Loggers remain untouchable, first in district

Hagadone News Network

Edge of your seat volleyball.

That was the show put on Tuesday night by the top two teams in the Northwestern A.

Libby (8-0, 7-0) downed host Whitefish (6-2, 5-2) in a five-game barnburner. Scores were 25-23, 15-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12.

"Both teams stepped on the court expecting to win tonight. That's what made it a great battle," said Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston.

"We needed a match like this.

"I'm glad I prepared myself for this mentally. I needed to stay relaxed for (the Loggers) and help them through it, because I had a feeling we were going to be going through some adversities … and it was good for us," Ostrem-Johnston said.

"That was great volleyball," agreed Whitefish head coach Jackie Fuller.

"Two good teams, I think you've got two programs that are pretty solid in the Northwest."

There were mental mistakes — and heroic moments on both sides.

Ashley Ferda had 21 kills for Whitefish. Jackie Mee had 14 for Libby.

Defense was huge — 79 digs and 17 blocks for Whitefish. Libby had four blocks and 47 digs.

Whitefish's Brielle Menegazzi had eight blocks and 22 digs, while Brooke Hageness had 17 digs for Libby.

"They came at us with several weapons — and we had a lot of mental mistakes that we can't have," Fuller said.

One of those was a ball that a Whitefish player simply caught before the whistle blew.

It appeared one of the Bulldogs had a double hit on a Libby serve — but there was no whistle.

As the Logger bench — and the raucus crowd — erupted, a Whitefish player caught the ball.

"We can't do that. We've got to play and play and play," Fuller said.

It was nip and tuck all the way.

Libby led the first game 19-13, but Whitefish fought back and closed the gap to one point before finally bowing.

The next three games were back and forth affairs.

And the fifth game — that was all about nerves.

Libby raced to a 6-1 lead. But Whitefish, behind the hitting of Ashley Ferda and Brielle Menegazzi and the serving of Shannon Kalbfleisch, stayed calm and worked its' way back into a 9-9 tie.

Ostrem-Johnston called a timeout.

"For the first time all year, they were showing some emotion out there," she said.

"I told them to 'just settle down and play. Relax, trust each other, trust yourselves. Have fun, seize the moment. Play ball,'" she said.

It took three more Whitefish points — two aces by Kalbfleisch and a Logger pass that landed wide — for that to kick in.

But then Libby outside hitter Laice Dedrick somehow got a kill through the Whitefish block — and suddenly the Loggers were back in business.

Whitefish had mistakes on the next two plays — a set attempt that went wildly out of bounds and the ball that was caught before the whistle.

"I tip my hat to (Libby). I felt they outhustled us and that's one thing that is not very characteristic of us … that teams outhustle us. But they outhustled us on defense and on offense they came at us," Fuller said.

"We had some bright spots, I will admit," she said.

"Shannon Kalbfleisch having to step in and never having played back row for us.

"Ashley Ferda I thought had a very nice consistent night for us. She very rarely will make a mistake. She's just a great athlete and she does a phenomenal job," Fuller said.

"I need some output from my middle hitters and once we get that, we'll be all right.

"Whitefish is a good team. They played tough out there tonight. Their defense was phenomenal at the net and in the back row. They frustrated our hitters," Ostrem-Johnston said.

"They challenged us, too, more than we've been challenged," she said.

"We could have easily lost (the match). A couple more mistakes on our part, couple more hits down on their part."

"They're upset and that's a good sign," Fuller said of the Bulldogs.

"They know right now that Libby is the better ballclub and we need to start working harder. We will."

Ostrem-Johnston was discussing the win with assistant coach Kyle Crawford, who has been with the program for eight years. Crawford said this is only the second time Libby has beat Whitefish on their home floor over the last eight years.

"This was a big win for us," Ostrem-Johnston continued. "They're tough to beat on their home floor. We're having a great year. They got emotional, they got mad, but they found a way to work through it."

Libby defeat Whitefish 25-23, 15-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12

Kills — Libby 51: Jackie Mee-14, Crysta Quinn-10, Laice Dedrick-10; Assists — Libby 43: Shelby Barton-36; Blocks — Libby 4: Nichole Newman-2, Mee-2; Digs — Libby 51: Brooke Hageness-17, Dedrick-9, Megan Wedel-8; Aces — Libby 13: Quinn-5, Hageness-3.