The Chinook Sugarbeeters hosted the 19th annual Chinook Invitational Showcase Volleyball Tournament Friday and Saturday and came within one game of winning their own tournament.
In pool play Friday, the Beeters defeated Wolf Point, Chester and Fort Benton, but lost to Choteau, which placed them second going into Saturday's tournament play.
"The kids played really well," Chinook head coach Paula Molyneaux said. "It's really hard to single out one kid who played really well. Kelly Acra had a really great weekend and so did Kelsie Whitney. Both put in a solid performance all the way through. The seniors as a group also played well all the way through and showed some strong leadership."
Chinook faced Shelby in the first round Saturday and won in two games 15-7 and 15-12. The Beeters also defeated Malta in the semifinals 15-9 and 15-11 to advance to the championship game, where they met Chester for the second time in two days.
While Chinook won the matchup Friday with Chester, the Coyotes came out ready to play Saturday, winning in two games 15-5 and 15-13.
"We didn't play very well in the evening and Chester did," Molyneaux said. "Our defensive game is our bread and butter and our defensive game just didn't go. They hit the ball hard and really really well."
Chester advanced to the championship round by defeating Stanford 15-0 and 15-6, Choteau 14-16, 18-16, 7-5, and Cut Bank 15-8 and 15-4.
