Kats claw their way to state A title

Every tournament has a turning point and for the Columbia Falls volleyball team, it came early. In the third set at the Class A tourney in Bozeman, the Wildkats found themselves down 22-12 against Billings Central in their opening match Nov. 12.

First-year coach Jessy Matthews called a timeout. She didn’t give a ra-ra speech. 

“She said we were quitters, at least at that moment,” said junior Cydney Finberg. That fired them up, Finberg said.

“It definitely worked,” she said.

Senior Sam Collins went out and served several aces in a row and the Kats scored 11 unanswered points to win the set, and eventually the match, 26-24, 19-25, 28-26, 25-20. 

After that, they played their hearts out and won the tournament, dropping Corvallis later that day, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23. 

They had a gutsy performance against Butte Central, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 14-25, 15-13 to win the semifinal Friday and then dropped Corvallis 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 Saturday in straight sets for the title in the double elimination tourney and the state A championship.

Morgan Stenger led the squad with 10 kills, Finberg had 24 of the team’s 29 assists and Kiara Burlage had five blocks against Corvallis. 

It was the school’s first title in 19 years. The last was in 1996. Last year the girls took second.

The squad overcame a lot of adversity this season.

They lost five seniors to graduation, their head coach stepped down and one of their best players, Keavyn Baker, had a season-ending knee injury against Whitefish in the last regular season match of the year.

In the divisional tourney, suffering from colds and the loss of Baker, they could manage just a third-place finish.

Collins overcame adversity herself. She was out the bulk of the season with a leg problem.

“The flow of our game was off because we lost Keavyn,” Finberg said.

But the poor performance at divisionals helped the team push harder at state, Finberg said.

Matthews was beaming.

“I’m incredibly proud of these girls,” she said Monday at the pep rally at the high school. “It took a little while to find our groove ... But they were at their best when their best was needed.”

This was Matthews first year as head coach. She was an assistant with the program before that, but took the position after coach Josie Brown stepped down.

“I’m really looking forward to working with them next year,” she said.

The Kats lose just one senior — Collins — to graduation.

Finberg, Stenger and Burlage were all-state and first-team all conference selections and Kaitlyn Casazza and Anna Nicosia were second-team all-conference selections.

Columbia Falls def. Corvallis

25-17, 25-22, 25-15

Kills - Columbia Falls 33 (Morgan Stenger 10), Corvallis 25 (Hannah Capko 10). Assists - Columbia Falls 29 (Cydney Finberg 24), Corvallis 22 (Holly Wilson 21). Digs - Columbia Falls 54 (Finberg, Kaitlyn Casazza 12), Corvallis 68 (Ashley Davis, Capko 16). Blocks - Columbia Falls 13 (Kiara Burlage 5), Corvallis 6 (Maureen Jessop 3.5). Aces - Columbia Falls 6 (Samantha Collins, Burlage 2), Corvallis 7 (Taia Tully 5).