By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
With Montana Education Association limiting the prep volleyball season last week, a few teams still managed to pick up key wins as the district volleyball tournaments loom less than two weeks away.
The Chester Coyotes continued their unbeaten run in District 6C with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-10, 25-23 win over the Blue Sky/J-I Eagles last Tuesday.
Shawnee Norick ripped 12 kills and added four blocks, while Keyla Wendland dished out 14 assists in the win. Chester also got 18 digs from Brianne Wolfe and nice aces from Amanda Violett.
The Eagles got a solid performance from Hannah Pimley, who racked up 16 of Blue Sky/J-I's 39 kills. Megan Warren and Jourdon Han combined for 33 assists in the match.
The Big Sandy Pioneers also picked up a key win to remain near the top of the 6C standings with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 win over the KG KouGars.
Shalayna Pearson and seven kills and Kacy Herron dished out 12 assists to lead the Pioneers. KG was paced by Shea Haugen's solid all-around match of eight kills, eight assists and five aces. Jodi Norman added 18 digs for the KouGars.
In match-up of district rivals, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars outlasted the Box Elder Bears in 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 15-7 marathon.
Rocky Boy served up a whopping 31 aces in the match, led by Loni Belcourt's eight aces. Belcourt also added 13 digs. Tori Belcourt picked up 12 kills and four blocks, while Jackie Rock dished out 24 assists.
The Bears were led by Ashley and Tasha Parisian, who combined for 12 kills and 17 digs in the loss. Codi Raining Bird served up 11 of the Bears' 18 aces.
The Morning Stars also picked up a 25-15, 17-25, 26-24, 25-16 nonconference win over the Harlem Wildcats in Rocky Boy.
Jamie Anderson had 10 kills and Rainbow Stump added 12 assists and 10 aces in the win. Loni Belcourt added 15 digs in the win.
Harlem got six kills and six blocks from Brooke Filesteel and six aces and seven digs from Amy Stiffarm in the loss.
Chester def. Blue Sky/J-I
26-24, 20-25, 25-10, 25-23
Chester - Kills 33 (Shawnee Norick 12), Assists 27 (Keyla Wendland 14), Aces 19 (Amanda Violett 9), Digs 74 (Brianne Wolfe 18), Blocks 14 (Norick 4).
Blue Sky/J-I - Kills 39 (Hannah Pimley 16), Assists 37 (Megan Warren 20, Jourdon Han 13), Aces 9 (Warren 3), Digs 39 (Maia Aageson 9), Blocks 4.
Big Sandy def. KG
25-14, 25-16, 25-20
KG - Kills 25 (Shea Haugen 8), Assists 20 (Haugen 8), Aces 10 (Haugen 5), Digs 53 (Jodi Norman 18), Blocks 2 (Natasha Dyrland 2).
Big Sandy - Kills 24 (Shalayna Pearson 7), Assists 16 (Kacy Herron 12), Aces 9 (Naomi Williams 3, Raynee Pearson 3), Digs 41 (Mikki Hammons 8).
Rocky Boy def. Box Elder
22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 15-7
Rocky Boy - Kills 41 (Tori Belcourt 12, Francis Eagleman 9), Assists 37 (Jackie Rock 24), Aces 31 (Loni Belcourt 8), Digs 19 (L. Belcourt 13), Blocks 9 (T. Belcourt 4).
Box Elder - Kills 24 (Ashley Parisian 6, Tasha Parisian 6), Assists 21 (A. Parisian 10, Ventura Campbell 10), Aces 18 (Codi Raining Bird 11), Digs 38 (A. Parisian 9, T. Parisian 8), Blocks 3 (T. Parisian 2, Campbell 1).
Rocky Boy def. Harlem
25-15, 17-25, 26-24, 25-16
Harlem - Kills 15 (Brooke Filesteel 6), Assists 10 (Melinda Cochran 5), Aces 16 (Amy Stiffarm 6), Digs 27 (A. Stiffarm 7), Blocks 10 (Filesteel 6).
Rocky Boy - Kills 33 (Jamie Anderson 10), Assists 21 (Rainbow Stump 12), Aces 24 (Stump 10), Digs 42 (Loni Belcourt 15), Blocks 2 (Tori Belcourt 1, Anderson 1).
