Whitefish finally beats Libby, then falls to Lewistown in title match

Historic numbers for Whitefish

By DAVID ERICKSON - Whitefish Pilot

400 - Number of career wins for Lady Bulldog head coach Jackie Fuller, after her team beat Havre to

advance to Saturday's state title game.

1 - Number of home games All-State senior Ashley Ferda lost in her entire four year high-school career. The loss was a five-game nailbiter to Libby this season.

1 - Number of wins Ferda needed to be a starter on

four consecutive state championship teams, something that has been done only once in Montana history.

Kandice Kelly, now an assistant volleyball coach

at the University of Montana, led Roundup High

to four straight Class B titles from 2000 - 2003.

She said she was rooting for Ferda to tie the record.

The Whitefish Lady Bull-dogs, in an improbable and thrilling run, played their way out of the consolation bracket and into the state championship final at the 2007 All-Class State Volleyball tournament in Bozeman on Saturday.

It was looking like the Whitefish girls would claim their fourth consecutive state title after they won the first game against the Lewistown Eagles, but the Lady Bulldogs were unable to sustain the momentum.

The Eagles recovered, and Whitefish lost by close scores of 17-25, 24-26 and 23-25 to take second place.

The previous match against the Havre Blue Ponies, which took them to the title game, showed the true character of the Whitefish squad.

Havre had beaten the Lady Bulldogs earlier in the tournament, but something clicked in the defending state champs when they found themselves trailing 9-14, game-point, in the fifth and final game.

All the Havre girls needed was one side-out and Whitefish would be sent home. All-State senior outside-hitter Ashley Ferda, however, decided she wasn't ready to go home. She got a clutch kill to give Whitefish the ball, then served the next five points to reach match-point at 15-14.

Havre's Signe Hillson, however, got a kill to tie the game at 15-15. Then All-State senior Brielle Menegazzi drove down one of her 32 kills to bring the serve back to Whitefish.

Surprise newcomer Almira Sekerci then served an ace to send the Lady Bulldogs back to the title match.

"That was a crazy game," Ferda said. "I don't think anyone expected us to be able to come back. It was pretty amazing."

"It was a great run," said head coach Jackie Fuller, who has taken Whitefish to four consecutive title games. "It showed what I knew about these girls. They are hard workers, and they believed in each other."

Ferda, who started on three previous championship teams, finally tasted second place in her last game as a Lady Bulldog volleyball star.

"This was quite a different tournament than the last three years," she said. "I had never lost a match in the state tournament before, so it was a little strange. It was still a pretty good run, and I'm proud of the whole team."

"Ashley's a wonderful young lady," Fuller said. "She knows what it takes to be a winner — on and off the floor. She's been a solid four-year starter for us, and she has not missed a single practice or match. She's been rock-solid for my program. We've been blessed to have her."

Fuller also credited the large contingent of Bulldog faithful with giving her team a spark.

"Emotions were high, and we had unbelievable crowd support," she said. "From fans, parents, former Whitefish players and residents — the fan support was amazing. I remember looking up at our student body before the game and seeing a head painted like a volleyball. They were screaming for us. I got a lot of comments on how great the Whitefish fans were."

Fuller pointed out that Menegazzi, her other star hitter, was phenomenal throughout the season.

"Brielle flat-out came through for us," Fuller said. "That young lady has worked hard to get where she's at."

Fuller also praised All-Conference senior setter Hailey Farmin.

"Hailey has done an outstanding job as the setter for us," Fuller said. "She was never a setter before this year, and I said, 'I need you to step up and do this for us.' She did a great job. She carried so much of a load for our team."

Lewistown def. Whitefish 19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23 Kills - Lewistown 53 (Arielle Allen 14, LeAnn Quinlan 14, Josie Sweeney 13), Whitefish 41 (Menegazzi 19, Ferda 14), Assists - Lewistown 48 (Brinna Boettger 48), Whitefish 39 (Hailey Farmin 30, Ferda 6), Blocks - Lewistown 23 (Allen 13), Whitefish 4 (Klundt 2), Digs - Lewistown 80 (Quinlan 23, Cassie Byerly 22), Whitefish 85 (Ferda 25, Menegazzi 23), Aces - Lewistown 6 (Sweeney 3), Whitefish 8 (Almira Sekerci 3).

Whitefish def. Havre 26-28, 11-25, 25-18, 25-11, 17-15. Kills - Whitefish 51 (Brielle Menegazzi 23), Havre 52 (Signe Hillson 26). Blocks - Whitefish 8 (Menegazzi 4), Havre 12 (Hillson 3). Digs - Whitefish 88 (Ashley Ferda 29), Havre 87 (Katie Mariani 21, Steph Stromcha 21). Assists - Whitefish 50 (Hailey Farmin 42), Havre 49 (Chelsea Harper 49). Aces - Whitefish 13 (Menegazzi 4), Havre 9 (Mariani 4).

Friday — Whitefish def. Libby

The Lady Bulldogs got their chance to play in the championship bracket by doing something they couldn't do five previous times this season — beat the Libby Lady Loggers.

The games between these two conference rivals came down to the wire every time they met this season, but Libby got the best of them each time on their way to a 15-1 regular season record.

In the state tournament, however, it was the Whitefish squad that finally prevailed when it counted, defeating Libby in three games.

"It was a well-fought battle between two outstanding teams," Fuller said. "Libby is a great ball club. We respected them all year."

Fuller said that although Whitefish finally got a win over their conference nemesis, she empathized with the Libby squad.

"I didn't want to meet them in the tournament — it's not something as coaches that we enjoy doing," Fuller said. "But I give credit to that program."

Menegazzi had 15 kills, 11 digs and three blocks, while Ferda added 14 kills and 19 digs to the total.

Almira Sekerci, an exchange student from Turkey who finally cracked the Lady Bulldogs starting roster during the playoffs, added 11 defensive digs.

"She had a great week of practice, and she's worked hard all year, so we decided to give her a shot," Fuller said of her new weapon.

Sekerci might have been the final piece of the puzzle that allowed Whitefish to finally defeat Libby. Whitefish had trouble defending against Libby all season long, and the Lady Bulldogs finally figured it out when it counted.

Thursday evening - Havre def. Whitefish

Whitefish lost a thrilling heartbreaker in their second match of the state tournament. They took the Blue Ponies to five games only to lose the last game by a maddening two points. The five-game scores were 17-25, 25-16, 25-23, 17-25, 15-17.

In the third game, the Lady Bulldogs rolled out to a 22-17 lead only to let the Blue Ponies come back and tie it at 23-23. Ferda and Menegazzi then notched back-to-back kills to shut the door on the game.

Whitefish, however, could not overcome the stout Havre defense in the fourth and fifth games, and they earned a ticket to the tough consolation bracket, making their chances to play for the championship very slim.

Menegazzi had four blocks and 51 kills. It was the second nail-biter of the day for the Whitefish girls, having beaten Miles City earlier in the day in five games.

Thursday opening game

Whitefish came out strong in their opening match, defeating Miles City by close scores of 25-23, 17-25, 26,24, 25-22.

It was a back-and-forth struggle. The Cowgirls were able to decisively beat Whitefish in the second game, but Whitefish squeaked by all three other games.

Ferda and Menegazzi combined for 41 of Whitefish's 46 kills.

Farmin, as usual, took on most of the assisting duties, registering 42 of Whitefish's 44 assists. She also had three aces.

Whitefish had only three blocks to Miles City's 20, a problem Whitefish needed to address as they advanced in the tournament.