BUTTE — Columbia Falls, seeded no better than 10th into the Blocktober Classic, went 7-1 in pool play and then spiked its way into the championship before falling to Polson Saturday.
The tournament brought 24 Class A and B volleyball teams from around Montana to the Butte Civic Center and Maroon Activity Center. Polson, which won the Tip-off Tournament to begin the fall season, went 6-2 in pool play to make the 8-team championship bracket.
The Wildkats beat defending State A champion Billings Central to earn the top seed out of Pool A, then won twice to get to the final. They beat Bigfork — the Valkyries went 5-2 in Pool B to advance — and Havre to make the final.
“I couldn’t be more proud or happier for them,” Wildkats’ coach Jolandie Brooks said. “It’s hard to put into words what I witnessed. A shift in their mindset for starters, which led to a shift in their execution, which led to points, which led to wins.
“We learned a lot about ourselves with these wins, and we’re hungry for more of them — but the losses are motivating us to get back to work.”
Bigfork went 1-2 in the championship bracket, beating Frenchtown and falling to Hamilton. Billings Central ended up defeating Boulder in the third-place match.
Ronan went 2-5 in pool play to fall into the consolation bracket; the Maidens lost to East Helena, beat Stevensville and Sidney and then fell to Dillon, taking fourth.
Whitefish went 2-5 in pool play and ended up in the Copper Bracket, then dispatched Deer Lodge, Libby and Corvallis to win the final.
Championship Bracket: 1 (overall champion), Polson; 2, Columbia Falls; 3, Billings Central; 4, Boulder.
Consolation Bracket: 1, Laurel; 2, East Helena; 3, Dillon; 4, Ronan.
Copper Bracket: 1, Whitefish; 2, Corvallis; 3, Lockwood; 4, Anaconda.
Glacier beats Butte Saturday
Allie Krueger had 14 kills to lead three Glacier attackers in double figures, and the Wolfpack won a five-set Western AA volleyball match from Butte at the Wolf Den on Saturday.
Audrey Mitchell added 10 kills for the Wolfpack (7-6 overall, 6-3 in Western AA matches); Madi Stevens had 46 assists to go with her 17 digs. Addison Thramer had a team-high 20 digs.
Allie Backer had 16 kills for Bute (5-9, 3-6 in league).
The Pack have home matches against Missoula Big Sky Tuesday and Missoula Sentinel Wednesday. Both start at 7 p.m.
Glacier def. Butte 24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 15-8
Kills — Butte 52 (Allie Becker 16, Cadence Graham 11), Glacier 50 (Allie Krueger 14, Kyla 12, Audrey Mitchell 10). Assists — Butte 48 (Ellie Yates 42), Glacier 48 (Stevens 46). Digs — Butte 86 (Graham 20), Glacier 95 (Addison Thramer 20, Stevens 17). Blocks — Butte (Britt Klima 2), Glacier 16 (Krueger 5.5, Stevens 3.5). Aces — Butte 5 (Yates 3), Glacier 5 (Ella Hummer 2, Stevens 2).