Whitefish volleyball goes 3-1 in competitive week

The Lady Bulldogs finished a competitive week nearly perfect, picking up three wins and just one loss.

Whitefish took care of business at home on Tuesday and Thursday against Columbia Falls and Browning.

Senior Cailyn Ross had 12 kills and junior Marlee Bender added 11 in the 3-1 takedown of the Wildcats. Whitefish went 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17 in the four sets.

Serena Hemmingson led the Lady Dogs in digs (24) and aces (6).

Whitefish followed that up with a sweep of Browning, 25-12, 25-11, 25-10.

Ross racked up 18 kills and three blocks, and senior Becca Catina added 20 assists and five aces.

While Libby sits firmly atop conference standings, head coach Addy Connelly said it’s important to keep adding conference wins before the Northwest A District tournament at the end of the month. The district tournament is a new addition and will help cut down the pool of teams before the divisional tournament the following weekend.

“We took care of business,” Connelly said. “Those wins give us a better standing going into districts and heading into divisionals.”

On Saturday the Lady Dogs traveled to the Bitterroot to face off against Corvallis and Hamilton.

Whitefish met their match against Corvallis, falling 3-1 in the nonconference match.

Corvallis bested the Dogs’ 20 kills with 45. Ross had nine of those 20 for Whitefish. Corvallis finished 25-15, 20-25, 25-14, 25-10 in the four sets.

However, Whitefish was able to finish strong with a sweep over the Lady Broncs in the latter match of the doubleheader.

Ross and Bender combined for 11 blocks and Ross recorded 15 of the team’s 41 kills in the 25-19, 25-12, 27-25 victory.

This week Whitefish hosted Polson on Tuesday after presstime before it takes on Stevensville Thursday in a homecoming make-up game. The original homecoming match against Columbia Falls last month was canceled due to threats made against area schools.

Connelly pointed to the Stevi game as a chance to fine tune little details of the team’s play.

“It’s not a conference game, so I really look to that for ways we can grow and build as a team,” Connelly said. “It’s always nice to get a win and hopefully we can take care of business.”

“We’ve got a lot of season left, so just keeping the girls focused and ready to go is really my goal. How can we finish out the next five weeks strong and successful?” she added.

Whitefish def. Columbia Falls 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17

Kills — Columbia Falls 32 (Trista Cowan 13), Whitefish 37 (Cailyn Ross 12, Marlee Bender 11); Blocks — Columbia Falls 10 (Kiera Brown 4, Ryley Kehr 4), Whitefish 2; Assists — Columbia Falls 19 (Hannah Schweikert 17), Whitefish 47 (Becca Catina 28); Digs — Columbia Falls 80 (Angellica Street 19), Whitefish 96 (Serena Hemmingson 24, Annisa Brown 17); Aces — Columbia Falls (Street 2, Savey Ellis 2), Whitefish 14 (Hemmingson 6).

Whitefish def. Browning 25-12, 25-11, 25-10

Kills — Browning 9 (R. Jordan 4), Whitefish 38 (Cailyn Ross 18); Blocks — Browning 4 (O. Hall 3), Whitefish 5 (Ross 3); Assists — Browning 9 (Hall 9), Whitefish 32 (Becca Catina 20); Digs — Browning 35 (T. Cross Gunn 9, Jordan 8), Whitefish 49 (Serena Hemmingson 18); Aces — Browning 5 (Jordan 2), Whitefish 8 (Catina 5).

Corvallis def. Whitefish 25-15, 20-25, 25-14, 25-10

Whitefish: Kills 20 (Cailyn Ross 9). Blocks 6 (Marlee Bender 3). Digs 31 (Serena Hemmingson 9). Assists 18 (Becca Catina 12). Aces 5 (Annisa Round 3).

Whitefish def. Hamilton, 25-19, 25-12, 27-25

Whitefish: Kills 41 (Cailyn Ross 15). Blocks 12 (Ross 6, Marlee Bender 5). Digs 46 (Serena Hemmingson 2). Assists 36 (Becca Catina 22, Lauren Schulz 13). Aces 5 (Ross 2).