BOZEMAN — The Class C 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
Circle def. Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine 25-21, 25-23, 25-15 (quarterfinal)
Circle got a taste of the state tournament in 2022.
This year, the unbeaten Wildcats are getting more than that. After sweeping DGSG, Circle is guaranteed a state trophy for the first time since 2015 when it won the championship.
“Our seniors, they paved the way, they’ve been at a state tournament two years ago,” said Circle coach McKinna Yerbich. “They’ve kind of eased our younger girls’ minds with that, but really these younger girls, I couldn’t ask for a better group of upcoming girls.
“I just think that it kind of speaks to our goals as a program. We want to be back here every year. We want to be competing with Gardiner, Manhattan Christian, Belt, all these teams that are here every year. We want Circle to be one of those, as well. We want people to be angry when they have to meet up with Circle in their very first game of the state tournament.”
The Wildcats, who will play Gardiner in Friday’s undefeated semifinal, had little trouble with the Bearcats on Thursday. Junior Madeline Moline (11) and eighth grader Kate Nasner (10) combined for 21 kills, and Nasner added four blocks.
Sophomore Emma Murphy — who has the highest vertical on the team, according to Yerbich — filled the stat sheet with three blocks, three aces and 22 digs for Circle.
“This group of girls, the highest competition we play better, so when we’re under pressure, it’s like they feed off of it. It’s like they want it that way,” Yerbich said. “They don’t like slow-paced games. They love it that way, so I think that they’re just thriving in this atmosphere, and I think that’s what’s pushing them past all the pressure and upholding it really, really well. They’re not buckling at all, and I think it’s because they love it so much.”
Ella Smith had 10 kills for DGSG, which also got nine kills and 21 digs from Briella Becker.
Gardiner def. Belt 25-27, 25-12, 25-23, 25-19 (quarterfinal)
Until this season, Gardiner hadn’t been to the state tournament since 2017.
The Bruins are making the most of their return trip. They secured a trophy, rallying past Belt for a four-set win to advance to Friday’s undefeated semifinal match.
“Our goal is just to play well every single possession and to eliminate our errors, and I thought they did a good job of that,” said Gardiner head coach Carmen Harbach. “We had one big run where we had too many unforced errors in a row, but they really pulled it together and I thought they finished strong.”
Gardiner dropped the first set, but dominated the second 25-12 and then eked out a 25-23 win in the third set to take control.
Ellie Reinertson was the engine to the Bruins’ attack, recording a match-high 32 kills to go with 11 digs and eight assists.
“I thought Ellie Reinertson, she’s our senior leader, she really stepped up,” Harbach said. “She had 32 kills, and I thought she brought everybody together and played well on both ends of the ball, offense and defense.”
The Bruins recorded 50 kills as a team to just 23 for Belt. Maggie Darr added 10 kills for Gardiner, as Josie Reinertson dished out 29 assists.
Belt, which falls into loser-out play with the loss, was led by Ashton Pasha with seven kills and Sidney Paulson with six.
Circle def. White Sulphur Springs 25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-15
Circle remained undefeated, but the Wildcats had to fight for it with the help of 14 aces.
Madeline Moline had four of those aces, as did Kate Nasner, as Circle moved to 27-0.
Moline also led the team with 17 kills. Emma Murphy added 10, as well as notching 27 digs for a team high. Charlie Moline had 21 assists, Kirsten Wagner 18, and Kylie Erickson led Circle with four blocks.
Natalie Fisher recorded 24 kills and Julianna Feddes added 18 to lead the Hornets. Fisher also had 10 digs and Feddes added three blocks to her stat line.
Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine def. Big Sandy 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22
McKenzi Milburn had 22 kills, 21 digs and four blocks to help DGSG rally from a set down in a match of newcomers to the tournament atmosphere inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Big Sandy was playing in its first tournament in Bozeman since the all-class format was instituted in 2004, and its first since 1998. This is DGSG’s first appearance as four-school co-op; previously, only teams from Geraldine had made the state-tournament field in Bozeman.
Scotti Smith had 23 assists and Emma Smith 17 for the Bearcats. Briella Becker led the team with 38 digs, while Tycee McVicker added 20.
Keira Galbavy led Big Sandy with 20 kills and 10 blocks. Eva Yeadon led a trio of players with 20-plus digs: Yeadon had 22, Jai Baumann 20 and Camielle Nissen 20. Baumann also had 28 assists.
Belt def. Bridger 25-20, 25-18, 25-23
The Huskies used 22 blocks to get past the Scouts in a matchup of Class C perennial contenders.
Ashton Pasha and Kenzie Pogany had six blocks each, and Olivia Moran added five as the Huskies excelled on the defensive end with an additional 94 digs. Destinee Goodman had 40 of the team’s digs, and Dezirae Goodman contributed 21.
Pasha also led the way for Belt with eight kills.
Bridger was led by Abby Schwend’s 12 kills and 21 digs. Jessica Althoff had 17 digs.
Gardiner def. North Country 23-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-16
Gardiner bounced back from its first-set loss with the help of a double-doubles from Ellie Reinertson and Maggie Darr.
Reinertson finished with 19 kills and 18 digs while Darr added 10 kills and 10 digs. Josie Reinertson had 25 assists and Darr served six of the Bruins’ 11 aces.
Bailee McColly led North Country, a co-op of Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale, with 13 kills and six blocks. Charlee McColly finished with 10 kills, while Kennedy Simonson had 15 assists and 14 digs.
