Wildkat spikers edge Ronan, fall to Whitefish

By JOE SOVA Hungry Horse News

Small in stature, but big in heart.

That is the collective attribute of the Columbia Falls varsity volleyball team, which earned a five-set victory over Ronan in the Wildkats' Homecoming match on Thursday (Sept. 27).

The Kats were no match for Whitefish on Saturday (Sept. 29), though, as the Bulldogs recorded a sweep — 25-15, 25-16, 25-11 in Whitefish. CFHS is 2-3 in the Northwestern A Conference and hosts Polson on Thursday (Oct. 4) and plays Friday (Oct. 5) at Bigfork.

Columbia Falls appeared to be on its way to a sweep of Ronan, a team the Kats lost to in five games to start the conference season — winning the first two games, 26-24, 25-6. But the Maidens would not go down without a fight, forcing a deciding game with 25-22, 25-23 wins. CFHS pulled away in the fifth game, taking a 15-8 win.

"They played liked they practiced this week," Kats head coach Addy Hines said. "We had a great week of practice."

Improved communication, so vital in volleyball, was a key.

"There was a lot more talking," Hines said, adding that the Kats filled their roles on the court. "They stayed home and did their jobs."

Hines was pleased that the Kats could take the deciding game after Ronan won games three and four.

"They came out swinging and got it," Hines said of the win. "They've got a lot of heart."

Most of the swinging came from 5-foot-5 junior Alyssa Ladenburg, 5-6 senior Auttem Osborne and 5-7 junior Cedar Smith. Not intimidating with their size, but jumping ability helped make up for it.

Back in the first game, the Kats got the game-winning point when Ladenburg made a diving save and Michelle Murphy followed with a convincing kill. Six of the Kats' 15 points in the deciding game came on kills. Shiloh Knudsen provided a late point with a nice block.

Ladenburg was credited with 13 kills. Osborne and Smith had six each. Ladenburg had 14 digs and Staci Pence added 11. Sarah Marcille led in set assists with 22 and services aces with five.

Ashley Ferda led the Whitefish attack against the Kats, registering 13 kills, as the Bulldogs improved to 5-1 in league play.

Osborne led CFHS at the net with nine kills. Pence had 12 digs and Marcille dished out a dozen assists.

Jam qualifies for state golf tourney

The Columbia Falls High School golf teams competed in the Northwest A Divisional Golf Tournament last Friday and Saturday (Sept. 28-29) at Whitefish. The top three teams and the top 15 individuals qualified for the State Golf Tournament in Anaconda on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 3-4.

Senior Micah Jam shot an 87 on Saturday, which was a bit above his average but was strong enough for him to tie for ninth place, which garnered him All-Conference status and a trip to the state tournament. Sam Krause of Whitefish shot a 73 for medalist honors, while the Whitefish team's score of 323 easily outdistanced second-place Polson's 347. Also competing for the Cats in their final outing of the season were freshmen Jordan Mueller (104), senior Brad Narducci (110), junior Taylor Hopkins (115) and sophomore Nick Ross (131).

"Micah wasn't that pleased with his score," coach Gene Marcille said, "but in comparison to the field, he had a strong day. Earning All-Conference in the Northwest A is a great accomplishment, as is qualifying for state. Micah earned this and represents CFHS extremely well."

On Friday, the girls played the South Course at Whitefish with Kiley McConnell of Whitefish shooting an 86 to take top honors individually. The young Wildkats found the going pretty rough with sophomore Kelsey DeWit and freshmen Courtney Tamburelli and Olivia Williams placing near the bottom of the 25-girl field. Sophomore Jordanna Weimer was unable to complete the round, which meant the Kats would join Bigfork and Ronan in not being able to post a team score. Whitefish took team honors with 376 followed by Polson at 413 and Libby at 479.

"Sure, we had our sights set for a better showing at divisional," Marcille said "but I'm still very proud of these young ladies. They came a long way on the season, and they're already talking about next year and what it'll take to compete."