sets to Billings West and Bozeman. The all-class tournament was held Nov. 11-13 at Montana State University’s Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.
The Wolfpack have six players named Western AA all-conference, while the Bravettes have five.
For Glacier, junior Lexy Boschee and senior Rachel Cutler are first-team outside hitters; senior Paige Latimer is a second-team setter; senior Cami Mathison is a second-team libero; sophomore Tiffany Marks is an honorable mention middle hitter and senior Kendra Bouley is an honorable mention defensive specialist.
Flathead’s honored players are junior Hannah Sackett at first-team outside hitter; sophomore Kwyn Johnson at second-team outside hitter; senior Danika Johnson at second-team middle hitter; junior Alison Lunde at honorable mention setter and senior Sarah Aylor at honorable mention libero.
The Class AA all-state lists will be released Nov. 21.
In Class A, Lewistown rallied to win its third title in four years, beating Livingston twice in the championship round after crawling out of the loser’s bracket. The Eagles beat the Rangers in straight sets twice on Nov. 13 after the Rangers had beat them in five sets in the semifinals on Nov. 12.
Polson lost to Laurel in the opening round but rebounded to take down Stevensville in a loser-out match. Polson’s season ended, however, when it lost its next match in straight sets to defending champion Billings Central.
Whitefish, Northwest Montana’s other representative at the tourney, lost out in consecutive matches to Billings Central and Dillon, failing to win a set. The Bulldogs won three straight Class A titles from 2004-2006.
In Class B, Huntley Project won its second straight title and sixth out of the last eight years. Huntley didn’t lose a set in the tournament, blowing past Glasgow, Wolf Point and Red Lodge to advance to the state title where it again beat Red Lodge.
The Class C champion is Terry, which defeated defending champion Ennis twice in the championship round to secure the title. It was the school’s first state championship since it won two straight in 1988 and 1989.
A different Class C team has now won the title each year since 2004. The other teams besides Terry are Bridger, Chinook, Simms, Circle, Highwood and Ennis.
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