Kats eye another run for state title

The Columbia Falls volleyball team will look to make another run at the state playoffs as it opens its season with the Northwest-Southwest A tipoff in Dillon this weekend.

The Wildkats lost several seniors, including Carla Nicosia, Winter Kemppainen and Ciera Finberg, but have a core of girls who played last year when the Kats took second at the state tournament.

They include juniors Cydney Finberg, Kiara Burlage, Morgan Stenger, and KJ Schweikert to name a few. All of those girls have height, ? none are less than 5 feet, 11 inches.

Samantha Collins is a returning senior and is also athletic. She was the starting catcher for the Columbia Falls softball team last season.

The girls went undefeated in conference play last year and only lost the state tournament by a match to Belgrade, after coming through the loser-out bracket to make it to the finals against Panthers.

The Kats this season have a new coach in Jessy Matthews. Matthews coached the frosh team last season and steps in as head coach after Josie Brown resigned for family reasons.

The girls' overall record last year was 19-3.

This year getting to state will be a bit tougher. For one, the conference now encompasses both Northwest A and Southwest A schools, so the conference tournament in November should be much more competitive.

Locally, Whitefish has coach Jackie Fuller back. Fuller had a stellar coaching career at Whitefish, but retired for a few years before returning. The cross-valley rival Bulldogs could prove a tougher opponent this season.

The Kats first home match is Tuesday, Sept. 1 against Stillwater Christian School. Freshmen start at 4:15 p.m.