2019 Huntley ProjectVolleyball State Champions. (Jonathan McNiven Photo)
Huntley Project High School’s volleyball team ended their season in a historic fashion, bringing home their third consecutive state title and notching their 100th consecutive win in the process! The last time Huntley Project lost a single game was in the 2016 state championship game.Since 2003, Huntley Project has won a whopping 12 state championships. This ties Huntley’s amazing volleyball coach Iona Stookey with former Billings Senior High coach Jeff Carroll for the most state championships ever earned. Much of Huntley’s success can be attributed to the phenomenal dynasty Stookey has built over the years since coming to the Red Devils in 1990.
Stookey played collegiate volleyball at Montana State University – Billings from 1986 to 1989, during which time she was also coaching at Shepherd High School, where she became a head coach at the age of 19. After her collegiate career, Stookey took a job as a teacher and volleyball coach at Huntley Project in the fall of 1990. She immediately made an impact, making it to the state tournament in both of her first two years before coming home with the 3rd place trophy in her third year, 1992.
This year marks Iona Stookey and her dynasty’s 20th straight year of making it to the state tournament. This includes their 16 district tournament wins, 16 divisional tournament wins, four 3rd place state trophies, four 2nd place state trophies, and 12 state championships. Stookey is not only currently sitting on a 100 game win streak, but also an astounding 836-167 total record as a head coach in the 30 years she has been with the Red Devils. When asked what she credits with the success of her squads year after year, Stookey said, “For me, I think success breeds success. We’ve got a great community backing. I’ve been lucky enough to teach amazing, smart kids, I’ve had great assistants. I love what I do and it’s still fun.”
Stookey’s “luck” in combination with her extraordinary coaching skills and great staff have led to her 2006 induction into the MSU-B Athletics Hall of Fame and Distinction, her 2017 induction into the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame. This years also marks Stookey’s fourth nomination for National Coach of the Year, but the results for that will not be revealed until a July banquet in Omaha.
When asked about whether or not future plans hold retirement or moving on to another school, possibly at the collegiate level, Stookey says she plans on staying right where she is, probably not what her competition was hoping to hear. “I couldn’t imagine not teaching or coaching, I love it. I’ve been here for 30 years and I’m not ready to go anywhere else.”
Huntley Project parents, students and fans pose with the championship team in recognition of Iona Stookey and Huntley Project’s 100 undefeated win record they achieved while winning the state Championship Game. (Jonathan McNiven Photo)
