Sugarbeeters top Big Sandy 3-1, finish 2nd at Fort Benton Tournament

The Chinook Sugarbeeter volleyball team had a good week on the court as they took down the Big Sandy Pioneers 3-1 (27-26, 20-25, 25-16, 25-9) on Thursday to win their Homecoming match.

Saturday the girls blazed through Pool Play undefeated at the Fort Benton Mid-season Tournament. They then defeated Box Elder 25-15, 25-20 in the winners bracket before falling to Fort Benton 25-16, 26-24 in the finale.

The Pioneers were Homecoming guests Thursday night and early on it looked like they were up for the challenge.

Both teams battled back and forth in the opening set with neither being able to take control but in the end the Surgarbeeters held on for a 27-25 first set win.

Big Sandy was able to turn the corner in set number two and gain the advantage, pulling out a 25-10 set win to even the match at 1-1.

The Sugarbeeters then regained their composure and took control of the match. Racing out to a big lead early, Chinook cruised to a 25-16 third set win.

In set number four, the 'Beeters had all the momentum and coasted to a 25-9 set win to secure the match 3-1 and improve to 6-0 in District 6C-East play.

Senior Kourtney Hanson led the offensive attack with 19 kills and seven blocks in the win. Sophomore Ginger Hauer set the hitters up with 24 assists. Sophomore Hailey Bell recorded six aces and senior Megan Molyneaux led the defensive effort, digging up 13 balls to keep the play alive.

Saturday at the Fort Benton Mid-season tournament the Sugarbeeters cruised through Pool play defeating the Centerville Miners 25-9, 25-17 in the opener. Match number two had the girls taking on the Cascade Badgers. Chinook won the match 25-21, 25-19.

In their third pool play match the 'Beeters defeated the Fort Benton JV 25-6, 25-22. to finish 3-0 and advance to the winners bracket in tournament play.

In pool play Hanson recorded 20 kills and Molyneaux 12. Hauer totaled 29 set assists and Molyneaux led the team with 13 digs.

Chinook opened with a two set win over 6C-East rival Box Elder25-15, 25-20. Hanson recorded nine kills in the match while Hauer recorded 15 assists. Molyneaux and senior Lincy Johnson each dug up eight balls.

In the final match of the day the girls fell to District 7C power Fort Benton 16-25, 24-26.

Hanson and Bell each tallied five kills in the match, Hauer added 10 assists and Molyneaux eight digs.

Head Coach Paula Molyneaux was pleased with way the team handled the situation, whatever came up throughout the tournament, "It was nice to play different teams. We had to fight through a little adversity. First we had to replace (Sophomore) Delaney Kellam due to an injury and some of the players were battling illness. I was pleased with the way that they adjusted and the fact that they played hard no matter what."

As far as the finale against the Longhorns, "In the tournament play vs Fort Benton, we didn't adjust very well in the first set, but legitimately arrived back on the court for the second set with a better mind set and better play. We lost that one in a close 26-24 score, and had a couple of very close line calls on the last two plays. It was a day of good competition and we walked away a little better than we arrived," concluded Molyneaux.

Chinook hosted Malta on Tuesday, results will be in next weeks paper. On Friday the team will welcome the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds to town.

Homecoming

Chinook 3 Big Sandy 1

Chinook 27 20 25 25

Big Sandy 25 25 16 9

Fort Benton Tournament

Winners Bracket

Chinook 2 Box Elder 0

Box Elder 25 25

Chinook 15 20 Ft. Benton 2 Chinook 0

Ft Benton 25 25

Chinook 16 24