The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Chinook Sugarbeeters are back to their winning ways adding a pair of Conference wins over Hays/Lodge Pole and Big Sandy and then going 4-0 at the Fort Benton Mid-season Tournament. The 'Beeters improved to 8-3 on the season and sit in a tie for third in the District 7C standings.

Tuesday night the 'Beeters hosted the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and controlled the match start to finish.

Chinook took control of the match early in set number one. Sophomore, Rilee Molyneaux, scored with a good swing to put Chinook on top 13-4. Senior, Bree Swanson, added an ace moments later for a 15-6 advantage. Chinook took the opening set 25-8.

Set number two was more of the same dominate 'Beeter attack. Senior Torin Cecrle's Ace gave Chinook a 9-4 lead. Aces from sophomore, Addison Olsen, and Swanson, added to the 'Beeter lead. Chinook took set number two 25-6. Set number three featured a Kill from sophomore, Hannah Schoen, and ended with an Ace from junior, Hallie Neibauer, for a 25-9 third set win and a 3-0 match victory for the 'Beeters.

The 'Beeters had 18 Kills in the win with nine different players recording a Kill. Berreth had nine Assists and Olsen recorded six Aces in the win.

Thursday night the 'Beeters honored their seniors before the start of the varsity match. After the ceremony concluded the team looked to turning the table on the visiting Pioneers. Big Sandy edged the 'Beeters 3-0 in three closely contested sets to start the season.

Chinook steadily attacked the Pioneers leading 10-5 after Molyneaux placed the ball in the back corner. Big Sandy rallied to make the score 11-9 but Chinook responded with Richman winning at the net for a 16-11 lead. Richman secured the first set 25-18 win for the 'Beeters with a cross court attack that just caught the fingertips of the Pioneer defender.

Chinook maintained their attack in set number two. Neibauer hammered home a Kill for a 16-12 lead. Big Sandy fought back and evened the set twice at 19-19 and 22-22. Cecrle served up an Ace for a 26-25 lead. Big Sandy then hit the return into the net for a 27-25 set win.

Chinook finished off the Pioneers in set number three. Neibauer timed her block perfectly for a big point and a 17-13 lead. Three straight hitting errors provided all the points necessary for Chinook to complete the sweep and win the set 25-18.

The 'Beeters had a fantastic showing in sweeping the Pioneers. The team slammed home 38 Kills in the match with Neibauer accounting for nine. Swanson and Richman each tallied seven while Pitkanen had six in a balanced offensive attack. Berreth chalked up 16 Assists and Olsen added 14. Molyneaux served up four Aces.

Saturday in Fort Benton the 'Beeters were looking forward to the opportunity to play some new opponents and see how they match up with teams from outside the 7C. The tournament format set a time limit of thirty minutes with the first two sets being played to 21 and time permitting a third set would be capped at 15. If the match hasn't concluded set number two when time runs out, then the winner will be decided by total points.

They began the tournament with a 2-0 win over White Sulfur Springs. Chinook took the opening set 21-16 and then easily won set number two 21-11. In their second match of the day Chinook took on a Roy/Winifred team that they had faced earlier in the season at their own Invitational. The 'Beeters dropped the first set 17-21 but bounced back to win set number two 21-11. The 'Beeters went on to win set three 8-7 to defeat the Outlaws 2-1.

Senior, Torin Cecrle, makes a nice pass to the setter Friday night at home. The 'Beeters had an impressive week on the court picking up two conference wins and going 4-0 in Fort Benton's Mid-season Tournament.

Chinook then faced a familiar foe in their District 7C rivals from Fort Benton. The Longhorns took the opening set 21-11. The 'Beeters rallied in set number two for a 21-18 set win to even the match. With time winding down Chinook scored the final point and secured a 5-2 win to take the match 2-1.

The last match of the day had the 'Beeters squaring off with the Simms Tigers. In a back and forth battle the Sugarbeeters pulled out a narrow 21-18 lead. The Tigers had an edge when time expired in set number two 20-19 but total points favored Chinook 40-39 giving them the win.

Neibauer led the 'Beeter attack with 28 Kills on the day, Swanson added 15 Kills and Richman powered home 14. Berreth set the hitters up with a team high 43 Assists. Swanson and Cecrle each recorded 10 Aces on the day.

Chinook will be on the road this week for a pair of big District 7C matches. Friday the girls will be in Chester to take on the Hawks. Saturday the 'Beeters will be looking to flip the results of their first meeting with the Longhorns when they head to Fort Benton.