Breaking through
Lady Pirates finally earn elusive conference title
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COLUMBIA FALLS — The Lady Pirates finally have their conference championship.
After two straight years of losing in the conference title match, the Lady Pirates came from behind Saturday to pull off a five-game win over Whitefish for the Northwestern A Championship, 20-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-7.
Polson trailed 2-0 after the match’s opening pair of games, but the Lady Pirates adjusted their attack and made a ferocious comeback to earn the title.
“The best part of that match was that my girls didn’t realize that Whitefish had to beat us twice to win the tournament,” Polson head coach Jan Toth said. “They kept saying that they had to win the match, and I wasn’t about to correct them. I was never one bit worried, though.”
The Lady Pirates jumped out to a quick lead in the opening game of the match, but momentum shifted to Whitefish as the Lady Bulldogs came back to take the lead.
“We were up 8-1 in that opening game and then they blocked us a few times and we made some errors. Our passing was not great and that kind of set the tone for the first two games,” Toth said. “They were blocking our power game, and the girls started getting frustrated. We just couldn’t get any momentum built up and we had to play them point for point.”
Polson continued to struggle, dropping the first two games of the match as Whitefish looked as if it would breeze to victory.
“We kept making mistake after mistake and they kept on capitalizing on them. When a team like that gets the momentum, it makes it very hard to get it back,” Toth said.
Just when things looked their bleakest for Polson, a strategy-change turned the match around.
“I kept calling time outs and telling the girls to just settle down. Between the second and third game, we decided to change to a quick-attack offense and we started placing the ball strategically,” Toth said. “That’s when things turned around for us. We were down 2-0 and then we couldn’t do anything wrong.”
Polson came roaring back with a 25-22 win in the third game of the match before dominating the last two games to get the win and the conference title.
The Lady Pirates were led by a great all-around performance from Breanne Kelley, who finished the match with 12 kills, 15 digs and five blocks. Sallie Sams led the team in kills with 16 in the win while Kendyall Rochin led in digs with 21. Kayla Duford led in assists with 37 and Macall Banner added four aces.
The Lady Pirates also got a strong performance from Riley Kenney, who continues to play despite suffering the effects of a seperated shoulder.
“She is mentally tough and will fight through any pain,” Toth said about her senior floor leader. “She proved that on the court. We need her to be out there. She is a pivotal part of both our offense and our defense.”
Kenney had another strong game with a pair of blocks in the Polson’s opening game of the tournament Friday as the Lady Pirates swept past Columbia Falls, 25-10, 25-12, 25-9.
“We were untouchable against Columbia Falls. We did everything right,” Toth said about the match.
Kelley led Polson with 18 kills in the win while Sams led in blocks with three, Rochin had nine digs, Kayla Duford added 30 assists and along with her sister Shay Duford led Polson in aces with four each.
Polson picked up another sweep in their second match of the tournament Friday as they downed Ronan, 25-22, 25-22, 25-17.
Kelley led the Lady Pirates in kills with 18 in the win, Sams had a pair of blocks, Rochin added 16 digs, Kayla Duford led in assists with 33 and Ashley Johnson had five aces to lead Polson.
Polson will open the state tournament at 2 p.m. Thursday as they face off against Laurel, the second-place finisher in the Eastern Conference.
“They are a very good team, but when you get to this point of the playoffs every team is a good team,” Toth said about her upcoming opponent.
The state tournament is held at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman.
Summary
Polson def. Whitefish
20-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-7
Kills - Polson 50 (Sallie Sams 16, Breanne Kelley 12), Whitefish 41 (Madison Tveidt 12, Olivia Nagler 7). Blocks - Polson 15 (Kelley 5, Riley Kenney 4), Whitefish 13 (Brooke Silliker 5, Nagler 4). Digs - Polson 69 (Kendyall Rochin 21, Kelley 15), Whitefish 87 (Baylee Tveidt 17, Nagler 16). Assists - Polson 39 (Kayla Duford 37), Whitefish 28 (Nagler 19). Aces - Polson 10 (Macall Banner 4), Whitefish 6 (Lindsey Viscomi 2).
Polson def. Ronan
25-22, 25-22, 25-17
Kills - Polson 42 (Breanne Kelley 18), Ronan 31 (Alice Van Guten 9). Blocks - Polson 3 (Sallie Sams 2), Ronan 1 (Tailyr Irvine). Digs - Polson 54 (Kendyall Rochin 16), Ronan 56 (Marissa McCrea 21). Assists - Polson 35 (Kayla Duford 33), Ronan 23 (Taylor Lynch 15). Aces - Polson 12 (Ashley Johnson 5), Ronan 2 (Irvine 2).
Polson def. Columbia Falls
25-10, 25-12, 25-9
Kills - Polson 36 (Breanne Kelley 18), Columbia Falls 9 (Jessie Gist 3). Blocks - Polson 9 (Sallie Sams 3, Riley Kenney 2), Columbia Falls 4 (Gist 2). Digs - Polson 25 (Kendyall Rochin 9), Columbia Falls 24 (Danielle Gilley 10). Assists - Polson 31 (Kayla Duford 30), Columbia Falls 8 (Alli Dierefield 5). Aces - Polson 15 (Shay Duford 4, Kayla Duford 4), Columbia Falls 3 (three with one each).
