It was a busy week for the Jefferson High volleyball team, with a trip to Deer Lodge on Friday and another to Choteau for a tournament on Saturday.
In Deer Lodge the Panthers jumped out to a quick lead with a sneak kill by Abby Rosenbaum, a kill by Callie Warfle and an ace by Simonie Mendenhall. Ahead 14-3, the Panthers continued to advance on a kill by Haydin Henschel, an ace by Abby Rosenbaum and a kill by Mykala Edmisten. They went on to win 25-9.
In the second game the two teams stayed close in the early going with five ties, the last being at 9 all, before the Panthers took over. A couple of aces by Abby Rosenbaum put the Panthers up 14-9, a block by Mendenhall made it 17-12 and the Panthers went on to win 25-15.
The third saw the Wardens pull ahead 5-1 before the Panthers closed the gap and tied the score at 7 apiece. The Wardens kept up their threat of handing the Panthers a defeat and went up 13-9 but from then on it was all Panthers. They outscored the Wardens 16 to 3 to win 25-16.
Simonie Mendenhall recorded 2 aces, 18 kills, 6 blocks, 4 digs; Callie Warfle 1 ace, 6 kills, 2 blocks; Mykala Edmisten 3 kills, 1 block, 3 digs; Haydin Henschel 2 aces, 8 kills, 1 block, 3 digs; Abby Rosenbaum 2 aces, 1 kill, 25 assists, 7 digs; Kaela Rosenbaum 1 assist, 8 digs; Emma Stout 2 aces, 3 digs; Ashley Pankratz 2 kills, 4 blocks, 1 assist, 2 digs; Hanna French 4 assists; and Jesse Molitor 1 assist.
The Choteau tournament features a different routine than usual, with teams playing two games and a tie breaker if needed rather than the normal regular season best three out of five.
The Panthers started out with a win over the host school, determined by a tie breaker. Next up was Belt, a tough Class C school. The Panthers took the first set 21-20 and the second set 21-19.
Then it was Great Falls Central across the net, and the Panthers slammed their way to a early lead and went on to win 21-11. Game two was close for the first six points, a kill by Edmisten, tip by Warfle, ace by Mendenhall put the panthers up 10-8, a great assist by Abby Rosenbaum to Warfle made it 16-9 and a kill by Henschel gave the panthers a 21-10 win.
The Panthers took on Deer Lodge next with Deer Lodge taking an early 9-4 lead, a kill by Mendenhall tied it at 14 and from then on it was all panthers, they closed out the set with a 7-1 run to win 21-15. Game two began with a 7-2 Panther run and they went on to win 21-12. That put the Panthers into a championship match with Choteau.
The two teams entered the match with impressive season records. The Panthers had not lost and Choteau’s only loss was to the Panthers. The skills on both sides of the net led to an exciting match.
The Panthers went up 12-5 to start game one and led 23-13 after an Edmisten tip point. That’s when Choteau got the flow going their way and pulled to within three 23-20. The Panthers made it 24-20 but a net serve gave Choteau a point, 24-21, before the Panthers closed it out for a 25-21 win.
Game two featured scoring streaks, opened by the Panthers as they went up 8-3. Choteau came back on a 10-0 run to go up 14-10. The Panthers came back but never could quite make up the difference. They pulled to within one, 23-22, but the last three points went to Choteau for a 25-22 win. That sent the teams into a short tiebreaker, where Choteau was able to pull out a 7-2 win.
The Panthers will host Townsend on Thursday, with the C teams starting at 4:00 followed by the JV and varsity. Saturday is the big JHS tournament. Seven quality teams – including Choteau – will playing at JHS. Both JHS gyms will be in use for varsity and JV teams will play at Boulder Elementary school. Action starts at 9:00 a.m. in both schools. Teams attending with the Panthers and Choteau are Florence, Shelby, Three Forks, Joliet and Colstrip.
FOOTBALL
The JHS football team traveled to Big Timber Friday to take on the Sweetgrass County Herders. The Herders are undefeated this year and are ranked in the top 5 in Class B at this point.
The Panthers played them hard the first three quarters. The Herders held a slim 7-6 lead at the end of one with Avery Stiles going in on a pass from Derek Nygaard to get JHS on the scoreboard. By the half, the Herders led 28-6. The Panthers ate into that lead when they scored in the third with a Nygaard run and a two point conversion by Mead Blake. Thanks to the JHS defense keeping the Herders out of the end zone in the third, the quarter ended 28-14, Herders. The fourth was all Herders, though, as they piled on 21 points to take the conference win 49-14. Stats were not available at press time.
This week the Panthers host Whitehall on Friday night. Game time is 7:00 p.m. This is homecoming week.
CROSS COUNTRY
The cross country team competed in the very large Missoula meet Saturday.Times were not available at press time. This week the “HOOFERS” are at Helena for the 7 on 7 meet.
