By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The Chinook Sugarbeeter volleyball team was knocked out of action by the Cut Bank Wolves in the semifinal loser-out bracket with a 15-12, 12-15, 7-1 loss.
"We learned a whole lot in two days," head coach Paula Molyneaux said. "I saw some really nice things defensively from our squad."
Defensive specialist Caroline Moores and outside hitter Katie Malsam provided the spark on the defensive end for the 'Beeters.
From beyond the line, Sadie Fuglevand and Kelsie Whitney served tough for Chinook.
At the net, Amanda Shoen tallied 34 kills during the weekend, matched by teammate Katie Hoffman, who also notched 34 kills.
On the back side, Jacy Sheppard, Jessica Frank, and Renda Birky played strong.
"I saw some really nice improvements over the weekend out of those three," Molyneaux said. "They just got better with each match."
The Sugarbeeters had split with Cut Bank 15-12, 8-15 Friday.
Also Friday, Chinook was defeated by the Class C Chester Coyotes 15-11, 15-13.
The Sugarbeeters split with Malta 15-9, 11-15, and split with Choteau 15-11, 9-15.
Cut Bank and Choteau finished third and fourth, respectively.
"This is the first year that we have had 10 very competitive teams," Molyneaux said. "It could have gone either way in several situations."
Chinook opened tournament play Saturday with a 15-8, 15-12 win over Fort Benton.
Cut Bank defeated the 'Beeters 15-8, 15-8, and Chinook went on to redeem itself by defeating Chester 15-11, 15-3, before being knocked from the tournament by Cut Bank.
Glasgow won the tournament, and Stanford placed second.
