Pair of Lady Pirates named to all-state volleyball team, 5 selected all-conference
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Five Polson Lady Pirates picked up postseason honors last week as the Class A all-state and All Northwestern A Conference teams were announced.
Hitters Breanne Kelley and Sallie Sams were both named to the all-State team after strong performances at the state tournament in Bozeman and both were also named to the All Northwestern A Conference first team.
“Getting Sallie and Breanne on that all-state list, that is a reward for all of the hard work they have put in to playing volleyball,” Polson head coach Jan Toth said.
Joining Kelley and Sams on the all-conference list as second-team members were setter Kayla Duford and hitter Riley Kenney. Ashley Johnson also made the all-conference list as an honorable mention selection.
While Toth said she is very happy for her players that picked up awards, she is not truly happy with the way the team is selected.
“Getting these awards, it brings validity to how strong our program is,” she said. “However, it is all in the hands of the other coaches and I am not really comfortable with that. I had four of the top players in the conference. I believe I had four all-state players.”
Toth said she was most disappointed that Duford was not named to the all-conference first team after she had a strong season. Duford led the Northwestern A Conference in assists with 437 this season, 191 more than any other player in the conference.
“It was really unfair. This is two years in a row that they have done this to her,” Toth said. “I know it really tore at her heartstrings and it’s tough to see. Kayla was an instrumental part of everything we did this year. We are not a great passing team and never have been. Kayla was able to turn those passes into something hittable for the other players. I truly feel she was the best setter in our conference.”
All-conference players are selected by the coaches of the conference as each coach is asked to rank the top 12 players their team faced during the conference season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.
“I tell my players again and again that there is no award out there that can truly define what kind of player you are,” Toth said. “In the end, it comes down to how all of the other coaches vote. I have no control over that. I try to pick my ‘dream team’ when I select all-conference. If I could pick my players from anyone in our conference to field a team, those are the players I vote all-conference.”
While she may not be happy with the selection process, Toth said she is very happy for her players that were selected.
“Riley is one of the best hitters in our conference, even injured,” she said. “She had a rough ending to her year but she deserved to be recognized. Ashley really deserved her award as well. She really came on for us at the end of the season and surprised a lot of teams. I am very happy for her.”
In the end, Toth said it is great that her players got recognized but she still does not put much faith in the selection system.
“The awards don’t truly define what these kids have done,” she said. “I don’t put a lot of validity into all-state and all-conference honors, to tell you the truth. I never have as a coach. Did my all-state selections deserve it? Absolutely. Were they the best players in the conference at their positions? Absolutely. It’s just unfortunate that other kids on my team were not recognized for their contributions,” Toth said.
