Lady Savage Heat win on senior night

Coming off a hard loss to league rival Charlo last week in Montana high school volleyball, their first of the year, Hot Springs figured to take it out on visiting St. Regis.

That they did, but not before the winless Lady Tigers made them earn it.

On a night when the Lady Savage Heat honored departing seniors on their home court, junior Katelyn Christensen put on a dominating performance to help fend off a spirited St. Regis effort.

In game one of the match, the two teams traded punches as the scrappy visitors from St. Regis rallied to tie the game four times in the opening minutes. With the score knotted at 13, Christensen and senior Savannah Roosma sparked a Savage Heat run that propelled them to a 19-13 advantage.

St. Regis battled back but could not overcome the six point advantage and eventually fell 25-17, giving the match lead to Hot Springs, 1-0.

In game two, the Lady Savage Heat took control early and never let up on the Lady Tigers as the hosts jumped out to a 10-2 advantage. Hot Springs would allow only three more St. Regis points in game two as they out served and out volleyed the Lady Tigers, running away with a 25-5 game win and a seemingly commanding 2-0 match lead.

With only one senior on their roster, St. Regis refused to give up and opened game three with flurry, building a 5-1 lead. Hot Springs rallied to tie the score at 11 each and took the lead one serve later.

The Lady Tigers, however, were far from done as they battled Hot Springs to five more ties in the game, the last being a 23-23 score. St. Regis scored the next two points to win game three by a 25-23 count as both teams stage long volleys from all over the court.

Entering game four with a two games to one advantage, the Lady Savage Heat fought off a determined effort by St. Regis in a nail biter that eventually led to a 20-17 Hot Springs lead. From there the Heat outscored the Lady Tigers 5-0 to win game four and the match, 3-1.

Christensen recorded six aces, eight kills and six digs to lead all players. Lizzy Fisher pitched in with eight assists for the Lady Savage Heat who upped their season mark to 5-1.

Despite 12 assists from Karmen Alexander, St. Regis fell to 0-6 on the year.

After a road trip to Darby Saturday night, Hot Springs returns home to face Seeley Thursday night. Next up for St. Regis is a pair of home games, including this past Saturday against Noxon and a game against visiting Lincoln Thursday evening.