State berth breaks three-year drought for spikers

Columbia Falls broke a three-year drought by making it to the Class A State Volleyball Tournament, and while they dropped their first two games in Bozeman on Thursday, Nov. 14, and Friday, Nov. 15, they’ve set up a foundation for the future.

“It’s really special to be a part of it with all the best teams from all classes there,” Columbia Falls head coach Jolandie Brooks said. “We played two freshmen and had some sophomores, and this will only help us in the future. It’s also big for the seniors to get to play in the arena.”

And it was the seniors who showed up in the later stages of the season, helping power the Wildkats to a state berth.

The Wildkats opened up the tournament playing Billings Central, falling in four 25-13, 25-4 24-26, 25-23 on Thursday, in a match that saw Columbia Falls turn on the intensity in the later sets.

Brooks said the team switched from a 6-2 formation to a 5-1 formation, and the seniors took over after the 25-4 second set loss.

“I told them, OK, we’re switching to a 5-1, and that’s what gave those seniors a fire and carried them to a win in that third set,” Brooks said.

Emalee Alton led the Wildkats with 11 kills and 13 digs. Kierra Kemppainen had 13 assists, while Rylee Sweeney was a power at the net with four blocks and six kills. Ava Scholz had 12 digs and was deadly at the service stripe with four aces. Kemppainen had three aces as well. 

Lockwood def. Columbia Falls 3-0

In a loser-out matchup against Lockwood on Friday and despite strong play by Columbia Falls, the Wildkats fell 25-17, 25-15, 25-19. Alton led the team on offense again with 12 kills.

Annika Reid added seven kills, while Sweeney had six. Kemppainen directed the offense with 14 assists, and Jezanie Brooks also dished out nine assists.

“Annika made the switch from defensive specialist to outside hitter this year, and during divisionals she had 21 kills,” Brooks said. “Rylee Sweeney came into divisionals and added 15 blocks to her season total. This crew has been playing and missing out on state for the past three years, and they really put it all out there on the floor during the postseason and provided a lot of leadership.” 

On defense, Lexi Jackson Anderson had 13 digs, while Alton had nine. Kemppainen had two aces.

Columbia Falls finished with a 15-17 overall record but went 10-7 in conference play and heated up in the divisional tournament to make it to the state tourney in Bozeman. 

The Wildkats earned the west’s No. 4 seed, navigating tough teams from both the Southwest and Northwest A Conferences on November 7-9.

To open up the tournament, Columbia Falls fell to the Dillon Beavers 25-18, 25-18, 25-20. Sweeney had ten kills, three blocks, and four digs in the matchup.

Freshman Brooks and Kemppainen had eleven and eight assists, respectively, while Ava Scholz had ten digs and Alton had six kills and nine digs.

In the consolation bracket, Columbia Falls defeated Polson 17-25, 18–25, 25-22, 25-11, 15-11 behind a strong performance by Alton, who finished with 16 kills. Sweeney had 11 kills and an eye-popping seven blocks.

Defense was strong across the entire team, with 76 total digs, including 17 from Alton and 13 from Reid. Scholz had 12 digs.

Kemppainen had 20 assists, while Brooks had 

“We had nothing to lose going into the divisional tournament,” Brooks said. “But we also had seniors that wanted to play one more week while Polson had a team with a lot of freshmen and sophomores, so we played without a lot of fear.”

Columbia Falls then defeated Corvallis 25-20, 25-22, 25-18 to clinch a berth at state. Alton led the team with nine kills and 14 digs, while Reid and Sadie Cheff each had eight kills and Sweeney had seven. Brooks had 15 assists, and Kemppainen had 14.

Reid finished with 12 digs, while Scholz had seven digs and three aces. Sweeney had two blocks.

The Wildkats did follow that with a 25-18, 25-23, 25-17 loss to Bigfork, with Alton leading the team in kills again with ten. Sweeney had three blocks. Alton, Reid, and Scholz all had 12 digs, while Kemppainen had 13 assists, and Brooks had nine.

“I am very excited for next year. We have two girls over six feet and two freshmen,” Brooks said. “Scholz is one of the best liberos we have had, and my daughter Jezanie has been watching state volleyball since she was a little girl and is hungry and ready to run the court. We have talented tall hitters, so it’s exciting to see where that takes us.”

Polson and Bigfork also have young cores that will be returning, but this late postseason run by the Wildkats has given them some momentum heading into next year.

Columbia Falls stayed late to watch the undefeated game last weekend in Bozeman and state and then braved snowy roads to get home. While there wasn’t a trophy to begin home, the journey showed them what it takes to be a state team, and the hope is to make the same trip next year.