It's been nearly a decade since there were no repeat champions among the four volleyball classifications.
The 2015 season was the last time each classification crowned a new title-holder. Three of last year’s champions — Billings West in Class AA, Huntley Project in Class B and Manhattan Christian in Class C — all face some significant roster turnover this season.
The fourth, Hardin in Class A, lost some valuable seniors, as well, and looks to face some stern competition. What will this season bring? Let the games begin.
Class AA
Star power could be the theme of the 2024 AA season. With the likes of Billings Senior’s Leela Ormsby (Michigan State), Bozeman Gallatin’s Kadence Lundgren (Kansas State), Great Falls CMR’s Abby Carpenter (North Dakota State) and Bozeman’s Morgan Jones (Southern Illinois), the individual talent scattered throughout the AA level is impressive.
On the team front, defending champ Billings West lost heavily to graduation, leaving the door open for other teams to challenge for the top. The Eastern AA, which had the top three teams last season at state, could again control the classification with the likes of Bozeman, Gallatin and Billings Senior potentially leading the way.
Class A
Hardin’s 2023 title — won over Southeast A rival Billings Central — ended a championship drought for the Bulldogs that extended to 2002, and they’ll have big shoes to fill if they want to make another run. Hardin graduated key seniors Macy Uffelman, Carmen Pallone and Aubrey Nedens, but return all-staters Taiya Guptill and McKenna Torske.
Billings Central was young last season and brings back all-state players Annie Hanser and Kamryn Reinker. The Rams, who have made eight consecutive title-match appearances, also added Lockwood transfer CC Case, a second-team all-conference player to give Central four 6-footers, an apparent luxury at the Class A level.
Hamilton, third place a year ago, lost Southwest A MVP Mya Winkler to graduation but should be a factor again. Returning all-staters Rachel Walls, Addi Romine and Mason Quinn helped end a decade-long state-tournament drought and give Frenchtown the talent and confidence to make strides from last season’s fourth-place finish.
Class B
Here’s a bit of trivia: Name the last non-Southern B team to win a state championship in volleyball. You’ll have to go all the way back to 2005 to find the answer in Missoula Loyola. And even that year was a bit of an outlier because Southern B teams had won the previous eight state titles.
Add it up, and it means a team from the 3B, 4B or 5B districts has been the last team standing 25 of the past 27 seasons. Huntley Project is a big reason, of course. The Red Devils, under longtime coach Iona Stookey, enter the season as three-time defending champs, and they’ve won 15 state titles since 2003. Project graduated six seniors, including three all-state players, but history shows that the Red Devils never rebuild, only reload.
If there is an opening, you can probably keep your eyes on fellow Southern division teams like Townsend (two thirds and a second in the past three years) or Columbus, which finished third last year with the help of its underclassmen.
Shepherd, the 2022 runner-up, has two returning all-staters from last season, as does Baker. Those were two strong teams that didn’t make it out of the fierce Southern B divisional.
If you’re looking for “outsiders,” Eureka brought a young team to state and went 1-2. Florence, which had a nice run a few years ago, also had a young team last season that finished fourth at state.
Class C
Is change in the air for the classification? The state-tournament field saw a large and talented senior class, leaving many of the teams with plenty of gaps to fill in if they want to make another run. Included in that group is three-time state champion Manhattan Christian, which featured the most seniors with six.
But tournament participant Belt had five seniors and several other teams had four, so if there ever was a season for newcomers to make their mark, this might be it. Or will it?
In the past five years, Manhattan Christian and Bridger have made five state appearances and Roy-Winifred has been to Bozeman four times, so there are some safe bets.
Belt, Plentywood and Fort Benton have made the trip three times. Safe to say, though, some new teams could break through this season. It just might take the whole season for the full picture to come into focus.
