Malta has rough outing at Dickinson Invite

The Malta M-ettes had a rough week as the team saw a tough Chinook team last Tuesday in Malta. The M-ettes lost 3-0 with scores of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-13.

The Dickinson Invitational was a rough outing for the M-ettes as the team dropped games to Oak, Grove, Beach and Century in pool play.

"It was kind of a rough tournament," M-ette Head Coach Tasha Hines said. "It kind of started with Chinook. The communication wasn't great."

The team had issues with sickness and injuries throughout the week.

"Ella (Schye) sprained her ankle on Friday," Coach Hines said."So she was out all day on Saturday. The girls were sick. All of us had colds and both of Shay (Garfield's) knees were killing her."

Coach Hines praised the event coordinators for their help with the team's injuries.

"Dickinson was really good," Coach Hines said. "They had an athletic trainer there and he evaluated her ankle."

She went on to say that it was hard for the team to get going.

To add insult to injury, the team's Libero Raleigh Hunter injured her shoulder during the weekend.

"It was just kind of crazy," Coach Hines said. "She went back in and finished the games.

The scores from the Oak Grove game were 10-25, 7-25 and 16-25. The scores from the Beach game were 25-22, 25-21 and 25-23. The scores from the Century were 25-6, 25-4 and 25-5.

The team then lost games to Turtle Mountain, Glasgow and Stanley on Saturday during the event's tournament.

The scores in the Turtle Mountain game were 25-19 and 25-12. The scores in the Glasgow game were 25-13 and 25-20. The scores in the Stanley game were 21-25, 25-11 and 14-24.

In their final game against Stanley the M-ettes won their first set in over a week, which was encouraging for the players and coaches.

"In our last match against Stanley, our third and final match of the day, they got it together. They finally found it," Coach Hines said. "I was happy for them to be able to do that because they have really gone through some rough patches. I was proud of them to pull through for that final match, they just left it all out on the court."

The tournament also had a familiar foe in the Glasgow Scotties.

"It's funny to travel a couple hundred miles and you still run into Glasgow," Coach Hines said. "We enjoy running into them, no matter where."

Not 100 percent, the M-ettes knew that they had to get something going.

"We sat down and had some good talks about what we needed to do next to grow from the experience," Coach Hines said. "They did. They brought it and I was happy for them."

The team will be cautious with the injuries on the team and Schye will likely be limited in practice to help her recovery.

The team was able to bring up a few JV players and several saw playing time.

"They were fortunate with everything," Coach Hines said. They got to see a lot of varsity time and that was exciting to them."

The M-ettes will face the Mavericks, who are also battling a few injuries of their own. The game is set to start at 4 p.m. in Whitewater.

"I know they have a couple of tall girls and they're kind of like us, growing," Coach Hines said.

The M-ettes will have a chance to avenge their loss to Wolf Point on Saturday in Wolf Point. The last time these teams met Wolf Point won 3-1 and the M-ettes lost focus after a call didn't go their way.

"That was a match where we should have had one more opportunity," Coach Hines said. "I'm kind of excited to see what happens in Wolf Point."