Volleyball wins District 2B

The Glasgow volleyball team got a bit of a scare on Halloween night, having to play into the second championship game before finishing off Wolf Point and claiming the Division 2B Championship.

Everything set up smoothly for the Scotties this weekend. Before they even played their first match, top-seeded Wolf Point was knocked to the losers bracket by Malta. The M-ettes surprised Wolf Point early and didn't let up, beating the Wolves in three sets.

That set the Scotties up for an easy path to the finals, if they could take care of business. Opening with Plentywood, the girls had to fight through the first two sets, winning them 25-23 and 26-24. The Scotties finally got comfortable in the final set, thumping Plentywood 25-12, setting up a semifinal match against Malta on Saturday.

The Scotties easily got through the match with the M-ettes, only winning the first set 25-22, but then destroying Malta in the last two sets 25-11 and 25-13. The win placed the Scotties in the championship match and guaranteed their place in this weekend's Northern B Divisional playoff.

Wolf Point rebounded from the opening round loss to play the Scotties in the final set of games. After the no-show against Malta the Wolves regained their composure to beat Harlem in three sets on Friday and pound Malta in the rematch on Saturday in three sets 25-9, 25-15, 25-11.

Though Wolf Point had the momentum of winning two games on Saturday, they also were more fatigued than the Scotties, who only had to play one game before getting a rest. The Wolves would also need to beat Glasgow twice in order to claim the championship, a tall task after so many swings.

The Scotties took advantage of some of that fatigue in the first set of the championship game. Glasgow took a quick lead and stayed on top of the Wolves throughout the set, beating them 25-14.

But then the Scotties troubles set in. Despite leading into the 20s in each of the next three sets, Glasgow wasn't able to close out any of them. The Wolves fed off the home crowd in Wolf Point and beat Glasgow 25-21, 26-24, 25-22, in a match reminiscent of the loss they handed the Scotties last week.

But because it was a double-elimination tournament, Wolf Point would need two wins over the Scotties, and Glasgow was finally able to capitalize on the Wolves weary legs in the second championship match.

The Scotties closeout troubles struck again in the first two sets of the match, giving the hometown crowd reason to cheer. The Scotties eked out the first set 25-23, but fell in the second 27-25.

Yet by the third set the Wolves were just too tired to control any of the Scotties serves or spikes. Glasgow took early leads and expanded them, trouncing Wolf Point in the final two sets, 25-10 and 25-15.

Senior middle hitter Erin Bell had a monster tournament, leading the team in blocks and kills in each of the four matches, hitting at least 14 kills in every match and posting 10 aces in the final championship match.

“It was a long tournament, especially for Wolf Point, they really played with a lot of heart,” head coach Lori Dailey said.

The Scotties earned the District 2B Championship with the win and earn the top seed in the conference for this weekend's Northern B Divisional playoff. Glasgow will be playing Shelby in the opening round of the tournament at 1 p.m. at Malta High School. Wolf Point will play Cut Bank, Plentywood will play 1B winner Choteau and Malta will play Fairfield.

The Scotties will only need to place in the top three spots in Malta to advance to the State playoffs on Nov. 12-14 in Bozeman. They have the advantage of this year's playoff sites only being an hour from home, allowing them to come home at night.

“I really think that makes a difference,” Dailey said. “It's just more relaxing. I think the hour bus ride can be good focus time for us.”