BOZEMAN — Day 1 of the Montana all-class state volleyball tournaments is in progress at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, with 32 teams across four classifications battling for state championships.
We're here for the duration, bringing you live updates, scores, quotes and observations from the courts as the tournaments unfold. We'll get you caught up on the morning action and take you through the rest of the day's matches.
Stay with us — plenty of volleyball is left to play.
We'll update this post throughout the day with scores, quotes and courtside observations.
** Updated brackets and results: 2025 all-class state volleyball scores and pairings **
Photos: Day 1 of the 2025 all-class state volleyball tournaments
The most recent updates will appear at the top. Refresh regularly to follow along.
— Slim Kimmel, Alec Bofinger, Mike Scherting
11:43 p.m. | Final update from Day 1
We've added the last batch of photos from the 8 p.m. matches to the Day 1 gallery. View the gallery here.
Thursday's undefeated semifinal matches will take place at 6 p.m. Hear the matchups:
- Class AA — Bozeman vs. Gallatin
- Class A — Billings Central vs. Frenchtown
- Class B — Townsend vs. Jefferson
- Class C — Circle vs. Belt
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10:33 p.m. | Class C
Belt appeared to be down and out multiple times against Melstone in the final match of the day Wednesday.
But the Huskies rallied for a 22-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-19, 15-13 win to advance to the undefeated semifinal and secure a trophy for the first time since 2019.
"Before the game started, our handshake, one of the girls said, ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ I said, ‘It absolutely is,'" Belt coach Christine Gondeiro said. "The good teams don’t ever feel that pressure, and when you feel that pressure — it’s scary — but it usually means something amazing could happen if you just stay focused, keep your purpose, keep on that path and just go."
Aaliyah Gaylord had another 49 assists for Huskies, with Ashton Pasha putting down 25 kills. Belt will meet Circle, the 2024 state champion in Thursday's undefeated semifinal.
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10:04 p.m. | Class B
Jefferson and Baker saved the best for last.
Jefferson took a two-set lead, saw it evaporate, saved one match point in the decisive fifth set, then outlasted Baker 25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 26-28, 18-16 to reach the undefeated semifinal and earn the Panthers' first tournament trophy since 2021 when they took second place.
Jefferson put three players into double figures in kills with Allison Zawacki leading the way with 19. That helped off-set a whopping 49 kills from Baker's Madison O'Connor.
"Oh, my goodness, what a crazy match," Jefferson senior Aubrey Rosenbaum said. "We worked so hard. We just really focused on the next play, the next point. That's what we focused on, not the overall game, but just the next point and working together as a team."
Jefferson will play Southern B rival Townsend in Thursday's undefeated semifinal.
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9:36 p.m. | Class A
Frenchtown breezed by Polson 25-15, 25-17, 25-17 in the second round late Wednesday. The Broncs, who were the runners-up in 2024, lost their first set of the day but won their next six to get back into the undefeated semifinal, where they'll meet Billings Central again.
"There was definite unfinished business from last year," Frenchtown coach Morgan Job said. "So, coming into this season with a fresh start and just knowing what they’re capable of, and I think they’re ready to take it all the way, for sure."
The Broncs have a deep and powerful front line led by Mason Quinn, but it was Rachel Walls putting the hammer down on a point in the third set against Polson that inspired some looks of amazement.
"They’re capable of amazing things. What is fun about our offense is that I feel like there’s a threat at every single spot, and so it’s fun to watch them work as a team," Job said.
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9:24 p.m. | Class AA
Behind 13 kills from Kennedy Varda and seven blocks from Makayla Coleman, defending champion Gallatin rolled past Great Falls CMR 25-19, 25-14, 25-14 to reach the undefeated semifinals on Thursday night.
The Raptors were a steady force throughout the day, and coach Erika Gustavsen liked the way her team came out of the gates, considering they've had almost two weeks off following a playoff bye into the tournament.
"We had a really, really great first day," Gustavsen said. "I feel just really, really consistent and really composed. And I felt like all areas of our game were just really solid."
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8:51 p.m. | Class B
Jefferson takes a 2-0 lead over Baker in what has been a heavyweight battle. We already saw the Southern B's No. 4 seed Townsend advance to the undefeated semifinal. Can Jefferson, the South's No. 3 seed, finish off the Spartans and join the Bulldogs?
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8:48 p.m. | Photo update
Photos from the 6 p.m. matches have been added to our Day 1 photo gallery. View them all here.
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8:30 p.m.| 6 p.m. matches recap
Class AA: Bozeman def. Billings Senior 27-25, 25-21, 26-28, 25-19
Class A: Billings Central def. Hamilton 25-21, 25-15, 19-25, 25-16
Class B: Townsend def. Shepherd 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-23
Class C: Circle def. Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10
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8:25 p.m. | Quote
Townsend coach Megan Bleile took a tumble during a run through the celebration line after her Bulldogs toppled Shepherd to earn a trip to the undefeated semifinals. Despite being a fourth seed from the South coming into the tournament, Bleile's Bulldogs have yet to stumble.
Their most recent win, over Shepherd, was the second of the day over a divisional top seed.
"We beat two No. 1s, that's kind of cool," said Bleile, who flashed a big smile while sitting on the court floor after her fall. "I think when you're a fourth from the South, I mean, you're not a typical four seed because we have a pretty strong division. So our division has prepared us well for just all the competition around the state."
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8:18 p.m. | Class A
Billings Central entered the tournament having won a state trophy for the nine previous seasons. Make it an even 10 now, as the Rams defeated Hamilton 25-21, 25-15, 19-25, 25-16 to reach Thursday's undefeated semifinal, guaranteeing at least a third-place finish.
A win tomorrow sends the Rams to the championship match for the 10th straight season.
"No matter how good we were in the past, that doesn't matter," Rams coach Anita Foster said. "That doesn't determine how good we're going to be this season. So I think they do a really good job of staying focused on they've got to make it happen right now. I mean, there are some great teams here."
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8:04 p.m. | Class AA
Bozeman def. Billings Senior 27-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-19
Bozeman has taken second each of the past two years but had to rally back through loser-out play to get to the championship match. This year, the Hawks are into the undefeated semifinal. West Virginia commit Nula Anderson had 27 kills as Bozeman earned the four-set win over Billings Senior.
"They played incredible," Bozeman coach Devin Dynan said. "I thought they stayed really composed, really confident, and most of all really aggressive. That's the biggest deal — when you get down and you stop swinging, that's, I think, when you starting losing games. They kept swinging and they kept a confidence in each other. ... The last two years, we've done it the hard way and we've lost this game and come back through the back, so that feels really, really good."
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7:36 p.m. | Class B
Townsend holds off a furious Shepherd rally in the fourth set to beat the Fillies in four. The Bulldogs are in tomorrow's undefeated semifinal.
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7 p.m. | Class AA
A lot of smiles and high-5s on the Bozeman bench after Lowe LeFeber helped thwart Billings Senior down the stretch for a 25-21 win in Set 2. The Hawks are up 2-0 after rallying from a 23-16 deficit in the first set for a 27-25 win.
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6:45 p.m. | Class B
The Townsend student section likes it as their Bulldogs pull even 1-1 in sets with Shepherd. The Fillies tried to rally in Set 2, but Townsend closed it out.
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6:40 p.m. | Class A
Hamilton played with a lot of energy in the first set but couldn't match defending champ Billings Central on the scoreboard. The Rams win the opening set 25-21 on a powerful Kamryn Reinker kill.
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6:10 p.m. | Second round gets started
The second round, featuring first-round winners, is underway. At stake are trips to Thursday's all-important undefeated semifinal round.
- Class AA: Billings Senior vs. Bozeman in progress; Bozeman Gallatin vs. Great Falls CMR, 8 p.m.
- Class A: Hamilton vs. Billings Central, in progress; Polson vs. Frenchtown, 8 p.m.
- Class B: Townsend vs. Shepherd, in progress; Jefferson vs. Baker, 8 p.m.
- Class C: Circle vs. Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine vs. Cirlce, in progress; Melstone vs Baker, 8 p.m.
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6 p.m. | 4 p.m. matches recap
Class AA: Great Falls CMR def. Missoula Sentinel 25-23, 25-20, 25-14
Class A: Frenchtown def. Miles City 15-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-22
Class B: Baker def. Anaconda 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-13
Class C: Belt def. Gardiner 25-18, 25-17, 15-25, 25-18
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5:40 p.m. | Class C final
Belt defeated Gardiner 25-18, 25-17, 15-25, 25-18 in the final first-round match on the Class C court. Huskies senior setter Aaliyah Gaylord has played on the varsity since her eighth-grade year and recently surpassed 4,000 career assists. She was again superb Wednesday, tallying 34 assists in Belt's first-round win.
"She’s in the driver’s seat. She’s got the wheel in her hands, and she’s leading us in a good way," Belt coach Christine Gondeiro said. "She understands the game, she has a high IQ. Like that back-handed, one-hand set that we saw, she’s just amazing. It’s really propelled our program forward to have someone understand the game, grow her skills so much and lead us the way that she leads us."
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5:20 p.m. | Class AA final
Great Falls CMR made it a first-round clean sweep of the Eastern AA over the Western AA with a 25-23, 25-20, 25-14 win over Missoula Sentinel. The Rustlers will face defending champ Bozeman Gallatin in the second round at 8 o'clock tonight.
CMR coach Danielle Woods: "I just told my girls, I was like, 'you're going to have to show up and no slow starts.' You can't have a lot of mistakes. You've got to play a near-perfect game to beat them, but they're up for the challenge."
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5:12 p.m. | Class B
Baker well on its way to a four-set win over Anaconda. The Spartans lost the first set but look to have settled in. That makes the Southern B a perfect 4-for-4 in the opening round, setting up an all-Southern B second round later tonight. Update: Baker closed out a 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-13 win to advance to a second-round matchup with Jefferson.
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5 p.m. | Class A
Frenchtown, last year's runner- up, is in a 1-1 battle with Miles City. Following the previous five-setter, the Class A court seeing some competitive matches.
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4:17 p.m. | 2 p.m. matches recap
The first batch of photos from the day has been uploaded. We'll continue to update the gallery throughout the rest of Wednesday's action. Click here to view the gallery.
Class AA: Gallatin def. Kalispell Glacier 25-15, 25-15, 25-15
Class A: Polson def. Havre 25-22, 13-25, 27-29, 28-26, 15-11
Class B: Jefferson def. Choteau 25-11, 25-21, 25-11
Class C: Melstone def. Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale 21-25, 30-28, 25-20, 25-19
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4:02 p.m. | Class A final
Polson def. Havre 25-22, 13-25, 27-29, 28-26, 15-11
Polson junior McKenna Corley, who had 30 kills: "It was intense. I think it's important to gather on your teammates, important to unify in a game like that, important to stay calm, collected. I think at the end, we kind of came together and we realized it was next-ball mentality."
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3:54 p.m. | Class B final
Jefferson def. Choteau 25-11, 25-21, 25-11
Jefferson coach Mike Majors: “We don’t try to fool too many people. We just go to our bread-and-butter hitters and hope they can get it done.”
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3:33 p.m. | Class C final
Melstone topped Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale 21-25, 30-28, 25-20, 25-19. The Broncs feature a trio of impressive hitters that helped overwhelm the Mavericks. Of note — the Mavericks were the only team to beat defending champion Circle this season.
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3:20 p.m. | Class AA final
Gallatin def. Kalispell Glacier 25-15, 25-15, 25-15
Gallatin coach Erika Gustavsen: "I told (the team) that was a very consistent match — I mean, 25-15 all three. I feel like we’re just a very composed group. We don’t have a lot of highs of highs, we don’t have a lot of lows, which is great for me as a coach because volleyball is so momentum driven. ... We know that it’s one match at a time here, survive and advance, so the only match we’re looking at is the one we’re in."
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2:50 p.m. | Jefferson
Huntley Project might not be at the state tournament, but the Southern B is still flexing its muscles. Jefferson, the third seed from the South, has a 2-0 lead in sets over the North's No. 1, Choteau. Earlier today Townsend, No. 4 from the South, beat the West's top seed Florence. South No. 1 Shepherd also won.
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2:35 p.m. | Gallatin
Reigning Class AA state champion Gallatin enters the tournament with just one loss this season, and it's easy to see why. The Raptors are out to an early lead over Kalispell Glacier in the first round, and they've so far showed a disciplined, business-like approach.
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2:20 p.m. | Trends
It’s definitely a bit weird not seeing the Huntley Project colors roaming around Worthington Arena. The Red Devils have been a staple at the Brick since the Montana High School Association put all four tournaments under one roof beginning in 2004: Coach Iona Stookey had brought her team here every year since then (barring the COVID year of 2020 when the four state tournaments were held in separate locations), until this season.
But the Red Devils lost out in the Southern B divisional tournament last week, ending a remarkable run for the program. They have appeared in the past 16 Class B championship matches, winning 12 of them, including the past four, and have finished worse than third just one time in the previous 21 seasons.
Overall, the Red Devils have a 72-12 record at the Brick, an amazing winning percentage of .857.
Shepherd, Baker, Jefferson and Townsend advanced out of the South this year, and the Bulldogs and Fillies won their first-round matches.
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1:56 p.m. | Quote
"I think that was a tall order for us. I told them, if they came to play, these are the best teams in the state, whatever teams came to play, it's anybody's. And they came to play." — Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine coach Connie Becker, whose team beat Manhattan Christian in the first round and advanced to play Circle at 6 p.m. tonight
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1:45 PM | Match scores
We'll catch you up with the early results:
Class AA
- Billings Senior def. Missoula Hellgate 25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 25-13
- Bozeman def. Helena 25-15, 25-9, 25-9
Class A
- Billings Central def. Dillon 25-9, 25-16, 25-7
- Hamilton def. Laurel 25–17, 13-25, 25-23, 25-13
Class B
- Townsend def. Florence 25-22, 25-17, 25-23
- Shepherd def. Fairfield 25-13, 25-9, 25-15
Class C
- Circle def. Chester-Joplin-Inverness 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19
- Manhattan Christian vs. Denton-Geyser def. Manhattan Christian 21-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-16
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