Fighting till the finish

The Whitefish volleyball team’s great season came to a close Friday against Billings Central in one of the hardest-fought matches of the Class A state volleyball tournament.

It was a loser-out match for both teams, and the Rams came out hot to take a 2-0 lead in the first two sets. On the first serve of the third set, senior starter Kate Doorn dove for a dig and in the process broke her arm. The team huddled together while Doorn was attended to, and when they returned to the court they appeared a different team.

“They said ‘we need to come together and we need to play hard and play for Kate because we know how much she’d love to be out here,’” head coach Jackie Fuller said. “Really it had nothing to do with anything I said. It was what they put their minds to.”

The Lady Bulldogs found their style of play in the next two sets, winning 25-23 and 25-17 to force a fifth set tiebreaker.

The Rams, however, were too much, winning 15-13 and staying alive in the tournament for two more matches.

After the game was over, Fuller said her team’s first priority was finding out how their teammate was doing.

“Once we got back to the locker room, it really wasn’t about volleyball anymore, it was about our teammate who wasn’t able to finish that with us,” Fuller said.

Senior Mirielle Kruger led the team with 14 kills and two blocks in that match. Libby Nagler had 41 assists and Serena Hemmingson finished with 30 digs for the Lady Bulldogs.

Whitefish began tournament play Thursday, defeating Fergus in a close afternoon match 3-2, but falling to the eventual third place finisher Belgrade in three sets later that evening. On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Dillon 3-0 before the evening’s clash against Billings Central. Whitefish finished the tournament 2-2.

“I felt that they played really hard, they really worked hard together. They fought, they never gave up, which is really exciting,” Fuller said. “I was really proud of them.”

Whitefish’s Northern A conference rival Columbia Falls capped off their undefeated season by defeating Billings Central 3-1 in Saturday afternoon’s championship game.

Saturday was the final game for the Bulldog’s three senior players, Doorn, Mirielle Kruger and Nina Thew, and managers, Hannah Freudenberger, Amara McDaniel and Savannah Krause.

Whitefish finishes the season 14-8 overall and earned second place in conference going 4-2.

Fuller said she expects this year’s state tournament performance to fuel the fire for her underclassmen as they look ahead to next year.

“I’m really expecting a lot from all of them,” she said. “We’ve got a great core of girls coming back. These kids have developed a program of which they’re really proud of. They’ve got that taste of what is state and what it’s like to win when we’re down there. I think this group that’s coming in wants that success. They really want to go back and leave a big mark.”

First Round

Whitefish def. Lewistown 25-10, 25-21, 20-25, 22-25, 15-13

Kills - Lewistown 44 (Carley Carpenter 11), Whitefish 48 (Katie Doorn 16). Blocks - Lewistown 5 (Ajiah Ross 3), Whitefish 1 (Cailyn Ross 1). Assists - Lewistown 37 (Mikayla Comes 34), Whitefish 41 (Libby Nagler 36). Digs - Lewistown 80 (Bailey Collins 28), Whitefish 59 (Serena Hemmingson 15). Aces - Lewistown 7 (Collins 3), Whitefish 8 (Ross 4).

Second Round

Belgrade def. Whitefish 25-16, 25-16, 25-19

Kills - Whitefish 24 (Cailyn Ross 7), Belgrade 33 (Bailey Christensen 12). Blocks - Whitefish 3 (Libby Nagler 2), Belgrade 12 (Sydney Lambeth 6). Assists - Whitefish 20 (Nagler 19), Belgrade 24 (Shania Neubauer 20). Digs - Whitefish 48 (Serena Hemmingson 23), Belgrade N/A (Taylor Christensen 16).

Loser-out

Whitefish def. Dillon 25-19, 25-23, 25-13

Kills - Whitefish 30 (Kate Doorn 10), Dillon 22 (Kylie Christiansen 13). Blocks - Whitefish 7 (Cailyn Ross 5), Dillon 8 (Nicole Hritsco 3). Assists - Whitefish 27 (Libby Nagler 26), Dillon 19 (Bailey Berriochoa 19). Digs - Whitefish 30 (Serena Hemmingson 9), Dillon 39 (Berriochoa 10). Aces - Whitefish 7 (Kylie Larsen 2), Dillon 1 (Berriochoa).

Billings Central def. Whitefish 25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 17-25, 15-12

Kills - Whitefish 51 (Mirielle Kruger 14), Billings Central 46 (Colivia Moten-Schell 15). Blocks - Whitefish 5 (Annisa Brown 2, Kruger 2), Billings Central 12 (Laura Sterup 6). Assists - Whitefish 44 (Libby Nagler 41), Billings Central 44 (Devin Nielsen 40). Digs - Whitefish 99 (Serena Hemmingson 30), Billings Central 95 (Bailey Kufeld 28). Aces - Whitefish 5 (Brown 2), Billings Central 8 (Hailey Keller 3).