Libby 2nd at Western A volleyball

By KATIE BROWN

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH – In the final day of play at the Western A Divisional volleyball tournament, the Corvallis Blue Devils claimed top honors by defeating the Libby Loggers 25-23, 25-15, 15-25, 25-13 in the championship match on Saturday afternoon at Whitefish High School.

Corvallis is the No. 1 seed heading into the state tournament Nov. 8-10 in Bozeman.

Libby, the second seed, beat Columbia Falls 25-16, 15-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-5 in the third-place game earlier in the day and then pushed Corvallis to four hotly contested sets. The Loggers nearly edged Corvallis in the first game and went on an 8-0 run in a strong third set on the way to a 25-15 win before falling 25-13 in the fourth game.

Corvallis also beat Libby on Friday in the semifinals, 25-13, 25-14, 25-21, of the double-elimination event.

The top four seeds in each division earn a berth to the state tournament and matchups have already been set.

Columbia Falls and Whitefish have the third and fourth seeds, respectively, from Western A.

In the first round at state on Thursday, Libby will play Hardin, the No. 3 seed in the east, at 2 p.m.

Whitefish draws Belgrade, the Eastern’s No. 1 seed, for a 4 p.m. match.

Columbia Falls, as the fourth seed, will take on Billings Central, No. 2 from Eastern A, at noon.

Corvallis starts with Glendive, the fourth seed from Eastern A, at 10 a.m.

Western A Divisional

Saturday

At Whitefish High School

Top Four Teams Advance To State

Championship

Corvallis def. Libby

25-23, 25-15, 15-25, 25-13

Match statistics not available.

Third-place game

Libby def. Columbia Falls

25-16, 15-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-5

Libby: Assists – 47 (Alli Collins 47), Kills – 55 (Mehki Sykes 23, McKenzie Proffitt 13), Digs – 59 (Emma Gruber 26, Linsey Walker 8), Blocks 7 (Jayden Winslow 4, Proffit 4), Aces – 6 (Collins 3, Sykes 2)

Columbia Falls: Assists – 40 (Hannah Schweikert 32), Kills – 48 (Ryley Kehr 11), Digs – 76 (Angellica Street 22), Aces – 0