The long haul: Panther volleyball takes second in state

It wasn’t quite a state championship. But it still felt electric.

Jefferson High’s volleyball team capped a great year with a second-place finish at last weekend’s Class B state tournament, overcoming a first-round loss to a familiar foe before finally falling to a dominant Huntley Project squad.

The Panthers opened the competition with a disappointing loss to Choteau, the number-one seed out of the North. The squads had met twice in the regular season, and both matches had been close. This one would prove a marathon.