Kats look good, then falter against Frenchtown

At first, the Columbia Falls volleyball team matched conference rival Frenchtown shot-for-shot at home on Oct. 12, winning the first game 25-19.

Then things fell apart. The Wildkats lost to the Lady Broncs 25-6, 25-20, 25-14 as Frenchtown recorded 54 kills — 18 from Morgan Ray alone.

Frenchtown is a good team, no doubt, but the Kats just seemed to lose their confidence and made too many errors — shots went awry, digs went left and blocks bounded out of bounds. It was a day and night performance.

The Kats were led by Haley Belgarde, with 12 kills in the loss.

Columbia Falls fared far better against Libby in an Oct. 10 away game. They dropped the Lady Loggers in three games, 26-24, 25-14, 25-14. The Kats had eight service aces in the win.

This week, the Kats travel to Missoula for a tournament there. Columbia Falls is now 6-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Frenchtown game was their last home match. They play Whitefish away Oct. 31 to wrap up the regular season.

Columbia Falls def. Libby, 26-24, 25-14, 25-14.

Kills – Columbia Falls 23 (Haley Belgarde 8), Libby 26 (Hailey Moe 7, Devon Gallagher 7); Blocks – Columbia Falls 9 (Carla Nicosia 3, Winter Kemppainen 3 ), Libby 3 (Gallagher 2); Assists – Columbia Falls 14 (Cydney Finberg 7, Taylir Fairbank 7), Libby – 24 (Hannah England 22); Digs – Columbia Falls 42 (Shaylene Fishel 12), Libby 44 (Mahalah Wedel 19); Aces – Columbia Falls 8 (Belgarde 3), Libby 3 (Wedel 1, Baillie Rosling 1, Dayln Germany 1).

Frenchtown def. Columbia Falls, 19-25, 25-6, 25-20, 25-14

Kills — Frenchtown 54 (Morgan Ray 18), Columbia Falls 29 (Haley Belgarde 12). Assists — Frenchtown 51 (Josie Anderson 26), Columbia Falls 25 (Cydney Finberg 17). Blocks — Frenchtown 11 (Vanessa Stavish 4), Columbia Falls 7 (Carla Nicosia 2, Winter Kemppainen 2, Belgarde 2, Ciera Finberg 2). Digs — Frenchtown 74 (Anderson 17, Ray 17, Stavish 17), Columbia Falls 29 (Shaylene Fishel 15).