...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON MST TUESDAY...
* WHAT...Very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 30 below zero.
* WHERE...Portions of central and southwest Montana.
* WHEN...Until Noon MST Tuesday.
* IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite
on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a
hat, and gloves.
To see a graphical representation of the degree of stress on young
livestock please visit our webpage and select Local Programs then
Cold Air Advisory for Newborn Livestock.
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Manhattan Christian’s Katelyn Van Kirk hits the ball around the block of Bridger’s Mya Goltz, left, and Destiney Anguiano during Friday’s semifinal match at the state Class C tournament in Bozeman.
Manhattan Christian’s Ava Bellach hits the ball over the block of Bridger’s Nichole Roberts during Friday’s semifinal match at the state Class C tournament in Bozeman.
Senior libero Alexis DeVries celebrates after Manhattan Christian scored against Bridger during Friday’s semifinal match at the state Class C tournament in Bozeman.
Manhattan Christian’s Katelyn Van Kirk hits the ball around the block of Bridger’s Mya Goltz, left, and Destiney Anguiano during Friday’s semifinal match at the state Class C tournament in Bozeman.
Dan Chesnet
Senior libero Alexis DeVries celebrates after Manhattan Christian scored against Bridger during Friday’s semifinal match at the state Class C tournament in Bozeman.
BOZEMAN — With how things started Friday night it appeared Manhattan Christian was well on its way to returning to the state championship match for a fourth consecutive season.
But, sometimes appearances can be deceiving.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 10-point lead in the first set of a much-anticipated matchup against Bridger in the undefeated semifinal of the State C tournament. And while the Scouts rallied to make things close, Christian held on for a 25-19 win.
But Bridger won the next three sets, 25-22, 25-17, 25-17, to advance to the state championship match for the third time in four years. The Scouts lost to Christian in 2019, but won a rematch in 2020.
Manhattan Christian junior Jacie Burley passes the ball Friday during the State C semifinal match against Bridger in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Dan Chesnet
“We played pretty slow I thought,” Eagles head coach Hanna VanDyk said. “We had a lot of errors hitting and blocking-wise.”
Christian, which defeated Plentywood for the title a year ago, lost just its second match of the season and the first to a Class C opponent. The Eagles (23-2) will play Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale in the consolation game at 10 a.m. Saturday with the winner advancing to the championship at noon.
It’s a familiar path for Christian, which has lost the semifinal in each of the past three years, and then bounced back to win the consolation match en route to the finals.
“Manhattan Christian likes to lose this one,” VanDyk said. “We want to come back the hard way and win the next three. It’s going to be tough, a tough battle, we’re tired, but we’ve done it three times. So why not make it a fourth?”
Christian never trailed in the first set and jumped out to a 13-3 lead on the strength of an eight-point service run by Ava Bellach. While Bridger rallied to tie the score at 17, the Eagles capped the set on an 8-2 run.
The second set was tight throughout and featured nine ties before the Scouts took control on kill by Mya Goltz to break a 17-all tie.
But Christian struggled offensively in the third and fourth sets as hitters became tentative at the net. That was due in part to Bridger’s defensive effort and hitting errors, but also to misconstrued instructions from the coaching staff.
“We told them that they can’t just swing, you don’t want to just be a team that is predictable because they’ll pick that up,” said VanDyk. “We told them they had to mix it up and then we just got stuck with not mixing it up and just getting stuck in, ‘I was told to do this and am only going to do this.’ We just got stuck a little bit just getting frustrated when the swings didn’t go down, when the tip didn’t go down.”
Manhattan Christian’s Ava Bellach hits the ball over the block of Bridger’s Nichole Roberts during Friday’s semifinal match at the state Class C tournament in Bozeman.
Dan Chesnet
Bridger (27-2) took advantage of the Eagles’ tentative play in the third and fourth sets. Dylann Pospisil and Goltz did much of the damage and combined for 30 of the Scouts’ 43 kills.
While the Eagles struggled offensively, VanDyk was pleased with effort the defensively, particularly the play of libero Alexis DeVries.
“Serve-receive was one of our best serve-receiving games. Didn’t shank a lot of passes,” VanDyk said. “Alexis carried our team defensively, she had 29 digs I think, so that was good.”
Katelyn Van Kirk led Christian with 13 kills and eight digs, while Miranda Wyatt and Bellach each had 10 kills. Wyatt also tallied six of the team’s 11 blocks.
“They worked hard,” said VanDyk. “I can’t say that they didn’t work hard because they gave a hundred percent. It just wasn’t our night.”
State C Tournament
Friday’s scores
Twin Bridges def. Circle 25-18, 25-16, 11-25, 25-19, loser-out.
Belt def. Roy-Winifred 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-6, loser-out.
