Team secures first two district wins

In any sport, it is crucial to get wins in your own division or district, not overlooking any opponent or taking them for granted.

Last week the M-ettes defeated Harlem and Poplar, while dropping a game against Chinook, who isn’t a district foe.

“These games were important because it helps us practice and get better for harder teams that we will meet in divisionals,” said Markelle Lett, who is the M-ette team setter and captain.

They will see tougher competition this week as they take on Glasgow in Glasgow on Thursday and Plentywood in Malta on Saturday.

In their win against Poplar last Saturday, Malta pulled it off in three games, the score being 25-16, 25-11 and 25-17.

“I think we did good,” Lett told the PCN. “We started slow, but not as slow as we did in Halrem, we picked it up.”

Lett led the team in three categories, including aces, in which she had seven of 18, digs 11 of 40 and assists 13 of 29.

“As a setter you’re a captain because you have to get every second hit off the ball and you have to be loud all the time until we set the ball, so the team isn’t confused.”

Lett believes that in order for the team to improve they must work on their communication.

“We don’t talk as much as we should, so it throws us off,” she said.

She also admitted that the team needs to keep up their intensity no matter who they face.

Larimie Scheffelmear led the team in kills with nine of 29. She and Darby Schye led the team in blocks, having two a piece.

“This was one of our better games,” said Malta Head Coach Julia Tatafu. We came out mentally strong and these are great games with Harlem and Poplar, where everybody gets playing time. I like to be able to put everybody in if I can.”

She was also proud to say that for homecoming being such a long week, the team came out and took care of business.

“They were mentally tired, but once we stepped on the court, they got business done,” Coach Tatafu said.

She went on to say that it was a great homecoming week and the team appreciated the support they got from the fans and cheerleaders.

“It takes a lot of people to do these games and we appreciate the help and support,” Coach Tatafu said.

In their win against Harlem, Malta took the match in three games, 25-16, 25-11 and 17-25.

Scheffelmear had nine of 29 team. She also tied Schye for the team lead in blocks with two.

Markelle Lett had 11 of 40 digs, 13 of 29 assists and seven of 18 aces.

The Junior varsity and C-squad also won their games against Harlem.

The JV scores were, 19-25, 25-15, 15-7 and 15-12. The C-squad scores were 25-18, 26-24, 13-15, 13-15 and 15-13.

In Malta’s loss to Chinook last Tuesday September 9, the varsity scores were 13-25, 25-13, 21-25 and 23-25.

Scheffelmear had 10 kills out of 30.

Schye led the team with five blocks out of 14.

Kourtney Simonson had 17 of 84 digs.

Markelle Lett had four aces out of eight.

Kelsey Kuehn had 12 of 26 assists.

“We need to be more consistent on our serves, that’s something we can control,” said Coach Tatafu. Also we need to be talking and communicating louder.

She also noted that a key factor in their loss to Chinook was the amount of dropped balls during the game, though they did improve against Harlem and Poplar later in the week.

The team’s game against Glasgow starts tomorrow at 7:00 p.m.

Coach Tatafu made note of the fact that Glasgow is younger this year, but the team isn’t taking them for granted.

“We played Glasgow in Chinook,” Tatafu told the PCN. “They’re younger but you can never underestimate them. Laurie (Dailey) is a great coach and they will keep improving each game.”

The team will be without two of their seniors due to injury, but according to Tatafu, they will likely see the court later in the season.

“It’s hard playing in their gym, They’ve got a great crowd. They’re loud. It should be a good game.”

Malta’s home game against Plentywood will start around 4:00 p.m, with the C-squad kicking things off at 1:00 p.m.

Malta won close games against Plentywood at the Malta Invitational only winning by three points in those games.

The player to look out for will be Lindsay Wangerin, who is a big hitter, playing the outside position.

“If we can put a strong blocker against her and shut her down, usually that’s what controls their game,” said Coach Tatafu.