Whitefish sweeps doubleheader with Corvallis, Hamilton
The Lady Bulldog volleyball team capped off a long day of play on Oct. 14 as they easily topped Hamilton 3-0 in a non-conference win.
Kaitlyn Wehrli led the team with five kills and six aces, while Jessica Slaybaugh tallied nine digs and eight assists.
Whitefish beat Corvallis 3-1 earlier in the day, led by seven aces from Slaybaugh and three blocks from Heather Bailey.
"In both matches, I thought the kids played really well," Lady Bulldog coach Jackie Fuller said. "It gets us into tournament atmosphere."
In the game against Hamilton, Whitefish jumped out to an early lead behind great serving from Wehrli, who smacked three aces in the first set.
Up by six points early, Abby Strellnauer launched high above the net to pound down a kill on Hamilton from the left side of the net.
Strellnauer had a break-out game against Hamilton, scoring a number of momentum changing points.
"That's what we're asking out of her (Strellnauer)," Fuller said. "If we can get her to play like that from the outside, we'll be good. She is building her confidence."
Hamilton rallied back in the first game to come within one point of Whitefish at 14-13, but the Lady 'Dogs pulled away when Bailey scored a kill to break Hamilton's momentum.
On the ensuing point, with both teams battling in a long volley, Wehrli capitalized when she found an opening in Hamilton's defense to tap in a kill.
In the second set, Hamilton jumped out to an early lead after a few unforced errors from the Lady 'Dogs.
Whitefish settled down and took a dominating lead behind the stellar serving of Slaybaugh.
"Slaybaugh served the ball really well," Fuller said. "We can count on her for that."
Slaybaugh's work from the service line vaulted Whitefish to an 8-4 lead and they never trailed again in the match.
Whitefish dominated the final set from the start, again, led by Slaybaugh's serving and timely kills from Wehrli and Strellnauer.
The Lady Bulldogs took the match 25-16, 25-18, 25-20.
Whitefish next plays at the Missoula Invitational on Oct. 23-24. Fuller said the tourney against AA teams will be good for the team going into divisionals.
" We need to take care of the little things," Fuller said. "If we do that, we'll be fine."
Whitefish 3, Corvallis 1
Kills - Corvallis 19 (Amanda Jessop 7); Whitefish 28 (Kaitlyn Wehrli 7, Olivia Nagler 6). Blocks - Corvallis 10 (Brooke Heckeroth 5); Whitefish 6 (Heather Bailey 3, Nagler 1). Digs - Corvallis 25 (Julia Battioti 10); Whitefish 54 (Molly Filipek 19, Madison Tveidt 12). Assists - Corvallis 19 (Cairen Phinney 10); Whitefish 27 (Jessica Slaybaugh 15, Nagler 12). Aces - Corvallis 4 (four with one), Whitefish 13 (Slaybaugh 7, Filipek 2).
Whitefish 3, Hamilton 0
Kills - Hamilton 17 (Rebecka Hood 6), Whitefish 17 (Kaitlyn Wehrli 5). Blocks - Hamilton 0, Whitefish 4 (Wehrli 2). Digs - Hamilton 33 (Hood 10), Whitefish 34 (Jessica Slaybaugh 9). Assists - Hamilton 15 (Tiffani Keimig 7), Whitefish 12 (Slaybaugh 8). Aces - Hamilton 10 (Nichole Hood 4), Whitefish 9 (Wehrli 6).