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Two is only one more than one, but to the Flathead Bravettes volleyball team, it’s so much more.
Last year the team had one conference win all year. This year, two conference wins. One difference; they have only played two conference games to date.
“We are more experienced,” said head coach Maureen Boyle. “We have six seniors this year, compared to one last year. They know what it felt like last year and they want to prove to people how hard they’ve worked.”
In a Jan. 14 match against Missoula Sentinel, the Bravettes eclipsed last years’ conference record. The Bravettes won the contest in four games 15-7, 12-15, 15-7, and 15-7.
On Dec. 22, the Bravettes hosted Missoula Big Sky in the conference opener of the ’98-’99 volleyball season. In front of a bigger-than-average crowd, the Bravettes took three straight games from the Eagles, the third place finisher in the state tournament last year.
“After the win we were all on a high,” said junior Hanna Thies. “We felt like we could take anyone by then.”
Non-conference games earlier in December against Missoula Sentinel and Hellgate helped the Bravettes start the season on a high point. Both schools traveled to the Flathead gymnasium for a small tournament between the three schools. Flathead beat Hellgate in two games and lost to Sentinel in three. Sentinel went on to take top honors.
“This year we play the games as a team,” said Thies. “Last year we were good individually, but couldn’t play as a team.”
The Bravettes volleyball season not only started off on a high point, it also started out earlier than usual. For the first time ever, the first game of the season was before Christmas vacation. The season was extended one week by the Montana High School Association to give all sports equal season lengths.
“The extension of the season is great,” said Boyle. “Especially with volleyball, we’re used to having almost a month of practice before are first game.”
The word “vacation” — as in “Christmas vacation” — didn’t apply to the team, which practiced two times a day, four days in a row over the break.
“Practicing so much over break got us in a lot better in shape,” said senior Melissa Erickson. “Our drills were continuous, so we weren’t standing around.”
On Jan. 7-9, the volleyball team was in Great Falls for the Great Falls Invitational. The tournament features all 13 Class AA schools and three Class A schools. The field was split into two pools and then the teams played two games against the seven other schools in that pool. The top four teams advance to the championship round with the other four teams are put into the consolation round. The Bravettes were 7-7 in pool play, tied for fourth with Billings West and 1-2 in the consolation round.
“Playing in tournaments gives us a chance to see how teams play that we don’t play during the regular season,” said Thies. “It also gives us an evaluation of where our team’s at.”
In Class AA, C.M.R. looks to be the favorite to win state with the win at the Great Falls Invitational. In the Western AA no team has shown a substantial advantage. The Bravettes’ goal is to win the Western AA, which will give them an automatic bid to the state tournament.
Said Boyle: “We’re in transition to a different level of the game.” |
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