Lady 'Dogs spike 'Kats, sweep season series

The Lady Bulldogs volleyball team easily put away rival Columbia Falls in three games on Oct. 1 in Whitefish's Homecoming match.

Whitefish swept the season series with the C-Falls Wildkats 2-0.

The 'Dogs were led by senior Jessica Slaybaugh's 11 assists and three services aces, while Kaitlyn Wehrli added eight kills.

"It feels really great to beat them twice," Slaybaugh said. "They are our biggest rival and to beat them in three games is especially nice."

Whitefish came out the gate slow in the first game due to some sloppy hitting, but quickly found their game after falling behind 4-1.

They took the lead 5-4 when Heather Bailey knocked in the first of 10 consecutive serves to lead the 'Dogs to a 12-4 lead.

Whitefish showed off its team play in the first game when Olivia Nagler and Wehrli jumped to block a kill attempt from the 'Kats and Slaybaugh lunged to save a ball. The point put the 'Dogs up by seven.

In the second game, Whitefish found itself down 4-8 after the 'Kats scored on a long rally that seemed to shift the momentum toward Columbia Falls.

"Our passing started out slow and we got in a hole a little bit," Slaybaugh said about the second game. "But we pulled ourselves out of it."

Led by two kills from Wehrli and another from Nagler, Whitefish scratched to within one point of the 'Kats. The 'Dogs took the lead with a service ace from Wehrli. Later, Madison Tveidt tapped in a point over two 'Kat players to put Whitefish in control 14-12.

The final game was dominated by Whitefish's seniors as Slaybaugh and Wehrli each made huge solo stuffs to keep the 'Kats comeback attempts at bay.

Bailey served up an ace for the 25-19 win.

Kills: Glacier 36 (Lexy Boschee 11), Whitefish 14 (Kaitlyn Wehrli 5, Jessica Slaybaugh 3); Assists: Glacier 34 (Paige Latimer 30), Whitefish 14 (Olivia Nagler 8, Slaybaugh 5), Digs: Glacier 49 (Leah Engebretson 19), Whitefish 47 (Molly Filipek 10, Slaybaugh 9); Blocks: Glacier 5 (Baylee Quay 2, McKell Bennett 2), Whitefish 3 (Taylor Havens 1, Abby Strellnaur 1); Aces: Glacier 15 (Latimer 6), Whitefish 2 (Filipek 1, Heather Bailey 1).