'Beeters sweep Hawks for 3rd straight 6C-East Championship, face Geraldine/Highwood Thursday at Northern C in Belt

The Chinook Sugarbeeters successfully defended their District 6C-East title in Gildford this past Thursday and Friday as the girls dropped only one set on their way to their third consecutive title.

The 'Beeters began play with a 3-0 sweep of the Big Sandy Pioneers Thursday afternoon.

Chinook controlled the action throughout the match winning the opening set 25-9. The 'Beeters followed suit in the second set with 25-10 win before finishing off the four seeded Pioneers 25-20 in the third set.

All twelve girls dressed saw action in the match and the match dominated by Chinook.

Sophomore Sierra Swank sent home 10 kills in the win and junior Kelsey Mathon set up the hitters with 11 assists to pace the offense.

Defensively, senior Lauren Harshman recorded a pair of blocks at the net and senior Cortney Gunderson served up a trio of aces while also digging up 12 balls. The win set up a match with the North Star Knights Thursday evening.

The North Star Knights were next up for Chinook. The 'Beeters were a little sluggish the first set falling 25-20 but rebounded impressively to take the next three sets 25-18, 25-22 and 25-19 to win the match 3-1.

Sophomore Abby Ellison powered the offensive attack with nine kills. Harshman was solid again in the middle collecting four blocks in the win. Gunderson dug up 18 balls and Swank set the hitters up with 17 assists.

The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks had only two losses on the season, both to Chinook and fittingly that was the match to determine the 6C-East championship.

The 'Beeters earned a pair of 3-1 match wins over the Hawks from the regular season but this time around it would be a clean sweep for District 6C-East champions.

Chinook stood tall in the first two sets winning a hard fought first set 25-20 and then following with a 25-19 second set win. The third set was all Chinook as they coasted to a 25-11 win.

Ellison slammed home eight more kills and Harshman recorded seven blocks in the win. Senior Brooke Nicholson helped secure the back row with 13 digs while Gunderson served up three aces and Swank added a dozen assists in the win.

The 'Beeters ultimate goal is a trip back to the State tournament and they have experience at that level, "My freshman year our team advanced to State. Brooke Cortney, Lauren and I got to go and experience what it's like to play some of the top teams in the state," said Mathon.

Although state is where this team hopes to be next week, it's still one day at a time, "I am really proud of how we played at districts and are really looking forward to the divisional tournament. We have a tough road ahead, but we are tougher and are in it together no matter what. State is on our mind, but we also know we have to take Divisionals one game at a time," Nicholson added.

"Divisional is the tournament that we've been preparing for all season. We know that we have the potential to go beyond divisional so this tournament will be a matter of leaving everything we have on the floor," said Gunderson.

Nicholson, Gunderson and Mathon all played in the Class 'C' state tournament in 2013 and Harshman joined them as well in Bozeman.

"Having played at state we have definitely learned and grown as athletes. We have experienced every level of competition, and I think that will really help us as we advance to divisionals. We've been working hard everyday trying to improve with the goal of getting back to state," Mathon concluded.

Head coach Mollie Rose continues to be impressed with her teams effort on the court, "Once again I am very proud of this last week's performance at the district tournament. The girls entered the tournament with confidence and determination. "

The 'Beeters avoided any and all road blocks along the way, "There were many teams that wanted to "dethrone" them, but that was only motivation. All three games they stepped on the court and played smart volleyball which led them to be victorious over two of the top teams in our conference," added Rose.

Heading back to the Northern 'C' was is something the girls have been working towards all season, "We look forward to this week, as we will be heading to the divisional tournament to play some of the best competition in the state. Which includes our opening match against the Geraldine/Highwood Lady Rivals. There is also a likely chance we could come up against the undefeated Belt Huskies," said Rose

"Both of these teams have strong front row game, which is something we will be working on defending this week in practice, as well as strengthening our own offensive game. Ultimately, we know what skills we need to have in order to be successful at this tournament, but most of all we need to step onto the court with discipline and heart," concluded Rose.

Chinook split the season series with Geraldine/Highwood falling in the preseason Chinook tournament and then coming out on top in the Fort Benton mid-season tournament.

Chinook 3

Big Sandy 0

Chinook 25 25 25

Big Sandy 9 10 20

Chinook - Kills - 28 (Sierra Swank 10); Blocks - 4 (Lauren Harshman 2); Aces - 7 (Cortney Gunderson 3); Digs - 34 (Cortney Gunderson 12); Assists -21 (Kelsey Mathon 11).

Big Sandy - Kills - 9 (Alana Ostrom 2); Blocks - 7 (Alana Ostrom 3); Digs - 87 (Molly Kain 20); Assists - 7 (Jenna Leader 7); Aces 1 (Cheyanne Pegar 1).

Chinook 3

North Star 1

Chinook 20 25 25 25

North Star 25 18 22 19

Chinook - Kills 29 (Abby Ellison 9); Assists 22 (Sierra Swank 17); Aces 9 (Kelsey Mathon 2); Digs 55 (Cortney Gunderson 18); Blocks 11 (Lauren Harshman 4).

North Star - Kills 29 (Sheridan O'Neil 12); Assists: 25 (Greysen Spicher 25); Aces 2 (Sheridan Spicher 1); Digs 25 (Sheriden Pena 5); Blocks 7 (Sheridan Spicher 2).

Chinook 3

Chester J-I 0

Chinook 25 25 25

Chester J-I 20 19 11

Chinook - Kills - 23 (Abby Ellison 8); Blocks - 11 (Lauren Harshman 7); Aces - 7 (Cortney Gunderson 3); Digs - 53 (Brooke Nicholson 13); Assists -16 (Sierra Swank 12).

Chester J-I -Kills - 17 (Allix Goldhahn 8); Blocks - 2 (Erin Wolfe 2); Aces - 1 (Allix Goldhahn 1); Digs - 77 (Erin Wolfe 18); Assists -16 (Madeline Woods 8).