Hi-Line Volleyball: Sugarbeeters capture another 6C East title

All season long, the Chinook Sugarbeeters and North Start Knights were the two best teams in the District 6C East. And they proved that in the first week of the postseason, too.

Friday night in Chinook, the Sugarbeeters beat the Knights in four games to capture the 2019 District 6C East volleyball championship, as well as advance to the Northern C Divisional later this week.

Chinook, which had lost just twice all season, beat the Knights twice on their way to the championship in their home gym. The second of those wins came in Friday night's chipper, when the Beeters won by scores of 26-24, 25-13, 21-25 and 27-25. The first and fourth sets were classic sets in the long-standing rivalry between the Beeters and Knights, and it was Chinook which prevailed in each of those.

In the championship, Delaney Kellam had 19 kills, while Ginger Hauer served three aces and had 36 assists for the Beeters. North Star got 11 kills by Olivia King, while Jade Wendland tallied nine aces and two blocks.

Chinook's road to the 6C title started Thursday when the top-seeded Beeters swept Big Sandy in the quarterfinals. The Beeters beat the Pioneers by scores of 25-13, 25-15 and 25-22, getting 14 kills and three aces from Kellam, while Jayden Miller had 14 digs. In the loss, Big Sandy was led by Amanda Cline's 23 digs.

The victory over the Pioneers pushed Chinook into Thursday night's winner's bracket semifinal. There, the Beeters met North Star for the first time in the tournament. North Star reached the match by battling past Chester-Joplin-Inverness in four sets in the quarterfinals. The Knights won by scores of 25-16, 25=11, 24-26 and 215-17, in a hard-fought match. Olivia King had 14 kills and five aces, while Shayla Borlaug had 12 digs for the Knights. CJI was pushed by Sam May's 10 kills, while Tatum Hull had five blocks and five digs.

Into the semifinals, North Star gave the Beeters all they could handle, but it wasn't enough as Chinook advanced to the championship match with a 20-25, 25-21, 25-13 and 25-12. The last two sets were dominant by the Beeters, who got 13 kills and four blocks from Delaney Kellam, while Lily Surber totaled 21 digs. In North Star's first loss of the tournament, the Knights were led by Shayla Borlaug's nine kills, while Kenidee Wolery had 20 assists.

The loss to Chinook dropped North Star into Friday's third-place match where the Knights would eventually meet up with the surprise team of the tourney - Big Sandy.

The Pioneers captured just two wins all season in the 6C East, but they got hot at the right time. The fifth-seeded Pioneers opened the tournament with a Thursday morning sweep of Box Elder, as they bested the Bears by scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 25-10. Alicia Bjornstad had six kills and Amanda Cline tallied 26 digs for the Pioneers, while Zayna Henderson had nine kills, 10 digs and a block for Box Elder.

The win gave Big Sandy the chance to play Chinook in the quarterfinals, and while that didn't go too well, the Pioneers weren't done.

On Friday morning Big Sandy dispatched Hays-Lodge Pole, by scores of 25-12, 25-12 and 25-10 to stay alive. Laynie Ophus had four kills and Stacey Allderdice had two blocks for Big Sandy, while the Thunderbirds, who were eliminated in the loss, got two kills, one ace and a block from Sierra Chandler. HLP lost in the opening round against CJI Thursday morning, by scores of 25-10, 25-4 and 25-20.

Big Sandy's loser-out win over HLP propelled the Pioneers to a loser-out showdown with CJI Friday afternoon. CJI came in as the No. 3 seed in the tourney, but Big Sandy took the Hawks out by scores of 25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 18-25 and 15-12. The match was the thriller of the tournament, as neither team gave in. In the end, Big Sandy was led by 11 kills from Sienna Demontiney, as well as 45 digs from Amanda Cline. In the Hawk's final match of the season, Sam May had 10 kills and Tatum Hull tallied 30 digs and seven assists. CJI got to the fourth-place match by eliminating Box Elder Friday morning. The Bears put up a good fight, but CJI prevailed by scores of 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 and 26-24.

Meanwhile, once Big Sandy got past CJI, the Pioneers had the opportunity to play for a 6C East title. All they had to do was upset North Star. That however, wasn't going to happen as the Knights swept the Pioneers in a dominant three sets, by scores of 25-13, 25-11 and 25-10. Still, it was an impressive run by the Pioneers, who got five kills and one ace from Amiya Griffith in their third-place finish.

Now, the teams who qualified from the 6C East, 6C West, and the 7C will move on to this week's Northern C in Cascade. There, the top two teams will move on to the Class C state tournament Nov. 14-16 in Bozeman.

Last weekend also saw a huge dream come true for the Harlem volleyball team.

At the District 2B tournament in Glasgow, Harlem reached the championship match, finishing second to the host Scotties.

Harlem reached its first-ever 2B championship match Saturday night, and while the Wildcats fell to Glasgow by scores of 25-11, 25-16, 15-25 and 25-16, it was still a historic tournament for Harlem. in the title match, Harlem got nine kills from Aspen Baker, while Shyan Krass had six blocks and Sarah Billmayer added three aces.

Harlem got the the 2B chipper with a sweep of arch rival Wolf Point. The Wildcats beat the Wolves by scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-0 in the semifinal. Baker had 10 kills and two blocks for the Wildcats, while Aria Owens had eight digs and nine service aces.

Harlem's historic run at the 2B won't be the end of the road either. The Wildcats advance to this week's Northern B Divisional in Wolf Point. Harlem, the No. 2 seed from the 2B, will take on the No. 3 seed from the 1B, the Fairfield Eagles Thursday. The Northern B runs Thursday-Saturday in Wolf Point.

District 6C East

At Chinook

THURSDAY

Big Sandy def. Box Elder

25-23, 25-21, 25-10

Box Elder - Kills 22 (Zayna Henderson 9), Aces 5. Digs 30 (Henderson 10), Blocks 2 (Henderson 1), Assists 16 (Kendra Gopher 10).

Big Sandy - Kills 16 (Alicia Bjornstad 6), Aces 8 (Tavie Wortman 3, Lainey Gregory 3), Digs 47 (Amanda Cline 26), Blocks 5 (Stacey Allderdiece 3), Assists 11 (Gregory 7).

CJI def. HLP

25-10, 25-4, 25-20

HLP - Kills 9 (Sierra Chandler 3), Aces 1 (Tahtiana Morgan 1), Digs 81 (Justice Werk 22), Blocks 1 (Chandler 1).

CJI - Kills 29 (T. Hull 12), Aces 20 (E. Wickum 9), Digs 75 (M. Nelson 26), Blocks 2 (Hull 2), Assists 39 (Mattson 35).

Chinook def. Big Sandy (QF)

25-13, 25-15, 25-22

Chinook - Kills 33 (Delaney Kellam 14), Aces 5 (Kellam 3), Digs 62 (Jayden Miller 14), Blocks 2 (Bree Swanson 2), Assists 29 (Ginger Hauer 28).

Big Sandy - Kills 14 (Lainey Gregory 3), Aces 0, Digs 57 (Amanda Cline 23), Blocks 2 (Stacey Allderdice 2), Assists 13 (Alicia Bjornstad 6).

North Star def. CJI (QF)

25-16, 25-11, 24-26, 25-17

North Star - Kills 37 (Olivia King 14), Aces 14 (J. Wendland 5, King 5), Digs 54 (Shayla Borlaug 12) Blocks 0, Assists 29 (Kenidee Wolery 21.

CJI - Kills 19 (Sam May 10), Aces 7 (Emma Wickum 4), Digs 63 (Tatum Hull 5), Blocks 13 (Hull 5), Assists 18 (Averie Mattson 14).

Chinook def. North Star

20-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-12 (SF)

Chinook - Kills 32 (Delaney Kellam 13), Aces 14 (Crystal Hofer 4), Digs 74 (Lily Surber 21), Blocks 9 (Kellam 4), Assists 28 (Ginger Hauer 26).

North Star - Kills 22 (Shayla Borlaug 9), Aces 5 (Jade Wendland 2), Digs 60 Wendland 15), Blocks 10 (Wendland 5), Assists 22 (Kenidee Wolery 20).

FRIDAY

Big Sandy def. HLP (LO)

25-12, 25-12, 25-10

HLP - Kills 2 (Sierra Chandler 2), Aces 3 (Chandler 1), Digs 57 (Mulleah Stiffarm 12), Blocks 1 (Chandler 1).

Big Sandy - Kills 17 (Laynie Ophus 4), Aces 11 (3 with 3 each), Digs 20 (Amanda Cline 6), Blocks 2 (Stacey Allderdice 2), Assists 14 (A. Bjornstad 7).

CJI def. Box Elder (LO)

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

CJI - Kills 35 (Sam May 12, Tatum Hull 12), Aces 20 (Emma Wickum 9), Digs (Molly Nelson 26), Blocks (Hull 2), Assists (Averie Mattson 36).

Box Elder - Kills 14 (Zayna Henderson 7), Aces 5 (Sarah Parisian 2), Digs N/A, Blocks 2 (Maia Henderson 2), Assists 11 (Sarah Parisian 11).

Big Sandy def. CJI (LO)

25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-12

Big Sandy - Kills 36 (Sienna DeMontiney 11), Aces 2 (Alicia Bjornstad 2), Digs 97 (Amanda Cline 45), Blocks 6 (Stacey Allderdice 3), Assists 32 (Lainey Gregory 16).

CJI - Kills 43 (Sam May 10), Aces 7 Molly Nelson 2), Digs 110 (Tatum Hull 30), Blocks 13 Hull 7), Assists 30 (Averie Mattson 24).

North Star def. Big Sandy (3rd)

25-13, 25-11, 25-10

Big Sandy - Kills 13 (Amiya Griffith 5), Aces 2 (Amanda Cline 1, Griffith 1), Digs 39 (Cline 20), Blocks 0, Assists 11 (Lainey Gregory 6).

North Star - N/A.

Chinook def. North Star (1st)

26-24, 25-13, 21-25, 27-25

Chinook - Kills 41 (Delaney Kellam 19), Aces 9 (Ginger Hauer 3, Lily Surfer 3), Digs 96 (Jayden Miller 21), Blocks 8 (Bree Swanson 3), Assists 37 (Hauer 36).

North Star - Kills 31 (Olivia King 11), Aces 9 (Jade Wendland 5), Digs 56 (Shayla Borlaug 14), Blocks 5 (Jade Wendland 2), Assists 29 (Kenidee Wolery 29).