BOZEMAN — The girls at Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine and Circle have become well-acquainted over the past 12 months.
The newly formed rivals met with another title on the line Saturday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University, and the Bearcats ultimately capped another undefeated season with a hard-fought win over Circle.
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"We just seem to keep playing them in everything," D-G-S-G coach Connie Becker said. "We're becoming quite familiar with each other. They're great athletes, fun to play, good matchup for us. It's a good thing, good competition."
D-G-S-G earned a 25-16, 22-25, 25-22, 25-15 win for their second state championship in eight months. The Bearcats also defeated Circle for the Class C girls basketball title in March.
In Saturday's title match, BriElla Becker, the coach's daughter, put down 19 kills, served up four aces and dug up 36 balls. Ella Smith added 19 kills and six blocks.
It was the first state volleyball championship in the co-op's history. Stanford individually won the only volleyball title among the four schools in 1994.
"There's so many people here from all four towns, and they're so excited for us," coach Becker said. "Each year we kept getting closer and better, and it's such a special group. We are so deep. It means a lot to all of them that traveled down here and all the families and towns, for sure."
This was the third consecutive state volleyball tournament in which D-G-S-G and Circle have faced each other. The Wildcats defeated the Bearcats in the second round in 2024 and then beat them in both the second round and championship in 2025.
Circle, which was led by Kate Nasner's 20 kills in the championship match, defeated Manhattan Christian in the earlier third-place match.
"We knew they were going to bring it. They're a great team, we match up well with them," Connie Becker said. "I knew we had the advantage since they had just played. And figured (D-G-S-G) would dig in and deliver, and they did. I'm very proud of them."
