Kats fall to Libby, BF

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls dropped to 2-7 in Northwestern A volleyball play with losses to the top two teams in the conference, but the Wildkats showed signs of excellent play in both matches.

Columbia Falls fell behind Libby early in the first and third games Thursday on the Kats' home court, and the Loggers went on to sweep the Kats, 25-15, 25-20, 25-15.

After losing the first two games to Bigfork on Friday in Bigfork, the Kats squeaked out a win in the third set. The Valkyries won the fourth game to put the match away. Game scores were 25-6, 25-17, 23-25, 25-12.

CFHS closes out the regular season with Senior Night on Friday. The Kats host Whitefish. The freshman match starts at 4:15 p.m., followed by the junior varsity match around 5:45 p.m. and varsity action about 7:15 p.m. The JV and varsity match times are approximate.

The divisional tournament is set for Nov. 13-15 in Polson. CFHS will likely have the No. 5 seed in the tourney. The top two teams qualify for the state tournament Nov. 20-22 in Bozeman.

The Kats led Libby 3-1 in the first set Thursday, but the Loggers reeled off 10 straight points with Jordan Refsland at the service line. CFHS led 12-11 in game two and later was within 20-18, but the Loggers went on a 4-0 run and put the game away.

There was sporadic passing by the Kats in the first two games, and that part of the game was a detriment in the third set. Taking advantage of several CFHS mistakes, Libby built a 9-2 lead. The Kats were within seven points midway through the set, but the Loggers scored 10 of the next 14 points to make it a three-game sweep.

The Kats had trouble getting their passes to setter Cassidee Skiles, who had only 16 assists. At the net, Amanda Milliard led the Kats with five kills. Kayla DeWit and Alyssa Ladenburg added four each. Brooke Cady and Cedar Smith each had two service aces. Ladenburg led in digs with six.

Six-foot-1 junior Jackie Mee led Libby's balance attack with nine kills. Devon Hoyer had eight. Mee had 10 digs, and Evi Cernick led in assists with 15.

Bigfork, which clinched the No. 2 seed from the Northwestern A at the divisional tourney with the win, dominated the first game against the Kats. The Kats' play improved in the second game, as they build a nine-point lead before the Vals rallied for the win.

Sparked by excellent work in the back row, the Kats won the very close third set. But Bigfork put the match away with a game-four win.

The Kats had good production at the net against the Vals. They had 24 kills with Brooke Cady leading the team with 10. Kayla DeWit had five of CFHS' eight blocks. Cassidee Skiles had 20 set assists.

CFHS had 58 digs in the match, 17 by Ladenburg and 11 from Skiles. Ladenburg had four aces.

Roxy Thurman led Bigfork with eight kills, and Emily Hardman added seven. Thurman served seven of the Vals' 11 aces.