With one obstacle cleared, Billings Senior volleyball coach Jeff Carroll thinks his team can clear some others now.

The Broncs won an Eastern AA playoff Thursday night, sweeping the Butte Bulldogs at the Senior gym for a victory that sends the four-time state champions back to the state tournament.

The 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 victory gave the Broncs, who graduated five starters from last year's championship team, the No. 3 seed from the Eastern AA, and they'll start their drive for a fifth straight crown Nov. 12 against Missoula Hellgate (18-7).

"All I know is we're going to state and that's something that certainly puts a smile on my face," Carroll said. "That's what we wanted most of all for these kids is to just have the opportunity to defend that title."

Fourth-ranked Senior (21-9) started strong, taking an 8-1 lead in the first game, and was never really in danger of losing a game. The Broncs used their middle hitters to great effect, getting a match-high 10 kills from Elayna Rice and another nine from Noel Eaton. Dani Ostwalt, an outside hitter, also had nine kills as the Broncs out-hit Butte 43-17.

"We didn't play to our full potential, I don't think, but we definitely got it done like we should have," Eaton said. "We really needed to cut down on our own errors. We definitely cut down on that a lot, but we still can improve on that."

Four Senior players had at least three kills in the first game. Chazlyn Miller got her three kills during a stretch that saw Senior extend a 9-5 lead to 16-6. In the second game the Broncs gave up consecutive points to Butte just twice and they stormed to the victory after the Bulldogs had pulled within 13-11. Senior held a 17-9 lead in the third game, and though the Bulldogs closed to within four points on four occasions, closed the match with the final two points.

"We played hard and we just kept the energy the way we needed," said Rice, who added a team-high four blocks to her kill total. "Granted, we still need to finish better, but I think we did a pretty good job tonight."

Broncs setter Allison Kottke had 35 assists to go along with four well-timed dump points, and Jessica Kennedy led the team with eight digs. Kari Sparrow's two aces led the Broncs, who trailed just twice in the match, both at 1-0 to start the second and third games.

Shelby Nicholls and Micaul McClafferty had four kills each to lead Butte (7-16), which struggled most of the match to put together a consistent attack.

The Broncs have won two straight matches after suffering through a stretch where they had lost four of five matches. The lone win was a five-game victory over the Bulldogs in Butte three weeks ago.

"We knew could get it done, we just never really put it together on the court," Eaton said. "So tonight we did that, and we're really ready to go to state."

Billings Senior def. Butte

25-15, 25-16, 25-19

Butte (7-16) - Kills: 17 (Shelby Nicholls 4, Micaul McClafferty 4). Assists: 14 (Calley Bosch 10). Digs: 20 (Alex Thatcher 6, Laura Regan 6). Blocks: 2 (Bosch 1, Nicholls 1). Aces: 6 (Regan 2).

Billings Senior (21-9) - Kills: 43 (Elayna Rice 10, Noel Eaton 9, Dani Ostwalt 9). Assists: 36 (Allison Kottke 35). Digs: 33 (Jessica Kennedy 8, Ostwalt 7). Blocks: 6 (Rice 4, Chazlyn Miller 3). Aces: 6 (Kari Sparrow 2).