FORT BENTON — The Fort Benton Longhorns defeated Chinook 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23 on Friday night to claim back-to-back Northern C volleyball championships.
The Longhorns had to work for the win against Chinook. The Sugarbeeters took early leads in each of the four sets, which required the Longhorns to battle back in each.
“I’m just extremely proud of my team,” said senior setter Maci Molinario. “Because this year if we get in a hole, I have trust in everyone and I know we’ll dig ourselves out of it. I know everyone just played as hard as they could.”
Molinario led Fort Benton with 16 assists. Fellow senior Abby Clark added a team-high 12 kills and three aces, while Jasmine Wilson recorded 12 digs.
The Sugarbeeters grabbed all the momentum in the second set after dropping the first. It marked just the second set that Fort Benton (20-2) dropped to a Northern C opponent all season.
“I think we as a team should be really proud,” said senior liber Jasmine Wilson. “We lost that set to Chinook, and we lost one set to (Chester-Joplin-Inverness). Going on a run like that means everything to me and my team.”
Fort Benton will earn the No. 1 seed out of the North at next week’s State C tournament in Malta. Chinook will await the winner of Simms and Belt to determine the No. 2 seed on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
