HELENA — Tuesday’s crosstown volleyball win, a battle between the top two teams in Class AA — No. 1 Helena Capital and No. 2 Helena High — wasn’t enough for the hungry Bengals at Helena High. No, not the sweep, the domination or handing the rivals the first conference loss was satisfying enough.
“I mean, we’re still playing our hardest every game. We’re not going in thinking anything different,” said Helena outside hitter Abby Marcille. “We’re just playing our game.”
“We’re just going to keep our chemistry, keep putting the ball away and have as much intensity as we did in this game,” added setter Emily Feller.
Feller, Marcille and the Bengals stole the show on Tuesday night, with the setter tallying 30 assists, six to Marcille, including two of the biggest points of the match late in the second set. Jamie Pickens added a match-high 15 kills, while Vanessa Walsh, Katie Jenneskens and the Helena defense kept Capital’s powerful hitters at bay.
“I just knew that I had to get my hitters the best opportunities to put the ball away,” said Feller. “My passers were great, they were giving me the greatest passes ever. They were all behind me and I knew they were going to put the ball away.”
“The passers did a great job, Emily did a great job getting sets and mixing up the sets, seeing where the blockers on the other side were going,” said Marcille. “It just all worked out.”
The Bengals return to the court Thursday night to host Missoula Big Sky, aiming to keep their undefeated conference mark intact, while continuing the momentum through the rest of the regular season.
“This gives us the best opportunity. We have so much confidence to keep it rolling, keep it going, keep winning. It’s just great,” said Feller.
The Bengals and Eagles are slated to begin Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Helena High.
