Lady Pirates remain undefeated with sweep of Loggers

By Jim Blow
Valley Journal
LIBBY — Middle hitter Jackie Mee proved to be as tough as expected, but she and the rest of the Lady Loggers couldn't overcome Polson's team attack.
The Lady Pirates kept their heads in winning two close games, then pulled away with authority in the third to win their fourth conference game on the road in Libby 25-22, 25-22, 25-16 last Saturday night. The victory kept Polson undefeated, 5-0 in Northwestern conference play and 6-0 overall.
It didn't start out that way, though. Polson found itself down 0-5 in the first game, struggling to pass the ball. But after a timeout, the Lady Pirates rattled off seven straight points and never got behind again.
Polson stayed in charge in the second game, putting up a good block on Mee, while the Pirate attack kept Libby off balance. Sallie Sams led Polson with 10 kills and three blocks.
"They didn't have a counter for Sallie ... she came out hitting the ball hard," Polson head coach Jan Toth said. "It was really fun to see her shine and see her so aggressive and confident at the net."
Polson also switched up its offense to a back row attack, helping to minimize Mee's presence at the net. Eight different hitters scored kills on the night, with Davey notching 9, Breanne Kelley getting five and Loni Havlovick earning five. Christa Red Crow had three of her own, while libero Staci Benson pounded out two kills from the back row.
"Libby couldn't stay up with our back row attack from Staci (Benson), Nicole (Davey), Christa (Red Crow) and Breanne (Kelley). They all hit very well from the back row," Toth said. "Nicole and Bre ... did a great job of making Jackie Mee working hard for kills. She only had 12."
After winning the first two games, Polson built a substantial lead in the third game when Benson flew into the back corner going for a deep ball and slammed into the wall, splitting open her knee. Benson couldn't continue and the Lady Pirates lost their momentum. Libby came back from a 15-6 deficit to close Polson's lead to two (15-13).

Toth called a timeout, the Pirates gathered themselves and Davey served up six straight aces to help Polson retake command of the match. Polson finished out the third game 25-16 to sweep the Lady Loggers in three games.
"The girls played hard and we had some great rallies," coach Toth said. "Christa Red Crow had a great match. Defensively, she just picked up a lot of balls that were hard-hit from Jackie Mee. She had to pick up the slack when we didn't have Staci. Loni Havlovick had a great game at the net, too. She had some great reaction time on the block and had some timely kills for us."
Kayla Duford had all 30 of Polson's assists, running the offense like a champ.
But, as usual, the win was about the whole team effort.
"It was great to see how well we played together," Toth noted. "We served very, very tough and that helped keep Libby from setting up Jackie (Mee). Nicole (Davey with nine aces) and Breanne (Kelley with five aces) were on fire serving ... with Nicole's great top spin serve and Breanne's jump serve."
Even as aggressive as they were, the Lady Pirates served very, very well at 92 percent.
Davey led the defense with 13 digs, followed by Benson with 10 and Kelley with nine.
The win improved Polson's conference record to 5-0 and put them atop of the Northwestern A. The Lady Loggers (3-1) have bettered Polson on the volleyball court for a long time, so Saturday's win in Libby was extra special.
"It was big enough for our seniors to have too many tears in our eyes," Davey, a Polson senior, confirmed later. "It was emotional to finally get a win over Libby. And it's kind of weird to talk about being undefeated and coming this far."
Last year's Polson team was good, but lacked the confidence the Pirates seem to be displaying this year. They are playing sharper now at mid-season than they ever have and Davey believes their coach has helped them get to that level.
"That and the girls want it more this year," Davey noted.
This week the Pirates will play one conference match at home against Ronan on Friday.

Summary

Polson def. Libby
25-22, 25-22, 25-16
Kills - Polson 30 (Sallie Sams 10, Nicole Davey 9), Libby 29 (Jackie Mee 12). Blocks - Polson 8 (Sams 3, Davey 2, Breanne Kelley 2), Libby 4 (Mee 4). Digs - Polson 54 (Davey 13, Staci Benson 10), Libby 37 (Mee 9). Assists - Polson 30 (Kayla Duford 30), Libby 25 (Evi Cernick 24). Aces - Polson 16 (Davey 9, Kelley 5), Libby 9 (Katie Emery 4).