BOZEMAN — Death, taxes and Huntley Project playing for the Class B state volleyball championship.
The undefeated Red Devils will play for the title for the 15th consecutive year after sweeping Townsend 25-18, 25-21, 25-10 in the undefeated semifinal Friday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
"There’s a lot of stress that comes on every team, but because we’ve been in this position before it’s almost expected, you may say, of us to be here again," said Huntley Project senior Delayne Lindeen. "Really, just knowing that we can do it and we can do anything if we put our minds to it."
Lindeen had 20 of Project's 78 digs, as the Red Devils limited Townsend's offense all match. Maddison Akins added four blocks, and Project rolled into the championship match yet again.
The Red Devils haven't dropped a set during the state tournament, sweeping Eureka and Fairfield in Thursday matches. On Friday, Harlie Murphy put down 18 kills, Sannah Windy Boy had nine. Brynn Wandle dished out 32 assists and served up two aces.
"It's really just a lot of excitement and a lot of just knowing we did it as a team," Lindeen said. "We really like to build each other up. It's a really amazing thing, even though we've done it before, but we never take it for granted."
Project is aiming for its third consecutive title and 15th in program history. The state championship is scheduled for noon Saturday,
Townsend, which was led by Reese Wolfgram's 13 kills against the Red Devils, will play Columbus in the third-place match at 10 a.m. Saturday.
For updated scores and pairings, click here.
Loser-out matches
Eureka def. Deer Lodge 26-24, 25-18, 25-16
Florence def. Fairview 25-16, 21-25, 27-25, 25-9
Columbus def. Eureka, 25-23, 25-14, 25-14
Florence def. Fairfield 25-14, 26-24, 23-25, 25-17
Columbus def. Florence 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 15-5 (fourth-place match)
