Volleyball: Lady Loggers 3rd at Anaconda Invite

In a Northwest vs. Southwest showdown on Friday and Saturday, the Libby High School volleyball team won nine of 12 games and then placed third in the medal round during the Anaconda Tip-Off Tournament.

The Lady Loggers defeated Dillon, 25-23, 25-11 in the tournament’s third-place match on Saturday afternoon. Anaconda won the tourney with a 15-25, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Polson.

“I was very pleased overall,” LHS coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston said about the tourney. “I think we’ve come a long way since this summer. … Those long days, they can get frustrating, but I felt pretty good about this weekend.”

On Friday, each team played five two-game matches. Libby had victories of 25-13, 25-23 over Dillon, 25-22, 25-14 over Stevensville and 25-16, 25-17 over Hamilton along with a split vs. Frenchtown, 25-15, 24-25 (games did not go beyond 25 under tourney rules). The Loggers had a letdown against Anaconda in its day-one finale, 25-20, 25-20.

“I think we lost our focus and energy when we played Anaconda our last match on Friday so I was disappointed with that one,” Ostrem-Johnston said. “I would’ve liked to have seen what we could’ve done if we had played better against them.”

Libby completed pool play with a 25-12, 25-14 win over Corvallis on Saturday morning. Polson went 11-1 in pool play to reach the championship match. Both Libby and Bigfork came in at 9-3 but the Loggers got the third-place game based on tiebreaker criteria.

Jackie Mee had a huge tournament at the net with an amazing .539 attack percentage to go along with 72 kills. Mee also had 39 digs, four blocks, 14 ace serves and a 96-percent serve percentage.

Alex Kulbeck was also a hitting force with a .426 attack percentage and 37 kills. Kulbeck also had 10 blocks and 18 ace serves. Logan Best contributed 27 kills and as a team, LHS ended up with an exceptional .356 attack percentage. Best also had a team-high 42 digs as well as 13 ace serves.

Evi Cernick converted 115 of the team’s 141 set assists.

“Evi did a super job running our offense this weekend,” Ostrem-Johnston said. “I’m very happy with the way she set the ball.”

Other statistical standouts included Alysha Martin (93 percent serving, 32 digs), Malena Sweet (32 digs) and Kim Tangen (four blocks),

In injury news, Katie Emery sprained her ankle and did not play all weekend, Ostrem-Johnston said. Tangen moved up to replace her in the lineup.

Libby heads to Whitefish on Thursday and Bonners Ferry, Idaho on Saturday.