Seeley Swan tops Clark Fork in four sets
Clark Fork's Aubrie Constant (35) and Sorren Reese go up for a block against Seeley Swan in Saturday’s match. (Chuck Bandel/Mineral Independent)
By CHUCK BANDEL
Mineral Independent
Two talented teams with District playoff ambitions collided in Alberton Saturday night.
In the end, experience won out as the senior dominated Seeley-Swan Lady Blackhawks took a hard-fought 3-1 match win over host Clark Fork in a contest that featured outstanding volleys and sparkling net play.
With 6-0 senior standouts Klaire Kovatch and Bethany Hoag leading the way, the visitors from Seeley ran their season mark to 10-3 and swept their two encounters with the young and hard-charging Lady Mountain Cats.
The first game of the match was an indication of things to come for the host Mountain Cats, roaring off to a 9-1 lead in the early going.
But with a 12-6 lead, Seeley’s experienced crew bounced back to tie the game at 15. The two teams traded points the rest of the way as Clark Fork fought back from a 21-18 deficit to tie the score at 22-all.
Seeley held off that charge and went on to win the opening game 25-22 and take a 1-0 match lead.
Game two went somewhat better for the Lady Blackhawks as they built a lead midway through the contest and held on for a 25-19 win, putting them up 2-0.
However, the Lady Mountain Cats, featuring just one senior on their varsity roster, clawed back into match contention with a 25-20 victory in game three. The Cats comeback was paced by junior standout Sorren Reese, who finished the match with an eye-grabbing 14 kills and 18 assists.
Leading the match two games to one, Seeley got things rolling in game four and finished off Clark Fork with a 25-15 win.
In addition to her kills and assists totals, Reese had four service aces and two blocks against the powerful Kovatch led team. Clark Fork junior Cassie Green contributed 12 assists to the Lady Cats cause.
The loss squared the Lady Mountain Cats season mark at 6-6 heading into the final week of the regular season.
Clark Fork’s road does not get any easier as they travel to Hot Springs tonight (Tuesday) and continue their road gauntlet with a game against Charlo Thursday.
They return home for Senior Night on Saturday in Superior where they will face the powerful team from Granite County. Clark Fork is one of a few teams to defeat Granite this season, beating them 3-2 earlier this month.