Belgrade Volleyball Upsets Billings West to Reach Class AA State

The scoreboard told two different stories Wednesday night at West High. Billings West jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the opening set and cruised to a 25-9 victory, looking every bit like the 2023 Class AA state champions the Golden Bears are. Then the sixth-seeded Belgrade Panthers flipped the script, winning three straight sets — 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 — to punch their ticket to the state tournament in Bozeman, swxlocalsports.com reported. It marks the first time since Belgrade joined the Class AA ranks in 2019 that the Panthers have reached the state volleyball tournament.

For a program that has waited seven seasons for this moment, the 3-1 road upset over the third-seeded Golden Bears carries real weight. Belgrade will travel to Bozeman on Nov. 12-14 as the Eastern AA four seed. West, meanwhile, sees its season end at home for the second straight year after falling short of returning to the state tournament.

From a 16-4 rout to a stunning reversal

West came out firing. The Golden Bears raced to that 16-4 cushion in the first set and never looked back, taking it 25-9. Nobody in the gym could have predicted what happened next.

Highlights: Belgrade volleyball upends Billings West in Class AA state play-in game

Belgrade found its rhythm in the second set behind a kill from Brynn Wiening, building a 20-16 advantage before holding off a late West push. Jayda Yonkaitis delivered a block on set point to give the Panthers a 25-19 win and even the match. The momentum never swung back.

The third set was Belgrade’s most dominant. The Panthers opened with a 6-0 run. Despite a kill from Reece Enderson sparking a West rally attempt, Belgrade stayed in control and won another set 25-19 to move ahead 2-1.

LIVE: Belgrade vs Billings West | 2026 High school Girls Volleyball

The fourth-set push that wasn’t enough

Belgrade kept the pressure on in the fourth, opening with a 10-3 run. West responded with a 7-1 stretch to cut the deficit to one, trailing 18-11, and made its push. But the Panthers held off the comeback attempt. After Avery Althans came through with a crucial kill, Belgrade finished the set 25-20 to clinch the upset.

The contrast is stark: a team that dominated the first set by 16 points watched a lower-seeded opponent win three consecutive sets by identical 25-19 scores before closing it out. 406mtsports.com captured Belgrade players and head coach Sarah Fowler huddled during the playoff game at West High, a scene that now belongs to a program that has finally broken through at the highest classification.

Belgrade at Billings West volleyball — Photo: 406mtsports.com

Seven years in the making

The timeline shows why this berth matters. Belgrade moved up to Class AA in 2019, and Wednesday’s win ended a seven-year wait for a state tournament appearance in the state’s largest classification. West, by comparison, won the 2023 Class AA state title but has now missed the tournament in back-to-back seasons despite entering Wednesday as the third seed.

Whether the Panthers can parlay this run into success in Bozeman remains the open question. But for now, Belgrade owns something it hasn’t had since before the pandemic: a seat at the Class AA state table.