'Beeters Breeze Past North Star 3-0, Second at 39th Annual Chinook Invitational

The Chinook Sugarbeeter Volleyball team had a huge week on the court. Thursday the girls hosted the North Star Knights in a District 7C Showdown that was never really close. The 'Beeters came out swinging and stormed their way to an easy three set sweep of the Knights, 25-12, 25-9 and 25-20. Saturday, the 'Beeters hosted the 39th Annual Chinook Invitational Volleyball Tournament going 2-1 in Pool play and eventually finishing second, falling in the championship match to Highwood 25-20, 25-20.

Thursday, the 'Beeters were on top of their game as they welcomed the North Star Knight to town. Chinook started fast jumping out to a 6-0 lead early in set one. Senior Bree Swanson scored a point on a well placed tip to give the 'Beeters a 17-8 lead midway through set one. Late in the set, following a North Star time out senior Lexi Pitkanen scored a nice Kill and junior Hallie Neibauer made a huge block at the net powering the 'Beeters to a 25-12 first set win.

In set number two the 'Beeter's attack was even more impressive. Sophomore Rilee Molyneaux and Neibauer combined for a big block to give Chinook a quick 4-0 lead. Later Molyneaux scored on a well executed back row attack for a 17-2 'Beeter lead. Sophomore Addison Olen later delivered a perfect set to Neibauer for a Thunderous Kill. The 'Beeters took set number two 25-9.

Looking to close out the Knights in straight sets, the 'Beeters experienced a little push back from the visitors. North Star kept the 'Beeter offense in check for much of the set but in the end the 'Beeter attack was just too much. Junior Teagan Richman scored a point with a late Kill and Olsen saved the ball over her head finding a hole in the North Star defense and providing the final point of a 25-20 third set 'Beeter win.

Neibauer paced the 'Beeter attack with nine Kills in the win while Molyneaux and Swanson each powered home seven. Senior Mya Berreth led the team with nine Assists and Olsen added seven. Neibauer recorded seven Blocks in the win and Swanson served up eight Aces and dug up 11 balls.

Saturday the 'Beeters were home for the 39th Annual Chinook Invitational Volleyball Tournament. This Tournament is the oldest continuous volleyball tournament in the state having been held every year since volleyball was added as a high school sport.

This years tournament featured eight team split into two pools. Chinook was in a pool with the Malta M-ettes, Valier Panthers and Cut Bank Wolves. The other Pool consisted of the Shelby Coyotes, Glasgow Scotties, Highwood Mountaineers and Roy/Winifred Outlaws. Teams played each team in their pool to establish seeding for a single elimination bracketed tournament.

Chinook began the day with a opening match against the Malta M-ettes. The 'Beeters took the first set of the match 25-20 scoring the final point on a Neibauer Ace. Each pool play match had a 30 minute time limit adding excitement to the match. Malta jumped out to a 12-7 lead with time running down when Swanson scored a huge block at the buzzer making the score 12-8 in favor of the M-ettes, but securing a 'Beeter win on total points 33-32.

Chinook then coasted past the Valier Panthers in their second pool play match, winning the first set 25-7 and closing the match out with a 25-11 win in set two to win the match 2-0. Their final Pool play match was a battle with the Cut Bank Wolves. Chinook had opportunities to build momentum late but the Wolves took the opening set 25-20. Chinook built a three point lead to start set number two but could never build on it. The 'Beeters were ahead 10-8 when time expired but behind on total points 33-30.

Chinook finished second in their Pool and began tournament play against the Roy/Winifred Outlaws. Roy/Winifred proved to be a tough test early but a strong performance late gave the 'Beeters plenty of momentum. Chinook took the opening set 25-20 and then closed out the Outlaws with a 25-17 second set win.

With the win, the 'Beeters advanced to a semifinal match with the Shelby Coyotes. This match went back and forth start to finish. With the first set all knotted at 24-24 it was the Coyotes that earned the final point to win set number one 25-24.

Set number two was another thriller between the two teams with the winner advancing to the championship match. Senior Belle Elliot recorded a big block at the net to give the 'Beeters an 11-10 lead midway through. Shelby took a 23-22 lead late but Pitkanen found a hole with a well placed ball to even the score at 23-23. Neibauer then came up huge with a stuff block to score the final point of a 25-23 win to secure the match and send Chinook to the finale.

The 'Beeters faced the Highwood Mountaineers in the Championship Saturday afternoon and after the way these two teams performed throughout the day some folks may be thinking it could be a District 7C Tournament championship preview.

The Mountaineers finished second in Pool play just like the 'Beeters but had found their rhythm as the tournament rolled on setting up a thrilling Championship match. Both teams are part ofA very difficult District 7C and will face each other again this Saturday.

Chinook took an early lead 3-1 after a nice Kill from Pitkanen but the Mountaineers quickly answered. Highwood strung together a sustained rally that saw them push their lead 17-11 and a 'Beeter timeout. The 'Beeters came out of the timeout focused and rallied to cut the Mountaineer advantage to 18-16 following a Neibauer Ace. Highwood had just enough momentum to hold off the 'Beeter charge and took the opening set 25-20.

In set number two the Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and maybe the 'Beeters were showing a little fatigue having played all day in a sweltering gymnasium.

Chinook soon gathered themselves and strung together a nice run. Neibauer served an Ace, Swanson placed a tip in the perfect spot and after a Kill from Richman the 'Beeters were right back in the match with the score even 12-12.

Highwood regained control of the match down the stretch, eventually pulling away to win set number two 25-20 and claim the Tournament championship. Chinook finished second in a well played tournament.

The 'Beeters were led offensively Saturday by Neibauer who slammed home a team high 44 Kills. Swanson added 19 Kills and Molyneaux slammed home 17 on the day. Berreth set up the hitters with a team high 51 Set Assists while Olsen contributed 22 Assists on the day.

Neibauer led the defense with seven Blocks while serving up a team high 16 Aces and digging up 46 balls in the tournament. Swanson collected 15 Aces and 27 Digs to help shore up the defense as well.

The 'Beeters had a solid week on the court and Head Coach Paula Molyneaux was pleased with what she saw, "We had a good win versus North Star, it's always nice to get a conference win versus the Knights. They have a good program." She was also happy with her teams performance at their Invitational on Saturday,"Very pleased with our tourney performance. It's fun to play in the championship in our home tourney and against very solid competitive teams."

The long day is certainly a test for everyone in the gym and the 'Beeters performed very well start to finish, "We ended up second in our pool defeating Malta and Valier but fell by two points to Cut bank. In bracket play, which was a single elimination bracket, we beat Roy/Winifred and Shelby, both close matches. Then we played Highwood in the championship losing to them 20-25. 20-25 for 2nd place. This week is huge with Homecoming and two tough conference opponents in Fort Benton (Thursday) and Highwood (Saturday)," concluded Molyneaux.