Glacier sheds early jitters, sweeps FHS
All it took for Glacier volleyball was a minute to calm down.
Trailing 9-4 early in the first set against home-standing Flathead, Glacier coach Christy Harkins called a timeout to attempt to settle her players’ nerves.
Over the next 60 seconds, as her team huddled inside the raucous gym buzzing with excitement for a rivalry game, Harkins did just that.
The Wolfpack charged back to take the first set and sweep the match 25-18, 25-14, 25-23. The victory assured Glacier of at least the No. 4 seed for next week’s Class AA divisional playoffs.
“Crosstown, a lot of energy in there,” Harkins said of her early timeout. “I didn’t think we were passing real well right then, and I needed to settle us down a little bit to be able to step in and pass the ball and kind of take a calm, collected look at things.”
Glacier, which got the better of Flathead in three of the teams’ four meetings this year, relied on a strong service game in the win.
The Wolfpack recorded 13 aces in the match to Flathead’s six, a stat Harkins attributed simply to her squad’s aggressiveness. Glacier’s Anna Schrade tallied a match-high five aces individually.
“They just served us really tough, and really just put us out of system,” Flathead coach Nicole Fairclough said. “They did a really nice job.”
After facing the early deficit, Glacier roared back and closed the opening set on a 21-9 run.
The Wolfpack did not have nearly as much of a struggle in the second set.
Trailing 7-6 early on, Glacier reeled off five consecutive points and won 14 of the next 16 to take a commanding lead.
“It all just kind of stems from our passing,” Fairclough said. “We felt like we were just really flat tonight.
“The players’ confidence in themselves and really just the team was really kind of lacking tonight. They just played so confidently and as one at the (Missoula Invitational) tournament, and tonight, it wasn’t there.”
Glacier again fell behind in the third game and trailed by two to three points for most of the set, but the Wolfpack closed on a 7-3 run to take the set and match.
“We had that little letdown in Game 3,” Harkins said. “It took us a while to battle through that one, but they kept battling, getting a point or two here or there, until they caught up. I’m proud of that.
“It’s nice to know we have those options. I’d rather not be behind and have to come back. But to give them some confidence that if they are behind, they can (come back), I like that they’re able to do that.”
Having concluded conference play, Glacier now will sit back and watch this weekend’s matches, which will determine its opponent in the divisional round. The Wolfpack’s play-in game to the state tournament could take place as early as Tuesday.
Flathead’s seeding is also still up in the air with one conference game still to play. The Bravettes face Missoula Sentinel at 1 p.m. Saturday before beginning preparations for their divisional-round match.
Glacier def. Flathead 25-18, 25-14, 25-23
Kills — Glacier 34 (Kali Gulick 9), Flathead 18 (Madde Boles 10). Blocks — Glacier 6 (Gulick 3). Assists — Glacier 26 (Ashley Montini 25), Flathead 17 (Bailey Nunn 17). Digs — Glacier 24 (Kacey Hill 6), Flathead 25 (Sierra Wilhelm 8). Aces — Glacier 13 (Anna Schrade 5), Flathead 6 (Boles 3).