Hi-Line Volleyball Roundup: Sugarbeeters really on a roll now

Volleyball district tournaments are getting closer and closer, and with next weekend being a weekend off for many area high school volleyball teams, this past week’s matches were big.

In perhaps the biggest match of the District 6C East season, the Chinook Sugarbeeters all but locked up another conference title when they beat the Chester/J-I Hawks last Thursday night in Chinook. The win kept Chinook unbeaten in conference play with just two matches to go. One of those is a regular season finale at North Star in two weeks.

Chinook looked the part of the best team in the 6C East last Thursday as the Beeters took down the Hawks by scores of 28-26, 21-25, 25-15 and 25-20. The Hawks played extremely well, but in the end, Chinook had too much power.

The Beeters got 11 kills by Abigail Ellison, while Sierra Swank had 29 assists and a block, and Kelsey Mathon had 27 digs. C/J-I was paced by Allix Goldhahn with 12 kills, four blocks, three aces and 17 digs in a great, all-around match.

Last Thursday was a busy one on the Hi-Line, as North Star took care of Box Elder in Rudyard. The Knights got six kills from Samantha Pester, while Graysen Spicher had six aces and 11 assists.

Things didn’t go as well for Big Sandy. The young Pioneers struggled in a sweep at the hands of Highwood-Geraldine last Thursday night. The Pioneers lost by scores of 25-4, 25-10 and 25-14.

On Friday night, Chinook stepped out of conference play, but it mattered little as the Beeters destroyed the Class B Malta M-Ettes by scores of 25-6, 25-22 and 25-1. The third set was an incredible run for a Chinook squad on a roll.

Ellison again came up big for the Beeters with 11 kills, while Cortney Gunderson had 12 digs and Brooke Nichols tallied four aces.

Also Friday night, the Rocky Boy Morning Stars beat Box Elder in a non-conference thriller. The Morning Stars won by scores of 25-23, 20-25, 25-17 and 25-23. Fort Benton also beat Hays-Lodge Pole.

While Big Sandy had it rough on Thursday night, the Pioneers rebounded with a big win over Hays-Lodge Pole Saturday night. The Pioneers won by scores of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-20, and they got six kills from Madison Reichelt, as well as 10 assists from Jasmine Genereaux.

Saturday night was also a good night for the Harlem Wildcats, who notched a big District 2B win over Wolf Point. In a five-set thriller, the Wildcats beat the Wolves by scores of 20-25, 25-13, 25-23, 15-25 and 15-7. It was just Harlem’s third win this season.

Brooke LeValdo had 11 kills for the Wildcats, while Hailley Lamebull had 11 assists and four aces. Jazz Benson added 18 digs as well.

Chinook continued its run Monday with yet another sweep in the 6C East. The Beeters beat Big Sandy by scores of 25-5, 25-16 and 25-12. Brooke Nicholson had eight kills and two aces while Sierra Swank had 11 assists for the Beeters. Aaron Ostrom had five kills and Jaylyn Cline had three aces for the Pioneers.

After early matches this week, all of the District 6C East teams will have this weekend off.

Thursday

Highwood-Geraldine def. Big Sandy

25-4, 25-10, 25-14

Big Sandy: stats not available.

Highwood-Geraldine: Kills: 26 (Makae Nack 7). Blocks: 6 (Nack 4). Aces: 11 (Adrian Malek 3). Digs: 31 (Denise Lafontaine 10). Assists: 18 (Katy Long 17).

North Star def. Box Elder

25-12, 25-8, 25-8

Box Elder: Kills: 5 (Gopher 2). Aces: 3. Digs: 10 (Anderson 4). Assists: 3 (Anderson 2).

North Star: Kills: 21 (Sam Pester 6). Blocks: 2 (Kiera Miller, Sheridan O'Neil). Aces: 22 (Graysen Spicher n/a). Digs: 32 (Jewel Wicks 9). Assists: 21 (Spicher 21).

Chinook def. Chester/J-I

28-26, 21-25, 25-15, 25-20

Chinook: Kills: 33 (Abby Ellison 11). Blocks: 2 (Lauren Harshman, Sierra Swank). Aces: 5 (Courtney Gunderson 2). Digs: 101 (Kelsey Mathon 27). Assists: 29 (Swank 29).

C/J-I: Kills: 31 (Allix Goldhahn 12). Blocks: 6.5 (Goldhahn 4). Aces: 12 (Goldhahn 3). Digs: 69 (Goldhahn 17). Assist: 22 (Madeline Woods 9, Katelyn Hansen 9).

Friday

Chinook def. Malta

25-6, 25-22, 25-1

Chinook: Kills: 17 (Abby Ellison 10). Blocks: 2 (Taylor Neibauer 1). Aces: 8 (Brooke Nicholson 4). Digs: 34 (Cortney Gunderson 12). Assists: 11 (Sierra Swank 7).

Malta: Kills: 12 (Adriana Bebaux 3, Shay Garfield 3). Blocks: 5 (Ella Schye 2). Aces: 3 (Samantha Mitchell 2). Digs: 26 (Bebaux 6). Assists: 9 (Mitchell 5).

Saturday

Big Sandy def. Hays-Lodge Pole

25-20, 25-15, 25-20

HLP: NA

Big Sandy: Kills 23 (Madison Reichelt 6), Assists 16 (Jasmine Genereux 10), Aces 25 (Cheyenne Pegar 5, Jessica Roth 5), Digs 2, Blocks 0.

Harlem def. Wolf Point

20-25, 25-13, 25-23, 15-25, 15-7

Wolf Point - Kills 22 (Keelia Brock 6), Assists 18 (Kelsie Neubauer 14), Aces 9 (Semarah Wells 3), Digs NA, Blocks 2 (Shelby Hanks 2).

Harlem - Kills 31 (Brooke Levaldo 11), Assists 20 (Hailley Lamebull 11), Aces 18 (Lamebull 4, Kinsey Cornell 4), Digs 50 (Jazzamyn Benson 18), Blocks 2 (Anita Bentley, Emma Humphreys).