George Ferguson
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
The first day of the District 6C volleyball tournament in Chester is in the books with very few surprises. There were no upsets on day one as all higher-seeded teams easily advanced.
In the opening match of the tournament, the Box Elder Bears easily dispatched Hays-Lodge Pole in three games. The Bears defeated the Thunderbirds by scores of 25-13, 25-20 and 25-11.
That match was followed by what was supposed to be the closest match of the first round. But the Valier Panthers didn't see things the same way, as they swept Sunburst in three straight games. The Panthers downed the Refiners by scores of 25-8, 25-13 and 25-23. Valier got a nice effort from outside-hitter Alisha Snyder, who had 17 kills and five blocks.
The afternoon session of the first round also went according to seed. Host Chester/J-I routed the Rocky Boy Morning Stars by scores of 25-8, 25-11 and 25-11. The Hawks got a balanced effort on Thursday afternoon led by Brianne Wolfe's 11 kills. Ashley Martin served five aces. The Morning Stars were paced by Loni Belcourt with eight kills and seven blocks.
The Big Sandy Pioneers were the only team to lose a game in the tournament's opening round, but they still managed to get past North Star High School. The Pioneers downed the Knights by scores of 25-16, 25-18, 22-25 and 25-15.
Shersteen Cline and Shalayna Pearson led the Pioneer effort. Cline had 12 kills and 10 digs. Pearson added five blocks and three service aces. Tasha Dyrland led the Knights with 14 kills and five blocks.
The tournament continues this morning with loser-out action. Hays-Lodge Pole will open the morning session against Sunburst, followed by Rocky Boy and North Star. The morning session will continue with quarterfinal matches between Chinook and Valier as well as Chester/J-I and Big Sandy.
Today's action will also feature two more loser-out matches this afternoon as well as the semifinals tonight. The championship match is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday.
District 6C Volleyball Tournament
at Chester
First Round
Box Elder def Hays-Lodge Pole 25-13, 25-20, 25-11
No Stats Available
Valier def Sunburst
25-8, 25-23, 25-23
Valier - Kills 32 (Alisha Snyder 17); Assists 29 (Laverdure 16); Aces 2 (Ahern 1, Laverdure 1); Digs 60 (Augare 13); Blocks 12 (Snyder 5).
- Kills 22 (Pace 7, Johannsen 7); Assists 14 (Hoveland 9); Aces 5; Digs 56 (Myers 15); Blocks 3 (Pace 2).
Chester/J-I def. Rocky Boy
25-8, 25-11, 25-11
Chester/J-I - Kills 35 (Brianne Wolfe 11); Assists 32 (Keyla Briese 13); Aces 15 (Ashley Martin 5); Digs 8 (Martin 3); Blocks 1 (Hannah Pimley 1).
Rocky Boy - Kills 10 (Loni Belcourt 8); Assists 6 (Rainbow Stump 5); Aces 1 (Stump 1); Digs 14 (Tori Belcourt 3); Blocks 9 (L. Belcourt 7).
Big Sandy def. North Star
25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15
Big Sandy - Kills 42 (Shersteen Cline 12); Assists (Kacy Herron 37); Aces 12 (Shalayna Pearson 3); Digs 40 (Shersteen Cline 10); Blocks 11 (Pearson 5).
North Star - Kills 21 (Tasha Dyrland 14); Assists 19 (Megan Warren 17); Aces 6 (Maia Aageson 3); Digs 37 (Jourdan Han 12); Blocks 5 (Dyrland 3).
