Lady Dogs prepare for District tourney

The Lady Dogs wrapped up the regular season with a strong Senior Night performance against Ronan last Tuesday.

Whitefish won in three quick sets, going 25-14, 25-8 and 25-9 for the victory.

Cailyn Ross tallied 13 of the team’s 34 kills, and Becca Catina had 18 of 30 assists. Catina also led in aces with 10.

On Thursday and Friday Whitefish traveled down to Missoula for the Missoula County Public Schools Tournament.

The Lady Dogs took third place in the consolation bracket with a win over Great Falls CMR, but not after dropping a match to Columbia Falls for the first time this season in the quarterfinals.

“We just had some unforced errors. We just didn’t finish like we needed to. We just weren’t playing clean volleyball,” head coach Addy Connelly said. “It was a good wakeup call going into districts. I think that loss against Columbia Falls was good for us, because if we do see them we need to battle and take care of business.”

Now it’s post-season tournament time for the Lady Dogs.

They’ll head to Browning on Friday and Saturday this week for the Northwest A District Volleyball tournament. Whitefish is seeded No. 2 behind Libby for the Northwest, and will play the winner of Columbia Falls vs. Browning at 8 p.m. on Friday.

If they get a win Friday night, they’ll play in the championship match Saturday at 2 p.m.

Whitefish has notched wins over both teams this season.

Heading into the tournament, Connelly said the focus is getting her team to continue playing their style of volleyball.

“We’re really focusing on what’s going on on our side of the court,” she said. “Just because we’ve beat someone before doesn’t mean it’s a given. We need to not be expecting a win, but battling for wins and making them count.”

Whitefish def. Ronan 25-14, 25-8, 25-9

Kills — Whitefish 34 (Cailyn Ross 13), Ronan 16 (Louetta Conko-Camel 5, Marissa Mock 5). Blocks — Whitefish 9 (Ross 4), Ronan 1 (Madeline McCrea 1). Assists — Whitefish 30 (Becca Catina 18), Ronan 15 (Tiana Vlvtoa 14). Digs — Whitefish 48 (Lauren Schulz 13), Ronan 19 (Conko-Camel 6). Aces — Whitefish 10 (Catina 4), Ronan 1 (Bailee DeLaurenti).

Consolation bracket

At Hellgate High School

Championship: Helena High def. Missoula Hellgate

Third place: Whitefish def. Great Falls CMR

Semifinals: Missoula Hellgate def. Columbia Falls. Helena High def. Great Falls High.

Quarterfinals: Missoula Hellgate def. Frenchtown. Columbia Falls def. Whitefish. Helena High def. Polson. Great Falls High def. Great Falls CMR.