Lady Dogs beat Hamilton after setbacks

Whitefish had a couple of setbacks against Columbia Falls and Corvallis last week, but finished on a high note with a win over Hamilton.

Last Tuesday they traveled to Columbia Falls to face the Wildkats, but fell 25-17, 25-16, 25-7.

Marlee Bender led the team with four kills and Kennedy Grove had seven digs and an ace.

Head coach Addy Connelly said that match came down to one team playing a clean game and the other playing sloppy.

“We just weren’t taking care of the ball when it was on our side of the net. They were on a roll and we were just making a lot of unforced errors,” she said. “They just played some really clean volleyball and we weren’t ready to go.”

Then on Saturday the team hosted a pair of games against its Bitterroot opponents.

The Lady Dogs fell to Corvallis 25-10, 25-9, 25-11 but defeated Hamilton 25-10, 25-16, 25-16.

Bender had 12 of the team’s 31 kills in the second match.

Connelly cited the team’s mental game as a contributor to the two losses and something they’ll continue to work on moving forward.

“A lot of that is knowing we’re capable of winning before the game starts,” she said. “We’ve got to work on changing that negative mindset into a positive one.”

This week Whitefish traveled to Polson on Tuesday after presstime. On Thursday they’ll travel south to Ronan for another matchup with the Maidens.

Columbia Falls def. Whitefish 25-17, 25-16, 25-7

Kills — Whitefish 15 (Marlee Bender 4), Columbia Falls 35 (Ryley Kehr 10, Stella Bistodeau 9, Mady Hoerner 8); Blocks — Whitefish 6 (Lauren Schulz 3), Columbia Falls 6 (Kehr 2, Lauren Faulkner 1, Kiera Brown 1); Assists — Whitefish 9 (Mikenna Ells 3), Columbia Falls 32 (Hannah Schweikert NA); Digs — Whitefish 29 (Jasmine Matern 7, Kennedy Grove 7, Schulz 7), Columbia Falls 40 (Angellica Street 10, Hoerner 10); Aces — Whitefish 1 (Grove), Columbia Falls 10 (Hoerner 10).