North Country Wins District 1C Volleyball

The Mavericks brought home their first-ever volleyball title after winning all their matches at the District 1C Volleyball Tournament in Plentywood last week. North Country advances to the Divisional Tournament in Sidney this week while the Bearcubs, Porcupines and Lions saw their volleyball season come to a close.

Frazer was the first Valley County team to hit the court, playing Richey-Lambert in the opening round Thursday. The Bearcubs fell in three 12-25, 15-25, 9-25, sending them to the backside of the bracket to face Bainville Friday morning.

Lustre Christian faced MonDak and Nashua played Culbertson in the next session. Lustre defeated MonDak in three 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 while Nashua fell 10-25, 12-25, 15-25. Lustre advanced to play Plentywood that evening.

Lustre and North Country continued the action Thursday night on different courts. Lustre fell to eventual-second place Plentywood 18-25, 6-25, 17-25 while North Country downed Culbertson 25-8, 25-19, 25-13.

Coach Char Wasson said, "We came out in this match focused and ready, no slow starts for us."

Aces Team 9: BaiLee McColly 3, Berkley Hillman, and Paige Wasson each with 2

Kills Team 35: Teagan Erickson 13, Paige Wasson 10, Kendall Scheffelmear 4

Assists Team 30: Kenndey Simonson 20, Paige Wasson 5, CharLee McColly 3

Digs Team 41: Berkley Hillman 13, Teagan Erickson 8, Paige Wasson 6

Blocks Team 3: Kendall Scheffelmear, BaiLee McColly, and CharLee McColly each with 1

The Bearcubs started the action Friday morning, taking on the Bulldogs. Frazer improved each set but fell 1-24, 12-25, 19-25 to finish the season with a 1-8, 1-11 overall record.

Nashua played Lustre Christian in the Porcupines' final match of the 2023 season, falling 13-25, 26-28, 24-26 and giving Nashua a 2-9, 2-13 overall record on the year.

North Country defeated Scobey in three 25-22, 25-8, 25-15.

"Our ability to stay collected and cool really paid off for us this weekend. We never let anything really rattle us. We took on the Scobey Spartans on Friday at 4:30 p.m., the only match we played that day," Coach Wasson said. "We were able to pass the ball really efficiently in this match. Our defense stepped up this weekend and there wasn't a ball that dropped without someone getting their hands on it. This really frustrates the offense and that is what we did in this match."

Aces Team 12: Paige Wasson 5, Kendall Scheffelmear, and Teagan Erickson each with 2.

Kills Team 43: Teagan Erickson 15, Paige Wasson 13, Kendall Schoffelmear 8, and CharLee McColly 4

Assists Team 37: Kennedy Simonson 27, Paige Wasson 6

Digs Team 29: Kennedy Simonson 7, Teagan Erickson, and Paige Wasson each with 6

Blocks Team 6: BaiLee McColly 3, CharLee McColly 2, Teagan Erickson 1

Lustre Christian's season came to an end in the following match as they dropped a 16-25, 13-25, 10-25 match to Bainville. The Lions posted a 3-9, 7-12 overall record for 2023.

North Country won both of their matches Saturday, beating Plentywood twice to claim the title. The Mavericks took the first set 25-14, 25-16, 26-24.

"Saturday we were able to get a little revenge from the only loss of our season to the Plentywood Wildcats. The girls came out ready to go and never looked back. We were passing the ball well off serve-receive giving us the option to put our set wherever we wanted and making our plays end with kills," said Coach Wasson. "We won this match in 3 sets and earlier in the year – September 1 to be exact – we lost to Plentywood in 5."

Aces Team 4: Kendall Scheffelmear 2, Teagan Erickson, and Ireland Mears each with 1

Kills Team 36: Paige Wasson and Teagan Erickson each with 12, Kendall Scheffelmear 4 and BaiLee McColly 3

Assists Team 26: Kennedy Simonson 23

Digs Team 50: Paige Wasson 14, Berkley Hillman 11, Kennedy Simonson 8

Blocks Team 4: CharLee McColly 2, Kendall Scheffelmear and Teagan Erickson each with 1

Plentywood defeated Scobey in the third place match to try their hand once more against the Mavericks. The Wildcats took the first set but the rest of the match – and the trophy – belonged to North Country 19-25, 25-19, 25-8, 25-17.

Coach Wasson said, "Saturday's Championship was against Plentywood. We came out slow and lost the first set then adjusted and got ourselves going again."

Aces Team 12: Paige Wasson 4, BaiLee McColly, Berkley Hillman, and CharLee McColly each with 2

Kills Team 56: Teagan Erickson 22, Paige Wasson 16, and Kendall Scheffelmear 8

Assists Team 43: Kennedy Simonson 29, Paige Wasson, and CharLee McColly each with 7

Digs Team 35: Paige Wasson 13, Berkley Hillman 8, Kendall Scheffelmear 5

Blocks Team 6: BaiLee McColly 3, Teagan Erickson 2, and Kennedy Simonson 1

"We had a great tournament and did something no Maverick Volleyball team has done. They brought home a first-place trophy. We celebrated but you could tell the girls were not overly excited because they know next week is a pivotal weekend of volleyball if they want to get back to State," Coach Wasson concluded. "We will match up with Circle on Thursday at 2 p.m. Scobey and Savage are on our side of the bracket. If we can match our play from Districts to Divisionals and clean up a few other things then hopefully we will find our way to Bozeman."

The Eastern C Divisional Tournament runs Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 2-4, in Sidney. North Country enters the second post-season event with a 9-1, 21-2 overall record.