BOZEMAN — The Class AA 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.
HELENA CAPITAL DEF. BOZEMAN 25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 19-25, 15-10
Helena Capital withstood a furious rally by Bozeman, surviving in five sets to advance to Friday night’s undefeated semifinal against Billings West.
Dani and Paige Bartsch led the way for the Bruins, as Dani tallied 15 kills and Paige 14. Dani also had three aces and Paige had nine blocks.
Bozeman was led by Mara Lynch, who had 17 kills, two blocks and 16 digs. Bozeman will face the winner of Missoula Hellgate/Billings Senior in loser-out action on Friday.
BILLINGS WEST DEF. HELENA HIGH 25-27, 25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 15-13
Kaitlyn Grossman had 14 kills to lead Billings West to a thrilling five-set win over Helena High to advance to Friday’s undefeated semifinal.
Jessica Oswalt had 17 assists to lead the Bears and Kinzee Koch tallied 30 digs. Shauna Stene and Elle Scherffius each had six blocks.
Jamie Pickens had game-highs of 17 kills and eight blocks for Helena High. The Bengals move to loser-out action on Friday afternoon where they will play the winner of Great Falls CMR/Kalispell Flathead.
BOZEMAN DEF. KALISPELL FLATHEAD 25-22, 25-22, 25-17
Bozeman used a balanced attack to beat Kalispell Flathead and move into Thursday evening’s quarterfinal match against Helena Capital. Sasha Hathaway led the Hawks with 10 kills, while Mara Lynch added nine and Bella Wanderer had 8.
Emma Fox had 35 assists to lead Bozeman. Lynch had three assists and 15 digs, too, while Ayla Embry had a team-high 23 digs.
Flathead moves to loser-out action Friday at noon to face Great Falls CMR.
HELENA CAPITAL DEF. GREAT FALLS CMR 25-18, 25-14, 25-19
Helena Capital moved on to Thursday night’s quarterfinal round by sweeping Great Falls CMR. Sarah Ashley led the Bruins with 11 kills, while Paige Bartsch had nine kills, seven blocks and four aces. Audrey Hofer had 26 assists to lead Capital.
The Bruins had 15 aces to Senior’s two and 38 kills to Senior’s 12.
Allie Olson led CMR with eight kills. The Rustlers move to Friday’s loser-out action.
HELENA HIGH DEF. BILLINGS SENIOR 25-20, 25-9, 25-11
Helena High dominated in its sweep of Billings Senior in the first round of the Class AA state volleyball tournament on Thursday. The win propels the Bengals into Thursday’s quarterfinal match against Billings West.
Jamie Pickens led the attack for Helena High finishing with 13 kills. She was also one of three Bengals with two blocks. Emliy Feller had all 34 of Helena High’s assists and had three aces. Elizabeth Heuiser, Vanessa Walsh, Pickens and Feller each had six digs.
Billings Senior was led by Karli Steiner’s four kills and 11 digs. The Broncs will face Missoula Hellgate in loser-out action Friday morning.
BILLINGS WEST DEF. MISSOULA HELLGATE 25-21, 25-19, 25-15
Kaitlyn Grassman had a match-high nine kills and Ellie Scherffius added four blocks as Billings West swept Missoula Hellgate 25-21, 25-19 and 25-15 in the first match of the Class AA state volleyball tournament on Thursday. The Bears advance to Thursday evening’s quarterfinal match against Helena High.
Grassman and Scherffius led the attack at the net, while Tayler Larsen and Jessica Oswalt combined for 34 of West’s 39 assists. Kinzee Koch and Madeline Dawson tallied 24 digs in the win.
Hannah Worden led Hellgate with eight kills, while Liza Littig recorded 20 assists in the loss. The Knights face Billings Senior in loser-out action on Friday morning.
