BOZEMAN — Helena Capital swept past Billings West 25-15, 25-21, 25-21 in Friday’s undefeated semifinal, advancing to the program’s first state championship appearance since 2002, which was also the last time the Bruins won a Class AA volleyball title.
Sarah Ashley had a match-high 15 kills and three aces, while the Bartsch twins, Paige and Dani, combined for 20 kills as the Capital hitters flustered West’s defense. Audrey Hofer offered 29 assists for the top-ranked Bruins, who haven’t lost a match since late September.
Capital tallied 39 kills as a team, while limiting West to only 23. Paige Bartsch had five blocks and helped the Bruins’ defense hold the Bears at the net. Kerste Pierce, Emily Kidder and Ashley had 11 digs each for Rebecca Cleveland’s club, which needed a five-set win on Thursday night to even advance to this undefeated semifinal.
Meagan Benton had six kills for West, while Ellie Scherffius added four blocks. The Bears will face the winner of Friday evening’s match between Kalispell Flathead and Bozeman at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. The loser of that contest will finish third, with the winner advancing to the 1 p.m. title game against Capital. If necessary, a second championship would be played around 3 p.m.
For complete scores and updated pairings, please click here.
Bozeman def. Kalispell Flathead 25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22 (Flathead gets fourth place)
Mara Lynch tallied 20 kills, JoJo Radick added 14 more and Emma Fox amassed 55 assists as Bozeman defeated Kalispell Flathead in four sets, 25-20, 24-26, 25-18 and 25-22 in Friday’s final match of the Class AA state volleyball tournament.
Flathead placed fourth with the loss, while Bozeman guaranteed the program a trophy with the win.
Lynch and Radick were dominant at the net, pacing the Hawks to 66 total kills. Flathead had 37, led by Julia Burden and Madde Boles, a Carroll College commit, with 12 kills each. Radick added seven blocks and three aces to pace Bozeman, which will meet Billings West in Saturday’s third-place match. That contest is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the winner facing Helena Capital for the state championship at 1 p.m.
Friday’s loser-out scores
Missoula Hellgate def. Billings Senior 25-21, 14-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-7
Kalispell Flathead def. Great Falls CMR 25-21, 25-20, 25-17
Bozeman def. Missoula Hellgate 25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 25-14
Kalispell Flathead def. Helena High 7-25, 20-25, 27-25, 25-20, 21-19
Bozeman def. Kalispell Flathead 25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22 (Flathead gets fourth place)
