2004 Volleyball season in review
NATE GREEN
For the Pilot
What a way to end the season!
The Whitefish girls' volleyball squad rolled back from Bozeman in style, complete with fan-packed cars escorting their bus through town. A first place State championship trophy at their side, and smiles all around, the girls returned from their tournament excursion in good spirits.
"I told the girls to never forget this feeling," beamed Coach Jackie Fuller. "Every last one of them deserved this trophy. They just plain never gave up."
Whitefish stomped Hardin in the State championship match last Saturday in three straight games (25-23, 25-13, 25-13), giving the Bulldogs their third win at the tournament in the last four years.
Teamwork and a sense of "family togetherness" were what brought the girls to the championship, and it was what the girls fell back on in the final game.
"We just played rock solid," said Fuller. "All the girls stepped up and gave tremendous effort."
Whitefish was unstoppable on both ends of the spectrum, setting the offensive tempo while executing their defense with precision and skill.
"Our defense was the main component. I knew that if we could play great defense, we'd win the game."
And win they did.
Looking to lone senior player Katie Hodges for leadership, the girls gave it their all and pummeled Hardin mercilessly.
Tracy Schwada fired down 12 kills and came up with four blocked shots. Courtney Ferda followed suit with nine kills of her own. Ashley Ferda supplied the 'Dogs with eight kills, and 19 digs.
Mandy McFadden kept her hitters happy with 35 set assists. McFadden also had ten digs and two service aces. Katie Hodges also had two service aces.
"We had some great blocks that were made by Courtney, Tracy and Mandy," said Fuller.
The road to the championship match was a tough one, but Whitefish seemed to take it in stride, confident that they would win. The Bulldogs kicked off the tourney with a win over Billings Central 25-16, 25-18, 25-16. The next match up gave the girls a real run for their money. After five hard-fought games the girls emerged unscathed - finishing Lewistown off 26-28, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 15-11. Ironically, the girls faced Hardin for the first time in the semi-final match. Hardin seemed to have much more of a bite, dragging the match on to five games. In the end, Whitefish triumphed 27-25, 21-25, 25-15, 17-25, 15-10.
With play wrapped up, and a shiny new trophy to treasure, the Whitefish girls are going to rest and reflect on their amazing season.
The Bulldogs will lose player Katie Hodges and assistant Katie Cain to graduation this year.