BOZEMAN — The Montana all-class state volleyball tournaments conclude today with the third-place matches and championship matches at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
We'll provide live updates throughout the day as Classes AA, A, B and C determine their 2025 state champions. Scores, quotes, photos and all the championship moments right here.
We'll update this post throughout the day. Let's go!
** Updated brackets and results: 2025 all-class state volleyball scores and pairings **
Photos: Championship Friday at all-class state volleyball
Photos: Day 2 of the all-class state volleyball tournaments
Photos: Day 1 of the 2025 all-class state volleyball tournaments
Visit our Day 1 blog here.
Visit our Day 2 blog here.
The most recent updates will appear at the top. Refresh regularly to follow along.
— Slim Kimmel, Alec Bofinger, Mike Scherting
4:40 p.m. | Tournament complete
2025 state volleyball champions
- Class AA: Bozeman Gallatin
- Class A: Billings Central
- Class B: Shepherd
- Class C: Circle
Thanks for following along!
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4:30 p.m. | Photo update
Photos from the championship matches have been upload. Check out the gallery here.
3:55 p.m. | 'Locked in' Shepherd goes the long way to win Class B championship
Townsend was making a slight push, trying to extend the second match of the Class B championship anyway they could.
Shepherd coach Kamber Kelly turned toward the players on her bench and said, “Lock in.”
Maybe it was a needed reminder at that moment, but, truth be told, Kelly’s Fillies have been locked in all season and particularly on Friday.
Shepherd bounced back from its second-round loss on the tournament’s first day on Wednesday and won its next five matches, including three on Friday in back-to-back-to-back fashion to claim the school’s first volleyball state championship.
“Oh, this is 10 times more than I thought it would feel like,” Shepherd senior Kayda Parker said. “It’s incredible. It’s amazing.”
The Fillies beat Townsend, the team that knocked them down on the tournament’s first day, 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 in the first championship match. Since Townsend had entered the match undefeated, an if-necessary game was required, and the Fillies won that one, as well, in another sweep.
Combined with Shepherd’s three-set sweep of Jefferson in the third-place match earlier Friday, the Fillies played nine sets over the span of nearly five hours and won them all, with Lexie Dennison getting championship point with a kill off a Townsend block attempt.
“Instead of feeling bad about it and feeling sad and being like, oh, it’s such a long journey, it’s we know we can accomplish this,” said senior Karli Goodell, who helped Shepherd win the state softball championship last spring. “Why not do it?”
For Parker and Kelly, it was a generational championship for the daughter-mother combo. Kelly has been on the Shepherd bench since Parker’s freshman season and assumed the head coach duties last year.
Kelly also won three state titles with her own mother, Laurie, as coach when both were at Roundup.
“It’s a family affair, I guess,” said Kamber Kelly, who announced earlier this season she wouldn’t continue as the Shepherd coach. “I’m not going to stay in it for years like my mom has, but I’m so fortunate to have been able to do this with her and my son here, and all of our families and our friends. It’s a really great feeling.”
Then, with Kayda standing next to her, Kamber finished: “I’m so proud of you.”
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3:45 p.m. | Shepherd goes the long way for title
Shepherd swept Townsend in both championship matches to claim its first volleyball title. For Townsend, it's the Bulldogs second runner-up finish in three years.
More to come on Shepherd's win ...
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3:19 p.m. | Circle back atop Class C with second consecutive title
After winning the undefeated semifinal match Thursday to advance to the Class C state championship, Circle coach McKinna Yerbich said Madeline Moline “hates to lose … fights for every ball” and “there’s just nothing you can do to prepare for Kate Nasner.”
Yerbich proved prophetic Friday, as the senior Moline and freshman Nasner combined for 39 kills to help lift the Wildcats to a 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 win over Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine.
It was the second consecutive title for Circle.
“It means a lot — a great way to end my career and a really good look for our community, a small town. Really shows work ethic, I think,” said Moline, whose younger sister Charlie is the setter that makes the Wildcats’ offense go.
Charlie Moline had 38 assists, divvying up passes to her star hitters, who dominated throughout the state-tournament week.
“If one’s on, I’ll just keep feeding them over and over,” said Charlie Moline, a junior. “And we use that to feed off all the other hitters and just keep building off of it.”
Circle — which prior to last year’s title had last won a championship in 2015 when Yerbich was a player — feels as if it’s back atop the Class C mountaintop where it belongs.
And the Wildcats have every intention of making Brick Breeden Fieldhouse their home away from home.
“We’ve always been a volleyball town, that slipped away for a little bit. We had to get back to that and really get these girls to understand what Circle Wildcat volleyball is about,” Yerbich said. “Now that they’re in that mindset, we refuse to stay home. We want to be here every year. I’ve got freshmen and sophomores all over that court, and I think we’re going to be coming back for quite a while.”
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2:36 p.m. | Circle goes back-to-back with four-set win over D-G-S-G
Circle won its second consecutive Class C state championship with a 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 win over Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine. Kate Nasner had 21 kills and Madeline Moline added 18 for the Wildcats. Charlie Moline dished out 38 assists.
More to come ...
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2:16 p.m. | A 'very special group,' Billings Central caps perfect season with second straight Class A title
Kassidy Schafer put down the final point of the Class A volleyball championship with authority, with the same kind of dominance the Billings Central Rams have had all season, and for a decade.
The Rams swept Havre 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 to conclude a perfect 28-0 season, a back-to-back championship, a run of five titles in the past six seasons, and a run of seven championships in the past 10.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Kamryn Reinker, one of five seniors on the Rams' roster, all of whom contributed greatly to the program’s success. “I mean, knowing there couldn’t have been a better ending to my volleyball career, I’m not ready to leave it behind. I’ve loved every moment of this Central volleyball career.”
As she’s done throughout her four-year varsity career, Reinker left her mark on this championship day with a team-high 13 kills. Schaefer finished with 12. CC Case and Kaitlyn Foster, seniors both, had four blocks and 18 digs, respectively.
Havre came into the championship with a strong performance in a win over Frenchtown in the morning’s third-place match.
And though the Blue Ponies gave the Rams fits at last week’s Eastern AA divisional tournament, taking Billings Central to five sets in both the undefeated semifinal and championship, this one was all Rams.
They were on point from the start.
“We’ve been working a lot in practice on how we can defend against a great team like this,” said senior Gracie Loveridge, who had eight kills and 16 digs. “Havre is great, but I think we just had that energy and we brought it. We were locked in, we were focused and the plays that we needed to make, we made them.”
Anita Foster has been coaching the Rams for six seasons and has taken them to the championship each time. The championship feeling never gets old, she said.
“I’m just so proud of the girls,” Foster said, tears welling up in her eyes. “A very special group.”
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2 p.m. | Raptors have 'surreal' feeling in winning back-to-back titles
Gallatin coach Erika Gustavsen preached consistency all week.
And the Raptors delivered that steady play in their biggest match of the season, comfortably sweeping Great Falls CMR 25-21, 25-19, 25-20 to win their second consecutive Class AA state championship.
“It’s just taking it game by game, point by point, don’t overlook anybody and just play your own game,” Gallatin senior Makayla Coleman said. “Just coming together, not letting them go on big runs and making sure we go on runs of our own.”
CMR, which defeated Bozeman in the third-place match earlier Friday to face Gallatin in the final, kept things tight throughout, but the Raptors never wavered. Even when the Rustlers would put together mini-runs of two or three points, Gallatin would quickly settle in and regain momentum.
Kennedy Varda had 12 kills, seven blocks and two aces to lead the Raptors. Miya Chase added 11 kills.
Though it felt like a ho-hum master class in methodical dominance, it was an emotional celebration for the Raptors.
“It’s just crazy to be back here,” Coleman said after wiping tears away from her face. “A year from now we were doing the same thing, and we did it again, so it’s just a surreal feeling.
“It means everything to me. They’re all my friends, we’ve grown so much this past year, and a couple of us last year, so it’s pretty awesome.”
But the jubilation for the Raptors will be short-lived. Basketball season is just around the corner.
“(It’s) pretty awesome, because now I have three (championships),” Coleman said, referencing Gallatin’s 2024 volleyball championship and 2025 basketball title. “Hopefully we can get it done in basketball, too.”
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1:41 p.m. | Championship update
Gallatin and Billings Central have repeated as champions in their respective classifications with sweeps. (More to come on those wins).
Shepherd swept Townsend to force a second championship, which will begin soon.
And Circle holds a 2-1 lead in sets over Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine with the fourth set about to start.
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12:50 p.m. | Championship update
In Class C, both teams had their scoring runs, but Circle came out on top in the first set beating Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine 25-21.
Gallatin leads Great Falls CMR 20-16 after already winning the first set.
Billings Central takes a 2-0 lead over Havre with a 25-22 win in set two.
Same with Shepherd. Fillies have a 2-0 lead because of a 25-15 win over Townsend. Shepherd is on the verge of forcing a second championship match.
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12:30 | Championship update
You never know what shape these matches will take at the beginning. So many unknowns. How much momentum will carry over for the team that just won the third-place match? Or will their adrenaline drain out in between matches? How long will it take for the undefeated team, which sat out the first match of the day, to match the intensity of the team that has its legs under them already. Things like that.
Anyway, after one set ...
- Gallatin edged Great Falls CMR 25-21 in a back-and-forth set
- Billings Central defeated Havre 25-19
- Shepherd started strong, then held off Townsend 25-21
- Circle and Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine were just underway.
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11:55 p.m. | Trends
With the championship matches about to start, we'll have three programs aiming for repeat titles: Gallatin (AA), Billings Central (A) and Circle (C).
The last time three teams repeated as state champs happened in ....? Anyone? Anyone?
It happened as recently as 2022 when Billings Central (A), Huntley Project (B) and Manhattan Christian followed up their '21 titles with another.
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11:45 a.m. | Class C
Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine led 24-21 in the first set before losing, but that didn't seem to rattle the Bearcats. They rattled off three consecutive set victories to top Belt 3-1. DGSG sets up a date with defending champion Circle.
Belt finishes in third place bringing home the program's first trophy since 2019 when the Huskies also finished third. Belt had five consecutive years of trophies capped by that 2019 season.
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11:35 a.m. | Class AA and Class A
Great Falls CMR beats Bozeman in four sets and reaches the title match for the first time since winning it all in 2021. CMR will play Gallatin for the AA crown at noon. Bozeman takes home the third-place trophy after finishing as runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
In Class A, Havre defeated Frenchtown in four sets and will play in the championship match for the first time since the Blue Ponies finished second in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022. Havre meets Billings Central for the title at noon. For Frenchtown, the loss foiled the Broncs' plans on getting another shot at the title. Frenchtown lost to Billings Central in two matches last year.
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11:21 a.m. | Class B and Class C
Shepherd makes quick work of Jefferson in straight sets. The Panthers finish with Class B's third-place trophy. The Fillies will take on Townsend at noon after losing to the Bulldogs in Wednesday evening's second round in four sets.
In Class C, Denton-Geyser-Stanford has taken a commanding 2-1 lead over Belt. The Bearcats can taste the title game.
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10:54 a.m. | Class B and Class C
Shepherd looks ready to make a run at the Class B title. The Fillies are out to a 2-0 lead over Jefferson, though they'll need to beat Townsend twice.
On the Class C court, Denton-Geyser-Stanford and Belt are knotted at one set apiece. The winner gets defending champion Circle.
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10:50 a.m. | Class AA and Class A
It's Day 3, but there's a lot to play for and a lot of fight left in these teams. Bozeman and Great Falls CMR are tied at one set apiece on the AA court, as are Frenchtown and Havre on the A court.
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9:45 a.m. | Third-place matches
The winners of these 10 a.m. matches advance to the championship, while the losing team takes home the third-place trophy.
Class AA: Bozeman vs. Great Falls CMR (winner plays Gallatin at noon)
Class A: Frenchtown vs. Havre (winner plays Billings Central at noon)
Class B: Shepherd vs. Jefferson (winner plays Townsend at noon)
Class C: Belt vs. Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine (winner plays Circle at noon)
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