Whitefish volleyball to play Frenchtown in divisionals first round

by WHITNEY ENGLAND
Whitefish Pilot | November 5, 2020 7:00 AM

After wrapping up regular season play last week, the Whitefish Volleyball team will face Frenchtown in the first round of the Class A Western Divisional Tournament.

Whitefish moved up into the third seed in the Northwest A conference, determined earlier this week, which set them up to play the sixth seed Browning. However Browning pulled out of postseason play which advanced the Bulldogs straight into divisionals.

Out of the Northwest A conference, Columbia Falls, Polson, Whitefish and the winner of a play-in game between Ronan and Libby will advance to the postseason this year.

Whitefish posts a 6-7 overall record this season. The Lady Bulldogs have not faced Frenchtown yet this year and the Broncs have a 7-3 overall record, ranking second in the Southwestern A conference.

The Western A divisional is being played in a playoff style instead of the normal format, which usually has all teams traveling to one location for a tournament, because of Covid precautions. Whitefish will start off by playing in Frenchtown and will likely play in different towns both Friday and Saturday as well.

All season Whitefish’s 5-foot-11 senior Brook Smith has led her team hitting at the net, averaging over 11 kills per match. Senior Mikenna Ells has the most assists throughout the season and senior libero Ashton Ramsey leads in digs.

Last week on Oct. 27, Whitefish finished its regular season with a non-conference loss to Eureka 25-18, 25-19, 25-18. Head coach Addy Connelly said, “We struggled to put consistent points together and serve consistently; they hit well which really pulled us out of the system and we struggled to find our rhythm.”

The Bulldogs will compete against the Broncs on Thursday, Nov. 5, beginning at 6 p.m. in Frenchtown.

Note: This story has been updated from a previous version posted on the website and in the print edition of the Pilot on Nov. 4. The original story said Whitefish would play Libby, but that information changed after the Pilot went to print.