Lady Dogs win 10 in Tip Off tourney

The Lady Bulldogs got a solid start to their season with a 10-2 record at the Western A Volleyball Tip Off Tournament in Browning.

Whitefish finished second in Northwest A pool play but fell to Southwest No. 2 Stevensville (27-25, 25-21) to close the tournament.

Libby also went 10-2 and came out first in the northwest pool play. They defeated Corvallis for the championship.

Head coach Addy Connelly said the tournament had a slow start and a slow end for her team, but she was impressed by the way the team played for the majority of their matches.

“We started off a little rough against Corvallis but soon after that we got in a groove and the rest of the tournament was really great. They played really well together,” she said.

The team’s loss in the championship round to Stevi came just after defeating them 25-19 in pool play earlier in the day.

Connelly said fatigue slowed her girls down in that last match.

“We just really tightened up and we were playing safe instead of to win,” she said. “I just don’t think we were mentally in the right game or physically ready to play.”

This week Whitefish will head to Libby on Saturday before turning around to host Polson next Tuesday.

Connelly says while she knows Libby was hot at the tournament last weekend, she thinks her team can hold their own if they play their game.

“Libby’s a tough team. It’s tough to go there to play,” she said. “I’m hopeful we’ll play a tough team off the bat and get some good experience out of it. If we play like we were in the middle of the tournament it should be good.”

“I really think we’re capable of beating Libby, they just have to be mentally tough and not going there thinking they’ve already been beat.”

Western A Volleyball

Tip Off Tournament

At Browning High School

Friday’s Game Results

Hamilton 11 – Whitefish 25

Hamilton 11 – Whitefish 25

Whitefish 7 – Corvallis 25

Whitefish 12 – Corvallis 25

Butte Central 17 – Whitefish 25

Butte Central 10 – Whitefish 25

Whitefish 25 – Frenchtown 21

Whitefish 25 – Frenchtown 7

Western A Volleyball Tip Off Tournament

At Browning High School Saturday Pool Play Results

Browning 18 – Butte Central 25 Browning 17 –

Butte Central 25 Whitefish 25

Dillon 22 Whitefish 25

Whitefish 25 Stevensville 19

Whitefish 25 Browning 17

Championship Round

25-19 Stevensville def. Whitefish 27-25, 25-21