RedHawks Head To Divisionals After Third-Place District Finish

Froid/Lake finished third at the District 2C tournament, securing a trip to divisionals in Sidney.

The RedHawks will face North Country at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in their divisional opener. Savage claimed the district championship with a victory over the Richey-Lambert Fusion, who finished second.

For Froid/Lake, the road to third place began with a sweep and included a comeback against the eventual tournament runner-up.

The RedHawks opened with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-14 victory over MonDak. Isabelle Nordwick led the way with 17 kills, three aces and a block. Laytyn Davidson contributed 27 assists, while Atley Jensen collected 12 digs.

Their next match, against Richey-Lambert, required them to regroup after the Fusion claimed the opening set 25-11.

Froid/Lake answered with three consecutive victories, taking the next sets 25-23, 2521, 25-23. Two were decided by the minimum two-point margin, leaving little room for error as the RedHawks completed the comeback.

Isabelle Nordwick recorded 11 kills and three blocks. Joelle Davidson also contributed three blocks, while Laytyn Davidson finished with 21 assists and three aces. Keira Stentoft collected 12 digs.

The RedHawks next faced eventual champion Savage. After dropping the opening set 25-7, Froid/Lake kept the next two closer, but the Warriors completed the sweep with 25-21 and 25-18 wins.

Nordwick finished with eight kills and two blocks. Laytyn Davidson added 16 assists and an ace, and Stentoft recorded eight digs.

That loss brought another meeting with Richey-Lambert, this time with a place in the championship at stake. The Fusion edged the Red-Hawks 25-23 in the opener and took the second set 25-14.

Froid/Lake extended the match with a 25-16 victory in the third, but Richey-Lambert won the fourth 25-14 to secure the championship berth.

Jensen paced the Red-Hawks with 13 kills, and Laytyn Davidson handed out 28 assists. Nordwick contributed five blocks, Stentoft collected 12 digs, and Camri Salvevold served two aces.

Although their district run ended short of the title match, the RedHawks earned third place and another opportunity to qualify for divisionals.

For Culbertson, the tournament began with a familiar matchup against neighboring Bainville. The Cowgirls won the first set 25-21 before the Bulldogs evened the match with a 25-12 victory.

Culbertson regained the advantage with a 25-20 win in the third, then closed out the match 25-23 in the fourth.

Emma Berwick led the Cowgirls with 16 kills and 25 digs. Charity Wilbanks contributed 12 kills, 12 digs, three aces and four blocks. Bella Pedersen added 15 assists, 11 digs, two aces and four blocks, while Ally Simonsen collected 16 digs.

Casey Myers paced Bainville with 14 kills and a block. Jaylynn Bjorge added 10 kills and two blocks. Sophie Portra finished with 23 assists and three aces, and Emmalyn Anderson also served three aces.

Culbertson’s next opponent was Savage, which defeated the Cowgirls 25-7, 2516, 25-9. Simonsen recorded 11 digs, while Berwick finished with 10 digs and three kills. Wilbanks added three blocks, and Pedersen contributed six assists.

With their tournament hopes still alive, the Cowgirls returned to face MonDak in a match that opened with two tight sets.

Culbertson claimed the first 27-25, needing extra points to settle it. MonDak answered with a 25-23 victory in the second, but the Cowgirls took the final two sets by matching 25-17 scores.

Berwick finished with 14 kills, 16 digs and six aces. Wilbanks contributed across the court with 13 kills, 18 digs, five aces and five blocks. Pedersen recorded 14 assists and 16 digs, while Stella Fox added 14 digs and two aces.

Kalia Featherston finished with seven kills, nine digs and two aces. Simonsen contributed nine digs and three assists, Aeryn Ator added three kills, and Ella Anderson recorded three digs and an ace.

The victory kept Culbertson playing, but Richey-Lambert ended the Cowgirls’ run in their next match, winning 25-12, 25-13, 25-23. Culbertson’s closest push came in the third set, when the Cowgirls finished just two points short of extending the match.

The host team closed the tournament in fourth place, with two victories earned on its home court.

Bainville’s final match came against MonDak. After dropping the first set 25-14, the Bulldogs responded with a 25-21 win to even the match. MonDak took the next two sets 25-9 and 25-20.

Myers finished with 12 kills, 10 digs and three aces. Bjorge recorded 10 kills and a block, while Johnna Ryder contributed six kills and 12 digs. Portra added 20 assists, Anderson finished with five kills and an ace, and Annalyce Sorenson served three aces.