HELENA -- From Aug. 31 to Nov. 2, the Helena Capital Bruins volleyball team went a perfect 21-0 through preseason and regular season play, and while that wasn't the official goal for the season, it was a nice addition to the Bruins' resume before they enter playoff play.
"We set a goal at the beginning of the season that we wanted to be conference champs, and we had confidence in ourselves to achieve that goal," said senior MacKenzie Poteet. "We just put our mind to it. We had our ups and downs, but we still kept our head in the game and accomplished it."
With the regular season now wrapped up, the Bruins turn their attention to their play-in matchup against the Missoula Hellgate Knights, something the Bruins haven't had to worry about in recent years being one of the top two seeds from the Western AA, which used to guarantee teams a bye to the state tournament. Even though the Bruins were undefeated through the regular season, everyone knows now is as good of time as any to ensure they aren't slacking on the basics.
"Go back to what we need to focus on, like getting our serves in. That's a huge part of how we play," said junior Dani Bartsch. "It takes a toll on our momentum if we miss a serve right off the bat, after a huge play."
"We just need to go into the match (Tuesday) as if we've never played Hellgate. Bring in our best game," said head coach Rebecca Cleveland. "We know that the winner goes to state and both teams are going to put it all on the line, so we just need to put our best volleyball on the line."
The Bruins and the Hellgate Knights will tip things off on Tuesday evening in Helena at 6 p.m. To view the Class AA volleyball scores and pairings, please click here.
