Lady Bulldogs down Polson, fall to Libby

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

For the Lady Bulldogs, nothing has come easy this year. They've had three Northwestern A conference match-ups in a row against Bigfork, Libby and Polson.

All three went to a winner-take-all fifth game, and Whitefish finally won the last one on Saturday against the Lady Pirates in Polson, 25-23 (WF), 25-22 (WF), 29-31 (P), 15-25 (P), 15-12 (WF).

"That's how tight this conference is," head coach Jackie Fuller said. "It's a great conference. We said that at the beginning of the year, and it's proving to be true. Every time a Northwestern A team steps on the court to play each other, it's going to be a close, hard-fought game."

The win gives Whitefish a 2-2 record in league play. Kate Klundt had a team-high 36 digs, 18 kills and five blocks for Whitefish. Jade Hansen had 18 of the team's 32 assists.

The Lady Bulldogs clawed their way to win the first two games, but the Lady Pirates bounced back to win the next two and force a fifth game.

Whitefish finally took a three-point lead in the fifth game and held on for a thrilling victory.

"Polson's a great ball club," Fuller said. "They've got a lot of talent, a lot of all-around athletes. They came at us very aggressively, but we were able to turn it up when we needed to. (Before the fifth game), I told them we've been in this situation before, and it's our turn to come out on top this time."

The Lady Bulldogs take on Columbia Falls at home this Friday night. The freshman girls start things off at 4:15 p.m. Varsity action begins at 7 p.m.

Whitefish 2, Libby 3

Just like last year's epic battles, the Whitefish vs. Libby volleyball game at the Whitefish gym on Thursday night was a five-game thriller. The Lady Loggers finally prevailed 25-18 (WF), 15-25 (L) , 25-22 (L), 6-25 (WF), 15-8 (L).

The Lady Loggers looked dominant early, jumping out to win the first game convincingly, 25-18.

The third game was the best of the evening, as the two teams exchanged leads nine times. Polson finally eked out a win, but the Lady Bulldogs were absolutely dominant when they needed to be in the fourth game. Again, it came down to the crucial fifth game.

Whitefish was unable to carry the momentum from their fourth game performance into the tie-breaker, and Libby prevailed.

"That was just a good-fought game by both teams," Fuller said. "We again are having trouble coming out strong and staying strong. Libby's got some very powerful hitters that control momentum, and we just didn't play that last game like we needed to."

Shannon Kalbfleisch had 10 of Whitefish's 23 kills. The Lady Bulldogs had 15 blocks, led by Kate Klundt's 10.

Jade Hansen had 11 of Whitefish's 22 assists, and McCara Cullen led the team in digs with 17. Klundt had five of Whitefish's 11 aces.

The Lady Bulldogs will get a chance to avenge their loss to the Lady Loggers when they meet again on Halloween day.