The Chinook Sugarbeeters concluded their regular season this past Tuesday in Hays against the Thunderbirds. Chinook got off to a quick start in each of the three sets in completing a season sweep of the Thunderbirds. Chinook took the opening set 25-10, the second set 25-12 and finished with a 25-15 third set win.

The 'Beeters recorded 34 Kills in the match with 15 coming from junior Hallie Neibauer. Junior Mya Berreth set the hitters up with 21 Assists while also recording five Aces in the win. Sophomore Rilee Molyneaux dug up a team high nine balls in the match.

The team concluded by running through the second half of their schedule unblemished. The 'Beeters got off to bit of a slow start to begin the year falling on the road to Big Sandy in their conference opener and then at home to Fort Benton and Highwood.

Following the loss to the Mountaineers the 'Beeters got together and began to play some inspired team volleyball completing the regular season with 12 straight wins and avenging the loss to the Pioneers by sweeping Big Sandy at home followed by a sweep in Fort Benton of the Longhorns and a 3-1 match win in Highwood. Mixed in the middle was an undefeated 5-0 record at the Fort Benton Mid-season tournament the first weekend of October.

Chinook will enter the District 7C Tournament in Fort Benton this week as the District No. 2 Seed with a 13-3 conference record. The 'Beeters will begin play on Thursday, October 27 in the fifth match of the day against the No. 7 Seeded North Start Knights (4-12). Match number three is set for Noon Thursday afternoon with Match four and five to follow with half hour breaks in between. A late afternoon, early evening start can be expected.

Chinook Head Coach, Paula Molyneaux has her team in a good place, "We are excited about the post season and look forward to a very competitive District tourney with many top quality teams, any of whom are capable of qualifying for the Divisional." Senior All-State standout Bree Swanson added, "Super excited going into post season play with the girls. We work really well together and have great next play mentality. We definitely play hard every game and don't look past our opponents."

The tournament's No. 1 Seed is the Highwood Mountaineers who enter the tournament at 14-2 in the District 7C. The Mountaineers will take on the winner of match number one between the No. 9 seed Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and the No. 8 Seed Box Elder Bears.

The Thunderbirds come in with a 0-16 conference mark while the Bears enter at 2-14. Hays/Lodge Pole defeated the Bears in the first meeting between the two teams but were later forced to vacate the win after it became known they had played with an ineligible player. The match will get underway Thursday morning with first serve set for 10:00 am. The winner will move on to face the Mountaineers in match three at Noon. The loser will see their season end.

The No. 3 Seed in the tournament will be the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks (12-4) and they will begin the tournament by taking on the No. 6 Seed Centerville Miners (7-9). The fourth first round match will pit the No. 4 Seed Fort Benton Longhorns (11-5) against the No. 5 Seed Big Sandy Pioneers (9-7).

The Sugarbeeters swept the Knights in both meetings during the regular season. A win on Thursday would propel the 'Beeters into a round two match against the winner of the Chester/J-I versus Centerville match later Thursday night. The undefeated semifinal will take place Friday evening. The Championship and third/fourth place matches will be played on Saturday.

The top four teams from the District 7C Tournament will advance to the Northern C Divisional in Chinook, November 3-5. The 'Beeters certainly hope to be a part of the tournament with it being played on their home court. Going into the District 7C it's easy to say Chinook and Highwood have clear paths to the Northern C Divisional, but in the post season anything can happen, and it is why the games are played.

Sophomore Rilee Molyneaux, middle and senior Bree Swanson have also been highly effective for the 'Beeters during the season. The play at the net has been complimented by an outstanding effort in the back row and perfect assist coming from their Setters.

The top two teams from the Northern C Divisional will advance to the Montana State Class C Volleyball Tournament to be played on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse November 10-12. The 'Beeters last advanced to the State C Tournament in 2015.