By Tiffany L. Rehbein
With everybody's future at stake, day one of the State Class A volleyball tournament wrapped up with Havre and Hardin the only two teams remaining without a tournament loss.
The battle of the unbeatens will be played at 8 p.m. Friday at the Havre High School gymnasium.
The Havre Blue Ponies closed Thursday night with a 15-9, 6-15, 15-13, 15-13 nip over the Park County Rangers.
The two-hour, four-game match was a battle of side-outs and rousing defense on both sides of the net.
Havre's senior standout Erin Patera amassed 19 kills, 19 digs and two blocks in the victory.
Five-foot-11 sophomore Amy Ranes had 10 of the Blue Ponies' 45 kills in the match.
Lisa Wagner had 24 assists and four aces for Havre. Senior setter Kirsten Kuka also tallied four aces and collected 16 assists in the match.
Defensive specialist Tiffany Shrauger had 18 digs on the night.
Senior Angela Bausch led the Rangers with 11 kills, two aces, and three blocks.
Livingston's Becky Hancock notched 29 assists and 20 of the teams 108 digs.
Erin Blakely had 19 digs and three blocks for Livingston.
Havre, the No. 2 seed from the Central Division, defeated Colstrip 15-13, 15-3, 15-10 en route to the night match. The Fillies were the second-seeded team from the east.
Patera and Ranes combined for 17 of the team's 30 kills in the match. Patera had four aces, while Ranes had four blocks in the effort.
Kuka tallied 15 assists, followed by Wagner with 11. Kuka also dropped in six aces.
Senior Jana McPherson led the Ponies with 13 digs, while senior Teri Sherrill collected 12 in the back row.
Havre defeated Livingston twice during the regular season, but suffered an early-tournament loss to the Rangers last weekend at the Central A divisional tournament. The Rangers were the No. 3 Central seed at the state tournament.
Hardin, the top seed from the east, edged Lewistown 17-15, 10-15, 4-15, 15-1, 15-12 Thursday evening. The Eagles were the No. 1 seed from the Central Division.
Kelsey Bierman led the Bulldogs' attack with 15 kills, 18 digs, and two blocks.
Amanda Slyker had 25 assists and seven aces in the match for Hardin, who advanced to semifinal play against Havre on Friday night.
Janalee Stokken had 14 of Lewistown's 45 kills. Outside hammer Lindsey Garcia and Ammie Smith added 10 apiece.
Senior Jamie Slagel had 32 assists and eight digs in the match, while Sarah Wilbur also tallied eight digs in the effort.
Senior back row player Cassie Chapman dropped five aces, while Janelle Phifer added three in the effort.
Lewistown def. Corvallis, 15-5, 15-4, 15-6
The Fergus County Golden Eagles, the No. 1 seed from the Central Division, opened the tournament with a decisive win over the second-seeded Corvallis Blue Devils from the west.
Garcia led the Eagles net attack with 11 kills, while Stokken added 10.,
Slagel had 25 of the team's 26 assists. She also had five digs and four aces for Lewistown.
Keely Jeide led the back row effort with nine digs.
Six-foot-1 middle Kasey Smith led the Blue Devils with four kills, seven digs, and two blocks.
Connie Huls had six digs and two blocks for Corvallis.
The Blue Devils met the Bigfork Vals at 10 a.m. on Friday in loser-out action.
Corvallis Kills 16 (Kasey Smith 4, Tisha Warner 3) Assists 8 (Melanie Nisly 7, Connie Huls 1) Digs 31 (Smith 7, Huls 6) Aces 1 (Rachael Curran) Blocks 6 (Smith 2, Huls 2).
Lewistown Kills 33 (Lindsey Garcia 11, Janalee Stokken 10) Assists 26 (Jamie Slagel 25) Digs 35 (Keely Jeide 9, Slagel 5, Cassie Chapman 5) Aces 9 (Slagel 4, Chapman 3) Blocks 6 (Stokken 5, Ammie Smith 1).
Hardin def. Bigfork 5-15, 15-9, 15-5, 15-13
The Bulldogs advanced to the night session with an opening-round win over the No. 3 Vals from the west.
Bierman led the Bulldogs with 12 kills and 18 digs. Melissa Roth turned in a fine performance with 11 kills and four aces for Hardin.
Slyker had 36 assists in the effort.
Sophomore Lisa Saari led the Vals with 15 kills and seven blocks at the net. Brooke Hovland added 12 kills and 19 digs in the contest.
Andi Anderson also had 19 digs, while Noele Rudolph managed an impressive 44 assists.
Hardin Kills 46 (Kelsey Bierman 12, Melissa Roth 11) Assists 37 (Amanda Slyker 36) Digs 33 (Bierman 18) Aces 11 (Roth 4) Blocks 13 (Verna Hugs 6).
Bigfork Kills 46 (Lisa Saari 15, Brooke Hovland 12) Assists 44 (Noele Rudolph 44) Digs 78 (Andi Anderson 19, Hovland 19) Aces 4 (Courtaney Burt 2) Blocks 9 (Saari 7).
Livingston def. Whitefish 7-15, 15-8, 15-4, 15-11
The most stunning loss of the day came in the afternoon, when Livingston handed the Whitefish Bulldogs just their second loss of the season.
Whitefish boasted the best record coming into the tournament.
Bausch led the Rangers' attack with 10 kills, 16 digs, six aces, and two blocks.
Becky Hancock had 33 assists and 13 digs for Livingston.
Beka Hudson and returning all-state junior Marrin Audet had 11 kills for Whitefish.
Ashley Mason and Kelsey Jensen divided the setting responsibilities at 14 apiece.
Tara Barge led the defensive effort with 23 digs, while Hudson tallied 14 in the contest.
Whitefish met Colstrip at noon on Friday in loser-out action.
Whitefish Kills 30 (Beka Hudson 11, Marrin Audet 11) Assists 29 (Ashley Mason 14, Kelsey Jensen 14) Digs 73 (Tara Barge 23, Hudson 14) Aces 11 (Mason 4, Vivienne Hodges 2) Blocks 5 (Andrea Donohue 2).
Livingston Kills 40 (Angela Bausch 10, LeAnne Sudbeck 8) Assists 33 (Becky Hancock 33) Digs 67 (Bausch 16, Hancock 13) Aces 14 (Bausch 6, Rae Stevenson 4) Blocks 4 (Bausch 2).
Havre def. Colstrip 15-13, 15-3, 15-10
Havre Kills 30 (Erin Patera 11, Amy Ranes 7) Assists 26 (Kirsten Kuka 15, Lisa Wagner 11) Digs 57 (Jana McPherson 13, Teri Sherrill 12) Aces 13 (Kuka 6, Patera 4) Blocks 4 (Ranes).
Colstrip Kills 21 (Molly Hatten 6) Assists 10 (Jacqui Coryell 10) Digs 57 (Hatten 14) Blocks 6 (Nadine Alter 4).
Hardin def. Lewistown 17-15, 10-15, 4-15, 15-1, 15-12
Lewistown Kills 45 (Stokken 14, Garcia 10, Ammie Smith 10) Assists 34 (Slagel 32) Digs 48 (Sara Wilbur 8, Slagel 8) Aces 13 (Chapman 5, Phifer 3) Blocks 11 (Stokken).
Hardin Kills 31 (Bierman 15) Assists 26 (Slyker 25) Digs 42 (Bierman 18) Aces 19 (Slyker 7) Blocks 8 (Hugs 2, Katie Seder 2, Bierman 2).
Havre def. Livingston 15-9, 6-15, 15-13, 15-13
Livingston Kills 33 (Bausch 11, Sudbeck 8) Assists 29 (Hancock 29) Digs 108 (Hancock 20, Erin Blakely 19) Aces 7 (Teri Winfrey 3, Bausch 2) Blocks 6 (Bausch 3, Blakely 3).
Havre Kills 45 (Patera 19, Ranes 10) Assists 42 (Wagner 24, Kuka 16) Digs 89 (Patera 19, Tiffany Shrauger 18) Aces 11 (Kuka 4, Wagner 4) Blocks 3 (Patera 2).
