BOZEMAN — The Class A state volleyball tournament kicked off Thursday morning at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the Montana State University Campus.
Overviews from Thursday’s matches are below. For updated scores and pairings, please click here.
Click scores for video highlights.
BELGRADE DEF. LIBBY 25-17, 25-18, 25-13
Belgrade had no problems with Libby as the Panthers swept the Loggers and punched their ticket to Friday night’s undefeated semifinal against Billings Central.
Bailey Christensen led the Panthers with 16 kills and four aces. Taylor Christensen had four aces, too, to go along with a team-high 23 digs.
Mehki Sykes had 11 kills for Libby. The Loggers will face the winner of Glendive/Columbia Falls in loser-out action on Friday.
BILLINGS CENTRAL DEF. CORVALLIS 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20
Oliva Moten-Schell finished with a game-high 25 kills and tied for the team-high with two assists to lead Billings Central to Friday’s undefeated semifinal. Moten-Schell also had six blocks and 23 digs.
Sierra Schuster had 44 of Central’s 45 assists. Lindy Grey had seven blocks and Blayne Meyer had six to stifle the intimidating Corvallis attack.
Maureen Jessop had 16 kills for the Blue Devils, who fall to Friday’s loser-out action to face the winner of Hardin/Whitefish.
BELGRADE DEF. WHITEFISH 25-15, 25-15, 25-5
Belgrade made a statement in its opening-round win over Whitefish, sweeping the Bulldogs in resounding fashion. Belgrade moves on to the quarterfinals to face Libby on Thursday evening.
Bailey Christensen did a bit of everything for the Panthers, leading the team with seven aces and eight kills. Christensen also registered three blocks. Olivia Cook tallied five kills, seven assists and six digs.
Whitefish got three kills each from Marley Bender and Payton Reisinger. The Bulldogs will face Hardin in loser-out play on Friday at noon.
LIBBY DEF. HARDIN 26-24, 20-25, 25-18, 25-12
Mehki Sykes had 25 kills and six blocks to lead Libby to a win over Hardin in the first round of the Class A state volleyball tournament. Libby moves on to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Alli Collins had all 51 assists for Libby. Emma Gruber led the Loggers with 27 digs, while Jayden Winslow added 18 digs and 16 kills.
Demi Uffleman had 18 digs and 12 kills for Hardin. The Bulldogs will move to loser-out action on Friday at noon.
BILLINGS CENTRAL DEF. COLUMBIA FALLS 20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-14
Billings Central rallied to defeat Columbia Falls in four sets and move on to Thursday’s quarterfinal match against Corvallis. The Rams will meet Corvallis in Thursday night’s quarterfinals.
Olivia Moten-Schell led the Rams with 18 kills, nearly half of their 37 as a team, and also had 15 digs. Sierra Schuster had 30 assists and 17 digs, while Avery Hadley led Central with 31 digs. Hadley also had a pair of aces.
Columbia Falls got 13 kills from Ryley Kehr, while Hannah Schweikert had 33 assists and 5 aces to lead the Wildcats. Columbia Falls will play in loser-out action against Glendive on Friday morning.
CORVALLIS DEF. GLENDIVE 25-21, 25-14, 25-9
Hannah Martin had 30 assists and 12 digs as Corvallis swept past Glendive in the opening match of the Class A state volleyball tournament on Thursday, winning 25-21, 25-14 and 25-9. The Blue Devils advance to Thursday evening’s quarterfinal, while the Red Devils play in loser-out action on Friday morning.
Martin helped Corvallis to 35 total kills in the match, Maureen Jessop’s 12 a match-high, while Charlotte Powell added seven blocks at the net to deny Glendive’s attack. Hannah Hutchison and Casey Fison had three aces each for the Blue Devils.
Glendive was paced by Bailey Pearcy’s 23 assists and 13 digs, while Meadow Torres tallied nine kills and 17 digs in the loss.
