BOZEMAN — The Class B volleyball tournament got under way Thursday at Worthington Arena. Results from the first day are below. For updated pairings, click here.
PHOTOS: ALL-CLASS STATE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENTS — DAY 1
Baker def. Anaconda 25-13, 25-11, 25-15 (quarterfinal)
For the first time in program history, Baker will win a trophy at the Class B state tournament.
The Spartans looked nothing short of dominant in their two wins on Thursday. On Friday, they’ll get another shot against perennial power Huntley Project in the undefeated semifinal. Baker defeated the Red Devils twice at the District 3B tournament and once at the Southern B divisional tournament.
“We’ve played them so many times through the season, so … we’re not scared of them at all,” said Baker senior Hope Gonsioroski, who had 12 assists and two aces. “We’ve beaten them a couple of times (this season), respectfully. We’re not scared. I don’t know. I don’t think history has anything to do with it. It’s all about now.”
And now, Baker, the Southern B champion, looks like the experienced squad. The Spartans easily handled Anaconda behind a balanced offensive attack. Kyal Hadley had a team-high 12 kills, Madison O’Connor had 11 and Avery O’Connor had six.
Madison O’Connor added two aces, 2.5 blocks, 12 assists and seven digs to her stat line.
“We all know that Baker has never ever placed at state in volleyball, and so that’s something special that we have in the back of our head,” Gonsioroski said. “We have this Mamba mentality, we all know that we are completely capable of bringing home a state championship. … And honestly ever since divisionals, we’ve decided we’re not even going to drop a set.”
Logan McKay and Jaidyn Holdaway paced Anaconda with seven kills each.
Huntley Project def. Jefferson 25-17, 25-9, 25-19 (quarterfinal)
It almost feels inevitable that Huntley Project will win a trophy at the state tournament.
The Red Devils, who have won the past three state championships, are assured of another trophy — their 19th straight — after sweeping Jefferson. The Panthers swept Huntley Project at last week’s Southern B divisional tournament.
“I told the kids after we lost last weekend, we got three days to figure it out and get better,” said Huntley Project coach Iona Stookey, who has guided her team to 25 consecutive state tournaments. “And I thought our defense stepped up. We played way better defense (Thursday) than we did last week.”
The Red Devils had 80 digs and seven blocks as they dominated the Panthers from the outset. Maddison Akins had 20 digs and Kyann Dean had 17.
Project’s offensive attack was led by Sannah Windy Boy with 13 kills. Akins added nine kills, and Sarah Windy Boy had five.
“This one feels really good,” Stookey said. “Our first tournament of the season, we talked about it in the locker room, too, just how much we’ve improved. I went back and watched that first tournament film and giggled. It gave me a lot to work on, let’s put it that way.”
“They just believed they could do it. That was a great win for them,” Stookey added. “Now we’re in it for the trophy. We’re going to be one of the top three, so that’s exciting. I’m extremely proud, I’m extremely proud.”
Cameron Toney had nine kills to lead Jefferson, which falls to loser-out play with the loss.
Anaconda def. Chinook 25-20, 29-27, 25-17
Hayden Lunceford had 14 kills and 14 digs, and the Copperheads swept the Sugarbeeters.
Meela Mitchell (18 assists) and Quincy Saltenberger (12 assists) set up the Anaconda offense, which included six kills from Mitchell. Giana Chor contributed seven kills and a team-high two blocks. Jade Moses was the digs leader with 23.
Hannah Schoen led Chinook with eight kills. Sami Malsam had 22 digs and Brooke Fetter added 13.
Baker def. Shelby 25-13, 25-20, 25-19
Baker doubled up Shelby in total kills and the Southern B champ went on to sweep the Coyotes. Baker's win gave teams from the Southern B a 3-0 first-round record.
Maddison O’Connor 18 had of Baker’s 52 kills, with Kyal Hadley and Hope Gonsioroski added nine each. Shelby finished with 26 kills, led by 10 from Penelope Heaton.
O’Connor finished with a triple-double, adding 18 assists and 10 digs to her output. Gonsioroski had 23 assists, and Avery O’Connor led Baker with 18 digs.
Shelby received contributions of 14 digs and 24 assists from Addie Richman, who also had 10 digs.
Huntley Project def. Florence 25-23, 26-24, 25-15
Florence put up a tough block, but the Red Devils found a way to get around, over or through the Broncs for a hard-earned sweep.
Sannah Windy Boy put down 15 kills and Maddison Akins 14 as the Red Devils fought to overcome 10 blocks from the Broncs.
Project, meanwhile, showed its own defensive mettle with double-digit digs from Akins (17), Kelly Ban (12) and Kyann Dean (11). Gracie Norman had 36 assists, and the Red Devils had nine aces.
Florence received nine kills from Ava Philbrick and eight from Emory Raltston, who also had 12 digs. Ella Goeltz led in digs with 16 and Maggie Schneiter led with 22 assists.
Jefferson def. Fairfield 25-11, 26-28, 25-22, 19-25, 15-8
Ryian Eveland’s kill off the attempted block of a couple Fairfield defenders finally finished off the back-and-forth match that lasted nearly two hours and sent Jefferson into the quarterfinals.
Jefferson was out-hit — the Panthers had 46 kills to Fairfield’s 58 — but the Southern B runner-up eventually won out over the Northern B champion.
Cameron Toney led Jefferson with 22 kills. Eveland (12 kills) and Brooklyn Miller (11) were also in double figures, and Erica Shields spread out the Panthers’ attack with 33 assists. Shields also had 25 digs.
Maddy Averill had 34 digs and Toney added 16.
Kenzie Allen had 22 kills and Rylie Shenk 13 for the Eagles. Aubrey Schubarth had a big match with 44 assists and 30 digs, while Aundra Passmore led Fairfield with 37 digs.
