Jefferson High’s volleyball teams took another step toward a perfect regular season, with both varsity and JV squads taking county rivals Whitehall Oct. 13 in straight sets. The Lady Panthers are now 9-0 in this shortened schedule, with one match to play.
The varsity match was close at times, but never in serious doubt. An ace by Rachel Van Blaricom and a block point by Brooklyn Pancoast jump-started the Panthers, and a couple of kills by Dakota Edmisten put them up early, 5-2. Whitehall fought back with a 10-7 run to tie the game at 12, and points were traded until 15. Then, the Panthers took over with a 10-2 run to pull out the set, 25-17.
The second set started in much the same fashion, with the county foes staying within two points of each other until a 9-9 tie. From then on, it was all Panthers: Sam Zody put over an ace for a 16-10 edge, and Jefferson went on to win, 25-16.
Whitehall jumped out to a 12-8 lead in the third, but the Panthers came back with kills by Van Blaricom and Edmisten and a block by Pancoast to tie the game at 12. From there, a sneak kill by Maddie Leiva made it 17-14, a pair of kills by Abbie Youde made it 20-17 and Jefferson reeled off the next five points for a 25-17 win and the match.
Grace Alexander notched 14 digs and one assist; Rachel Van Blaricom, 14 digs, 8 kills, 5 aces, one block, and one assist; Maddie Leiva, 12 assists, 9 digs, 2 kills, and one ace; Dakota Edmisten, 16 kills and 8 digs; Sam Zody 2 aces, 13 assists, and 7 digs; Emma McCauley 2 aces and one assist; Abbie Youde 3 kills and 3 blocks; Sydney Mace, 2 digs; and Brooklyn Pancoast, one kill, 4 blocks, and one dig.
Whitehall was led by Haley Briggs with 2 aces; Kendra Klapan with 14 kills; and Meagan John with 18 digs. Bryanna Wolfe had 22 of the team’s 27 assists and one block.
The Lady Panthers finish out the regular season this Thursday, Oct. 22, at Manhattan. C teams play at 4 p.m., with JV and Varsity to follow. The District 5B tournament will take place the week of Oct. 26, but the venue and schedule still haven’t been set. At this point, Jefferson has clinched first place and Townsend second, with Sweet Grass, Whitehall and Manhattan battling it out for third and Three Forks sixth.
The varsity football team plays its last regular season game at Manhattan at 7 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 23. Manhattan has clinched first place in South B. Townsend is second and Whitehall third; the final week’s games will determine the other rankings.
And the cross country teams will be in Kalispell on Friday for the State Cross Country meet. The girls run at 2 p.m. and boys at 3 p.m. Class A also runs on Friday, with girls at 10:30 a.m. and boys at 11:30 a.m. Classes AA and C run on Saturday. Good luck “Hoofers.”
Practices for basketball and wrestling, previously scheduled to begin Nov. 19, have been delayed.
The Montana High School Association has moved the start date to Dec. 7. That means the first basketball games for the Panthers will be Dec. 18 vs. Whitehall, followed by away games at Manhattan on Dec. 19, Anaconda on Dec. 21, and Three Forks on Dec. 22. No word yet on the first wrestling competition.
