Lady Scotties Place in Top Five at Choteau Invitational

The Glasgow Scottie varsity volleyball team traveled to Choteau this past weekend, Aug. 30 and 31, to participate in the Choteau Invitational, their first competition of the season. With only two weeks of practice under their belt, the Lady Scotties put their mind, bodies and soul into all 12 matches played over the course of the two days, ending the tournament with six wins and six losses.

The Lady Scotties played their first match on Aug. 30 against Choteau, followed by Florence, Cut Bank, Three Forks, Choteau a second time, Fairfield and Wolf Point. They ended the day with four wins and three losses.

As a result of their record at the end of the first day, they qualified for the Gold Bracket for the second day of the tourney, Aug. 31. After defeating Ennis in two games, they played their first match of the Gold Bracket against Simms, which they defeated 21-15, 18-21. Following the two wins, they were defeated by Florence and Choteau. Their last game of the day against Shelby ended in a sudden death OT loss, 21-19, 19-21, 3-2.

Even though official records show the Scotties split the tournament, head coach Somer Hoerster doesn't feel the girls lost six games. She believes they truly only lost two, the two games against Florence. "We never felt outmatched with anyone – our errors and inexperience cost us some games that down the road I think will be corrected. Other than that, we were in tight with everyone else with splitting games," she explained. "The varsity played very consistent and got to experience some very tough competition for a solid 48 hours. Friday started with back-to-back state finishers from last season for us and with Saturday's pool we couldn't have asked for a better more competitive day of volleyball."

According to Hoerster, this tournament was the best finish the Scottie team has had in several years at the Choteau Invitational. The Lady Scotties ended up in the top five with Choteau, Florence-Carlton, Simms and Shelby in the tournament, which is quite an accomplishment as these four teams have been state contenders in past years. "They split matches with all these teams or only lost by a couple of points, including a sudden death overtime loss to Shelby," said Hoerster.

In the next few weeks, coach Hoerster will be drilling serve receive during practice as, according to Hoerster, that hurt the Lady Scotties during this tournament. There will also be new offensive options and blocking skills introduced in practice in order to hone those skills during future competitions. "I'm so proud of these girls as we are still young in experience, but will continue to grow and learn as the weeks go on. We frequently talk of our goals and I will remind them daily what we are working towards. Come out and watch these girls, you won't be disappointed!" stressed Hoerster.

The Lady Scotties will play this weekend, Friday, Sept. 6, and Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Chinook Invitational and will play their first home match on Thursday, Sept. 12, with the C-Squad starting at 4 p.m.

Scottie Volleyball Scores From Choteau Invitational

Friday, Aug. 30

Choteau def. Glasgow, 21-20, 21-16

Florence def Glasgow, 21-12, 21-12

Glasgow def. Cut Bank, 21-10, 21-5

Glasgow def. Three Forks, 21-14, 21-7

Choteau def. Glasgow, 21-16, 19-21

Glasgow def. Fairfield, 21-17, 21-19

Glasgow def. Wolf Point, 21-7, 21-16

The Lady Scotties ended the day with four wins and three losses.

Saturday, Aug. 31

Glasgow def Ennis, 21-13, 21-7

Glasgow def. Simms, 21-15, 18-21

Florence def. Glasgow, 21-14, 21-12

Choteau def Glasgow, 21-18, 21-20

Shelby def Glasgow, 21-19, 19-21, 3-2 in Sudden Death Tie Breaker

The Lady Scotties ended the day with two wins and three losses.