Lady Prospectors outlast clash with Charlo, advance at Divisional

MANHATTAN CHRISTIAN – The Lady Prospectors had been having bad luck with five set matches of late, but that all changed Thursday afternoon.

Granite held off a charge by the Charlo Lady Vikings to win its Western Division opener 3-2 and advance to the Winner’s Bracket semifinal Thursday night.

The match was hard-fought throughout, with the two squads having faced each other three time previously in the regular season. Granite won all three.

But Charlo was not just going to roll over and play dead. They battle the Lady Prospectors throughout each set, with Granite winning the first two and the Lady Vikings the third.

Charlo stayed right with the Lady Prospectors in the fourth, trailing for spells before finally tying it up and winning in overtime 26-24 to force a fifth and deciding set.

Charlo opened up a 6-1 lead to start, taking full control of the set. But Granite battled back to eventually knot the score at 12-12. The Lady Prospectors got the next two points on a tactical push by sophomore Addi Lilyquist and a monster kill by Addison Spehar to lead 14-12. Charlo came out of a timeout to score once, forcing GHS Head Coach Kaley Hansen into a timeout for her team.

But the final point was logged by a resounding kill from Montannah Piar that sealed the deal.

Ella Tallon continued her assault on Granite's record books, logging a school best 39 assists in the victory, A fair portion of those went to Montannah Piar with 17 kills and Ramsey Smith with 12. Smith also added seven blocks while Piar led in digs with 26. Tallon and Addi Lilyquist each had three aces.

Granite plays the winner of the Manhattan Christian-Valley Christian match Thursday night at 7:30.

Charlo falls into the Consolation Bracket and will play the loser of the same match in an elimination bout.

SCORING

Charlo - 23/22/25/26/13 - 2

Granite - 25/25/22/24/15 - 3