Big Sandy spikers keep on rolling

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor [email protected]

With a busy week in the books, and one more coming before the annual break in the high school volleyball team, area teams are fighting to maintain and build momentum. Here's a look back at the past week of volleyball action on the Hi-Line. On Thursday night, the Box Elder Bears picked up an impressive Northern C win, defeating the Great Falls Central Mustangs by scores of 25-18, 25-11, 23-25 and 25-17 in Box Elder. Aside from the third game, the Bears literally dominated the match. Shayla Beaumont had seven kills and 11 aces, while Kaycee Henry had 10 assists. As a team, the Bears' serve was dominant, with 25 total aces. However, Box Elder didn't have as easy a time on Friday night as the Bears fell to rival Rocky Boy by scores of 25-21, 21-25, 25-21 and 25-16. The Class B Morning Stars were led to victory by Martina St. Pierre's match-high 12 kills, while Amanda Belcourt had eight aces. The Bears got nine aces from Kaylene Ramos and five digs from Frankie Raining Bird. Friday night also saw Chester/J-I earn an important District 6C West win over rival Dutton-Brady in Chester. The Hawks beat the Diamondbacks in four games by scores of 25-20, 17-25, 25-23 and 25-21. Courtney Vinson had a big match for C/J-I totaling 10 kills and six aces, while Kelsey Han had 16 digs and Nikole Wolfe had 27 assists. Meanwhile, Chinook and Big Sandy also earned important conference wins on Friday night. In Hays, the Sugarbeeters rolled to a three-game sweep of Hays-Lodge Pole by scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-11. Shani Johnson had four kills for the Beeters, while Lexie Kirkaldie had three kills and six digs for HLP. In Big Sandy, the 6C East leading Pioneers got their weekend off on the right foot with a easy three-game sweep over the Centerville Miners. The Pioneers rolled to the win by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-19, and Suzy Faber led the way with 10 kills and a block, while Amber Amsbaugh had four digs and a block. The Pioneers also took care of another Northern C powerhouse on Saturday as they knocked off defending Northern C champion Highwood in four games at home. Big Sandy earned the weekend sweep by beating the Mountaineers by scores of 22-25, 25-16, 25-17 and 25-21. Faber again paced the Pioneers with 13 kills and a career-high 10 blocks, while Mackenzie Jenkins had 30 assists four service aces. Chinook wasn't as fortunate against a Northern C rival on Saturday. The Beeters traveled to Belt and were downed by the Huskies by scores of 25-15, 25-19 and 25-17. In the loss, Chinook got six kills from Alyssa Brown, and Katie Diemert totaled all 16 of Chinook's assists. Rocky Boy was also on the losing end of a District 1B match on Saturday. In Rocky Boy, the host Morning Stars were soundly beaten by the Choteau Bulldogs by scores of 25-9, 25-12 and 25-11. In District 2B action Saturday, the Harlem Wildcats were swept by rival Wolf Point on the road. The Wolves beat the Wildcats by scores of 25-15, 25-9 and 25-17. Jasmine Dumas led Harlem with five kills and two blocks, while Shay Martin added five aces in the loss.