CJI Sports

PDB Stuns Cascade With Reverse Sweep on Day 1 of 10C Volleyball Tournament

Chad Smith

— 3 min read
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PDB Stuns Cascade With Reverse Sweep on Day 1 of 10C Volleyball Tournament
PDB's Emily Gilbert (4) goes up for an attack against the Cascade block in Thursday's quarterfinal at the District 10C Volleyball Tournament in the CJI gym. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

By Chad Smith / HLSN Sports

Power/Dutton-Brady pulled off the upset of the opening day at the 2026 District 10C Volleyball Tournament in the CJI gym on Thursday, rallying from two sets down to beat second-seeded Cascade 3-2 in a quarterfinal match that closed out the day. After dropping the first two sets, 26-24 and 25-23, PDB won three straight, 25-17, 25-17, and 15-12, to complete the reverse sweep and earn a winners bracket semifinal matchup with top-seeded CJI.

Cascade looked in control early, edging PDB in two tight sets to open the match. The third seed regrouped from there, running away with the third and fourth sets by identical 25-17 scores before holding on in the deciding fifth set. The result drops Cascade into the losers bracket, where the Badgers will try to fight their way back to a possible rematch with PDB.

Gilbert swings at the net during PDB's 3-2 win over Cascade. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Cascade's Addisen Johnson (4) attacks at the net against PDB's Marghe Re (7). Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

CJI, the top seed with a first-round bye, opened its tournament with a straight-set quarterfinal win over Simms, 25-15, 25-21, 25-23, without senior Brynn Kammerzell, who sat out with a sprained ankle. The Hawks leaned on a deep supporting cast in her absence. Sophomore Audrey Young, junior Scarlet Sundgren, sophomore Brooke Streit, senior Brie Mattson, sophomore Timber Hull, and senior setter Piper Erickson all had strong matches. Senior co-liberos Mercedes Riggin and Kyra Anderson anchored the back row, while junior Parker Kantorowicz started in Kammerzell's spot and sophomore Kingslee Horel also saw time there. CJI has not dropped a set to a district opponent this season, and its only sets lost in regular-season play came against Northern C rival Belt.

Junior Parker Kantorowicz (13) takes the floor during CJI's starting lineup introductions before the Hawks' win over Simms. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Sophomore Audrey Young (8) rises for a kill during CJI's win over Simms. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Young was a force at the net throughout the match, shown here with another kill shot. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Senior setter Piper Erickson (1) delivers a set during CJI's win over Simms. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

The other first-round matches were straight-set wins for the higher seeds. Cascade opened with a 25-8, 25-0, 25-11 win over Heart Butte, PDB took down Sunburst 25-8, 25-18, 25-11, and fourth-seeded Simms topped Augusta 25-14, 25-17, 25-11 in the first match of the day.

The tournament continues Friday, Oct. 30, with the losers bracket in the afternoon and CJI taking on PDB in the evening. The tournament wraps up Saturday, Oct. 31, with the remaining losers bracket game followed by the matches that decide third place and the District 10C championship. The tournament leads into next week's Northern C divisional tournament, to be held in Belt.

Click here for a gallery of quarterfinal action photos.

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