Knights finish fourth at Northern C

Going into the 2014 Northern C Divisional volleyball tournament, the Chinook Sugarbeeters had yet to lose a match. And everything was set up for the Beeters to make a run to the Class C state tournament.

In fact, it was the perfect scenario, as the Beeters were playing the divisional tournament on their home floor. However, for Chinook, and the rest of the District 6C East, it wasn’t meant to be.

Chinook wound up being eliminated from the tournament after just one victory, while North Star was pushed out in the fourth-place match. Chester/J-I also went 0-2 at the Northern C, which ran Thursday through Saturday in Chinook.

The Knights, whose only losses coming into the weekend, were to Chinook, ended up going the farthest of all three Hi-Line teams. North Star opened the tournament with a setback, losing to Geraldine-Highwood in a five-set heartbreaker in the first round Thursday. The Rivals beat the Knights by scores of 15-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18 and 15-14. North Star was ahead of the 7C runner-up 2-0, but the Knights couldn’t hold the Rivals’ comeback off.

Sheridan O’Neil had 12 kills, while Graysen Spicher tallied 29 assists and four aces for the Knights in the tough loss. Mackenzie Hansen also totaled 41 digs.

The loss was tough for North Star, but the Knights rallied. In a loser-out match Friday morning, North Star ousted C/J-I by scores of 16-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-11. Tylynn Rettig had 16 kills and Hansen added 39 digs for the Knights, while the Hawks got eight kills, 21 digs and two blocks from Allix Goldhahn. C/J-I was in the loser-out bracket after losing to Simms by scores of 25-12, 25-13 and 25-21 in Thursday’s opening round.

After advancing past arch rival Hawks, North Star had to take on an even bigger challenge, a fifth match against Chinook. And in that loser-out contest, the Knights would not be denied. After losing to Chinook four times this fall, including twice in last week’s 6C East tourney, the Knights finally prevailed, winning by scores of 22-25, 25-15, 25-18 and 25-16.

In the win, which knocked the Beeters out of the tourney, North Star got 14 kills and seven blocks from Sheridan O’Neil. Hansen added 35 digs. Chinook was led by Katelyn Neibauer, who had 11 kills and eight blocks. Hannah Weber also tallied 14 assists, 17 digs and two aces.

Once North Star was past the huge hurdle of beating Chinook, the Knights found themselves in a battle with the Cascade Badgers to stay alive. But North Star’s run through the tournament would end Saturday morning. The Badgers knocked the Knights out in the fourth-place match by scores of 25-22, 25-15, 20-25 and 27-25. North Star put up a great fight, and got 19 kills and five blocks from O’Neil, while Graysen Spicher had 35 assists. But it wasn’t enough to move on. Still, the Knights have now finished in the top four at the Northern C for four straight seasons.

Chinook meanwhile, had hopes of returning to the state tournament for the second straight season. And things started off just fine. In Thursday’s opening round, the Beeters took care of Cascade by scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-22 and 25-21. In the win, Neibauer had 12 kills and four blocks, while Kelsey Mathon tallied 17 digs.

That victory pushed Chinook into the quarterfinals where they met 7C champion Belt. The Huskies are a strong favorite in Class C volleyball this year, and they showed why, as they defeated the Beeters by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 14-25 and 26-24, handing Chinook its first loss of the season.

In the match against Belt, Neibauer tallied seven kills and 10 blocks, while Weber totaled 11 assists and four aces. But, one match later, Chinook’s season would be over.

However, things aren’t done for Belt. The Huskies went on to beat arch rival Geraldine-Highwood in Saturday’s championship match. Belt won by scores of 18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 26-24 and 15-11, erasing a 2-0 deficit in what was a wild match. The Rivals got to the championship match by beating Cascade in the third-place match Saturday afternoon.

Now, both Belt and Highwood-Gerladine will represent the Northern C in this week’s Class C state tournament, which runs Thursday through Saturday in Bozeman.

Northern C

at Chinook

THURSDAY

Simms-Augusta def. Chester/J-I

25-12, 25-13, 25-21

Simms-Augusta leaders – Kills 36 (Hollee Meek 19); assists 30 (Hollee Meek 20); aces 7 (Dannie Baranko 3); digs 36 (Kendrah Soderasen 6, Bridgette Olson 6); blocks 3 (Roxie Paranteau 1, Michaela Rasmussen 1).

C/J-I leaders – Kills 12 (Erin Wolfe 3, Kylee Venson 3); assists 10 (Emma Earl 3, Madeline Woods 3); aces 4 (Emma Earl 1, Madeline Woods 1); digs 30 (Allix Goldhahn 12); blocks 2 (Allix goldhahn 1).

Highwood-Geraldine def. North Star

15-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 15-4

North Star leaders – Kills 36 (Sheridan O'Neil 12); assists 30 ( Graysen Spicher 29); aces 4 (Graysen Spicher 4); digs 74 (Mackenzie Hansen 41); blocks 8 (Kiera Miller 5).

Highwood-Geraldine leaders – No stats available.

Belt def. Sunburst

25-20, 25-20, 25-15

Belt leaders – Kills 29 (Emily Stoker 8); assists 29 (Johanna Stinson 16); aces 11 (Bailey Cooper 3, Emily Stoker 3); digs 70 (Alison Stoker 23); blocks 5 (Kassie Hoyer 3).

Sunburst leaders – Kills (Krista Hauschulz 4); assists (Courtney Lindskog 4); aces (Justin Bye 1); digs (Hannah Hauschulz 15); blocks (Katara Ryan 1, Nicole Friesen 1).

Chinook def. Cascade

25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21

Chinook leaders – Kills 37 (Katelyn Neibauer 12); assists 33 (Hannah Weber 16); aces 13 (Hannah Weber 5); digs 70 (Kelsey Mathon 17); blocks 10 (Katelyn Neibauer 4).

Cascade leaders – Kills 23 (Ember Schwindt 10); assists 10 (Calies Ludvigson 8); aces 9 (Ember Schwindt 3); digs 77 (Calies Ludvigson 13, Mariah Satterwhite 13); blocks 16 (Ember Schwindt 9).

Highwood-Geraldine def. Simms-Augusta

28-26, 25-14, 29-27

Highwood-Geraldine leaders – Kills 40 (Markaela Frances 15); assists 23 (no leaders reported); aces 7 (Markaela Francis 3); digs 86 (Rosie O'Leary 24); blocks 8 (Makae Nack 3).

Simms-Augusta leaders – Kills 51 (Hollee Meek 22); assists 43 (Hollee Meek 22); aces 3 (Dannie Baranko 2); digs 78 (Hollee Meek 18); blocks 5 (Roxie Paranteau 2, Hollee Meek 2).

Belt def. Chinook

25-20, 25-23, 14-25, 26-24

Chinook – Kills 26 (Katelyn Neibauer 7), Assists 19 (Hannah Weber 11), Aces 10 (Weber 4), Digs 78 (Kelsey Mathon 19), Blocks 24 (Neibauer 10).

Belt – Kills 33 (Emily Stoker 11), Assists 32 (Addy martin 17), Aces 4 (Martin 1, Johanna Stinson 1), Digs 114 (Alison Stoker 33), Blocks 10 (Dani Urick 3, Kassie Hoyer 3).

FRIDAY

North Star def. Chester/J-I

16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-11, lo

North Star leaders – Kills 39 (Tylynn Rettig 16); assists 35 (Graysen Spicher 34); aces 14 (Samantha Pester 4); digs 81 (MacKenzie Hansen 39); blocks 8 (Kiera Miller 4).

C/J-I leaders – Kills 21 (Allix Goldhahn 8); assists Emma Earl 7); aces 7 (Emma Earl 3); digs 71 (Allix Goldhahn 21); blocks 2 (Allix Goldhahn 2).

Cascade def. Sunburst

25-11, 25-22, 25-9, lo

Cascade leaders – Kills 26 (Ember Schwindt 14); assists 18 (Calies Ludvigson 11); aces 13 (Elsie Carpenter 6); digs 50 (Mariah Satterwhite 10); blocks 10 (Ember Schwindt 6).

Sunburst leaders – Kills 11 (Krista Hauschulz 4); assists 9 (Courtney Lindskog 5); aces 3 (Courtney Lindskog 2); digs 36 (Hannah Hauschulz 15); blocks 4 (Krista Hauschulz 2).

North Star def. Chinook

22-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16, lo

North Star leaders – Kills 33 (Sheridan O'Neil 14); assists 31 (Graysen Spicher 29); aces 5 (Graysen Spicher 2); digs 73 (MacKenzie Hansen 35); blocks 17 (Sheridan O'Neil 7).

Chinook leaders – Kills 21 (Katelyn Neibauer 11); assists 23 (Hannah Weber 14); aces 3 (Hannah Weber 2); digs 78 (Hannah Weber 17); blocks 17 (Katelyn Neibauer 8).

Cascade def. Simms-Augusta

23-25, 24-26, 25-13, 25-12, 16-14, lo

Cascade leaders – Kills 38 (Ember Schwindt 22); assists 23 (Kelsey Lappier 19); aces 16 (Ember Schwindt 11); digs 71 (Mariah Satterwhite 21); blocks 17 (Ember Schwindt 13).

Simms-Augusta leaders – Kills 55 (Hollee Meek 10, Roxy Paranteau 10); assists 47 (Hollee Meek 35); aces 14 (Hollee Meek 6); digs 104 (Brittny Hoover 20); blocks 5 (Hollee Meek 3).

Belt def. Geraldine-Highwood

19-25, 25-14, 25-15, 20-25, 15-9, sf

Belt – Kills 40 (Emily Stoker 14), Assists 39 (Addy Martin 33), Aces 17 (Bailey Cooper 5), Digs 91 (Alison Stoker 23), Blocks 17 (Kassie Hoyer 8),

Geraldine-Highwood – Kills 27 (Markaela Francis 10), Assists 21 (Rosie O'Leary 12), Aces 9 (Rylee Adamson 3), Digs 72 (Francis 17), Blocks 6 (Francis 3).

SATURDAY

Cascade def. North Star (4th)

25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 27-25

North Star: Kills 38 (Sheridan O'Neil 19). Aces 7 (Graysen Spicher 3). Digs 70 (Mackenzie Hansen 29). Blocks 13 (O'Neil 5). Assists 38 (Spicher 35).

Cascade: Kills 37 (Ember Schwindt 23). Aces 11 (Calies Ludvigsen 8). Digs 35 (Darby Bogden 11). Assists 32 (Ludvigsen 29).

Highwood-Geraldine def. Cascade (3rd)

25-23, 22-25, 25-11, 25-13

Highwood-Geraldine: Kills 36 (Markaela Francis 13). Aces 13 (Francis 8). Digs 100 (Francis 24). Blocks 8 (Makae Nack 3). Assists 27 (Rosie O'Leary 13).

Cascade: Kills 30 (Ember Schwindt 18). Aces 9 (Kacie Cummings 3). Digs 46 (Nicole Satterwhite 10). Blocks 3 (Schwindt 3). Assists 24 (Calies Ludvigson 16).

Belt def. Geraldine-Highwood (1st)

18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-11

Belt: Kills 52 (Emily Stoker 17). Blocks 8 (Kassie Hoyer 4). Aces 15 (E. Stoker 4). Digs 112 (Alison Stoker 34). Assists 51 (Addy Martin 38).

Highwood-Geraldine: Kills 43 (Markaela Francis 20). Blocks 13 (Francis 5). Aces 8 (Francis 4). Digs 93 (Francis 22). Assists 38 (Rosie O'Leary 22).