'Beeters Finish 2nd at District 7C, Face Belt in Northern C Divisional Opener
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The Chinook Sugarbeeters earned a second place finish at the District 7C Tournament. Being played in both Big Sandy and Fort Benton the 'Beeters performed well and punched their ticket to the Northern C Divisional this week. The tournament will be played over the course of four days with the Chinook girls getting started tonight, Wednesday, November 4 against the Belt Huskies.
The Chinook Sugarbeeters finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the District 7C. They will also be the No. 2 seed out of the 7C at the Northern C Divisional this week.
The Sugarbeeters have been solid on the volleyball court this fall and were expecting a good showing at the District 7C Tournament.
In a revamped format the District tournament was held at two locations, Big Sandy and Fort Benton due to Covid-19. The tournament format was adjusted as well to get all necessary matches completed.
The 'Beeters began play Thursday afternoon in Big Sandy against the Centerville Miners.
Chinook started fast, opening up a big lead in each of the first two sets, winning both by scores of 25-8. The seventh seed Miners tried to mount a rally in set number three but the experienced 'Beeters were just too much in the end. Chinook won the match 3-0 following a 25-20 third set win.
Senior Jayden Miller powered home eight of the teams 28 Kills in the win. The 'Beeters also served up an amazing 21 Aces in the sweep with senior Hailey Bell responsible for nine of them.
Senior Delaney Kellam stood out defensively for the 'Beeters leading the team in Digs with six as well as Blocks with four. Senior Setter Crystal Hofer set the hitters up with 12 of the teams 22 Kills.
Next up for the 'Beeters was a semifinal match with the North Star Knights. Chinook has had their way this season with the No. 3 Seed Knights and Friday afternoons match was no different.
The biggest challenge the 'Beeters had to overcome may have been a power outage. Half way through the opening set the lights went off in Big Sandy. Following a short delay the decision was made to finish the match in Fort Benton. By the time the first set was decided, the Sugarbeeters had earned a 25-17 win.
Chinook showed their toughness again in set number two. The 'Beeters jumped out to a 17-8 lead.
North Star battled back but in the end it was the 'Beeters pushing the Knights to the brink with a tightly contested 25-22 win.
Looking to complete the sweep and punch their ticket to the Championship match as well as the Northern C Divisional the 'Beeters looked sharp in set number three.
North Star wasn't going away quietly and tested Chinook early. The Knights led 8-6 early on. Freshman Hallie Neibauer had a nice Kill to make the score 8-7. North Star pushed the lead to 12-8 before a Kill from sophomore Bree Swanson got the 'Beeters back on track.
Senior Jayden Miller slammed home a Kill to make it 12-11 in favor of the Knights. Trailing 15-11 the 'Beeters mounted their comeback. Miller served an Ace to even the score at 15-15.
Senior Lily Surber made a pair of spectacular digs leading to a point for Chinook and senior Hailey Bell gave Chinook a Kill straight down the Line. Senior Delaney Kellam followed with a big slam and Chinook suddenly had all the momentum up 19-16.
The Knight called timeout to try and slow the 'Beeter attack but the Sugarbeeters were rolling. Kellam added another Kill, as did Bell providing all the offense needed to help Chinook close out the Knights with a 25-19 third set win.
It what may be the longest match in Sugarbeeter history and most likely the only one to be played in two different gyms in two towns 40 miles apart, the 'Beeters went home happy.
Kellam powered the offensive attack with 14 of the teams 38 Kills in the win. Kellam and Miller each recorded four Aces in the match for the 'Beeters as well. Kellam added three Blocks to her resume in the win.
Senior Lily Surber kept the offense attack going with 12 of the teams 52 Digs while Hofer again led the team in Assists with 13.
The win over the Knights catapulted the 'Beeters into the Championship match Saturday night against the Fort Benton Longhorns.
The Sugarbeeters have played some very good volleyball for much of the season. The team finished with an overall record of 11-3. Two of those losses however came at the hands of the Longhorns.
Chinook showed in the regular season that they can compete with the district leaders for long stretches but had difficulty keeping momentum alive.
The Longhorns swept the 'Beeters in both previous matches but four of the six sets were highly competitive.
Unfortunately for the 'Beeters Saturday nights contest was much the same.
Fort Benton outlasted the Sugarbeeters in a back and fourth opening set, securing a 25-22 win. Set number two was another tightly contested affair, but again it was the Longhorns with the momentum in the end going up 2-0 with a 25-21 set win. Fort Benton cruised to a 25-12 win in set three to win the match 3-0.
Kellam led the way with seven Kills and six Blocks. Senior Hailey Bell recorded 12 Digs, and senior Ginger Hauer had 12 Assists
The 'Beeters will head back to Fort Benton this week at the Northern C Divisional Volleyball Tournament. Action gets underway today (Wednesday, November 4) with four games set to be played. Chinook will begin their tournament Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. against Belt, the District 6C No. 3.
The tournament is being played over the course of four days to allow proper sanitizing and cleaning of the facilities in between matches. The winner of Match 11 Friday night will determine the No. 1 Seed out of the Northern C. The winner of Match 13, Saturday night will be the Northern C No. 2 Seed.
