Defending state champs headed to state tourney this weekend in Bozeman

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

For the 11th straight year, the Whitefish Lady Bulldog volleyball team is headed to the state championship tournament. They will have their hands full this year, however, as they enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed in their Northwest Class A division.

The defending state champion Whitefish spikers almost found a way to take down the Libby this year, but almost wasn't good enough.

Whitefish posted an 8-2 league mark over the course of the regular season, with their only two losses coming at the hands of the Lady Loggers, one of them going to a fifth game.

The Whitefish squad (14-4 overall) came close to beating their conference nemesis Libby (15-1 overall) twice at the divisional tournament in Ronan over the weekend, both times forcing a fifth game. Libby took the division 3-2.

The Lady Bulldogs will likely get another shot at the Lady Loggers at the state tourney in Bozeman this weekend.

The sets between these two teams are always thrilling, back-and-forth battles, but this year Libby has gotten the best of every match-up.

"We're ready to go," said head coach Jackie Fuller, who has taken her team to state for 13 of the 15 years she has been coaching at Whitefish. "It's going to be fun."

Asked how she remains so consistently successful year after year, Fuller credits the people she works with.

"I have a great group of kids who work hard and believe," she said. "I have great parents, a great administration that supports me, and wonderful assistant coaches."

Junior Kate Klundt said she's happy to be going to Bozeman for state again.

"I'm really excited," she said. "If we have a chance to play Libby again, we'll come out with fire. Instead of being overconfident, we need to just take it one point at a time."

Saturday

The Lady Bulldogs went into the divisional title game on Saturday afternoon having already beaten Bigfork and Ronan.

Whitefish took an early two-game lead, pouncing on Libby 25-20 in the first game and 25-17 in the second. But then they lost their momentum and allowed Libby to rally back and claim the division crown.

Libby destroyed the Lady Bulldogs 25-9 in the third game, and Whitefish just ran out of steam from there. The Lady Loggers won the fourth game 25-18, forcing a fifth tie-breaker game. The Lady Bulldogs couldn't recover, losing the title match 7-15. The last time these two teams played in Whitefish, the Lady Bulldogs lost in the fifth game as well.

Klundt said she relishes the intensity of her team's match-ups with Libby.

"We really enjoy playing them," she said. "It's intense. We had them down two games and we said, 'Let's finish them,' but they came out with a lot of good hits that we couldn't dig up."

Ashley Ferda was dominant again, registering 17 of her teams 33 kills along with an astounding 24 of her team's 66 digs.

Brielle Menegazzi added 14 kills, 15 digs and three aces. Hailey Farmin had 30 of her team's 32 assists, running the 5-1 formation.

Jackie Mee, Libby's star hitter, had 19 kills to go along with teammate Laice Dedrick's 18. Dedrick also had five aces for the Lady Loggers. Libby out-aced the Lady Bulldogs 16-8.

Divisional title game

Libby def. Whitefish 20-25, 17-25, 25-9, 25-18, 15-7

Kills - Libby 58, Whitefish 33 (Ashley Ferda 33). Blocks - Libby 3, Whitefish 7 (Katie Klundt 4). Digs - Libby 61, Whitefish 66 (Ferda 24). Assists - Libby 45, Whitefish 32 (Hailey Farmin 30). Aces - Libby 16, Whitefish 8 (Brielle Menegazzi 3).

On Saturday morning, the Lady Bulldogs took on Bigfork in the loser-takes-third match. The winner would play Libby in the title game.

The Lady Bulldogs came out strong early, winning the first two games 25-11 and 25-16. The Bigfork Valkyries decided they didn't want to go down in a sweep and came back in the third game to win 25-22.

The Lady Bulldogs finally sealed the deal in the fourth game, winning 25-18. McCara Cullen served six of her team's 15 aces, and Hailey Farmin had four. Ashley Ferda had 22 kills, while registering 28 digs.

No other stats were available from the game.

Friday

The Whitefish Lady Bulldogs met the Libby Lady Loggers in the undefeated match of the divisional playoffs on Friday night, and it was a barn-burner as usual.

The games were even all the way through, other than the first game, in which Libby pummeled Whitefish 25-15.

Whitefish rallied to win the second game, 25-18, and carried that momentum to the third game, winning 26-24. They needed to win the fourth game to punch a ticket to the state playoffs, but they let the Lady Loggers rally at the end and win 25-13.

The match was forced to a fifth game, which is only played to 15. The Lady Bulldogs hung tough, but they just could not find a way to hold off Brooke Hageness and lost, 13-15. Hageness finished with 14 of her team's 57 kills, three blocks, 15 digs, and six aces.

Kate Klundt had five blocks for Whitefish. Brielle Menegazzi registered 20 kills and four aces.

Libby def Whitefish, 25-15, 18-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13.

Kills - Libby 57 (Brooke Hageness 14), Whitefish 49 (Brielle Menegazzi 20). Blocks - Libby 6, Whitefish 13 (Kate Klundt 5). Digs - Libby 60 (Hageness 15). Whitefish 84 (Menegazzi 29). Assists - Libby 48 (Shelby Barton 38). Whitefish 44 (Hailey Farmin 39). Aces - Libby 16, Whitefish 8 (Menegazzi 4).

Thursday

The Lady Bulldog spikers suffered a rare, but momentary, lapse against Bigfork on Thursday night in their opening game of the Northwestern A divisional volleyball tournament in Ronan.

The Whitefish hitters allowed the Valkyries to upset them in the third game, 22-25, forcing the three-game set to a fourth game. Whitefish won the first two decisively by scores of 25-11 and 25-16.

However, the Bigfork players avoided a sweep in the third game, as Alyssa Fierro led her team to an early lead and held off the Lady Bulldogs to force another game.

The Valkyries carried that momentum into the fourth game, where they took an early lead as well.

With the game tied at 10 apiece, the Lady Bulldogs finally recovered enough to hold off the Bigfork onslaught, and Whitefish won, 25-18.

It was a scare for the Lady Bulldogs, and a lapse they didn't want to repeat when they played the conference's No. 1 seed, Libby, on Friday night.

Against Bigfork, Ashley Ferda led Whitefish's attack with 22 of her team's 40 kills to go along with 28 digs.

Brielle Menegazzi finished with nine kills and 14 digs.

McCara Cullen led the Lady Bulldogs with six of her team's 15 aces.

Whitefish def. Bigfork 25-11, 25-16, 22-25, 25-18

Kills - Bigfork 25, Alyssa Fierro 15, Roxanne Thurman 4, Emily Hartman 4; Whitefish 40, Ashley Ferda 22, Brielle Menegazzi 9. Blocks - Bigfork 7, Fierro 4, Thurman 3; Whitefish 7, Kate Klundt 3. Assists - Bigfork 23, Avery Vogel 16, Rachael Luckow 6; Whitefish 36, Hailey Farmin 32. Digs - Bigfork 53, Deaton 12, Thurman 12; Whitefish 85, Ferda 28, Menegazzi 14. Aces - Bigfork 10, Fierro 5; Whitefish 15, McCara Cullen 6, Farmin 4.