Columbia Falls defeated Corvallis 25-17, 25-22 and 25-15 on Saturday to win the Class A volleyball championship, the team’s first since 1996.
At the state tournament in Bozeman, the Wildkats dominated over three days, defeating Billings Central, Corvallis and Butte Central before dropping Corvallis one final time to achieve the championship.
In the championship match, Sam Collins and Kiara Burlage each had two aces to lead Columbia Falls. Burlage also had eight kills and five blocks. Morgan Stenger had 10 kills. Cydney Finberg led the team with 24 assists and 12 digs. Kaitlyn Casazza had 12 digs and Collins had 10. KJ Schweikert had four blocks.
The Wildkats claimed the program’s second state championship, and first since 1996, a year after finishing runner-up. It capped an impressive first season for head coach Jessy Matthews.