M-ettes nearly pick up two wins

The Malta M-ettes volleyball season is in full swing and the team nearly came away with two wins during their first regular season games.

The team sent their home opener against the Glasgow Lady Scotties into extra serves last Thursday at the Malta High School gymnasium, but ultimately the team fell 17-15 in the fifth frame, losing 3-2. Malta senior Sam Mitchell, the M-ettes' primary setter, was asked about their near-win against a tough team.

"It feels amazing because when we played them in Chinook we didn't play as well," said Mitchell. "To compare last weekend to this one, seeing how much we have grown in that time is just amazing to see."

Malta would go on to defeat the Poplar Indians last Saturday 3-0.

In the team's home opener against the Lady Scotties, senior Ella Schye led Malta with 20 digs, 10 kills and six blocks.

Sam Mitchell had 13 assists. Janessa Malmend, Mitchell and Kyleigh Schipman each had three aces.

The team had 88 digs, 13 aces, 27 assists, 34 kills and seven blocks.

Glasgow won the opening set 25-12.

"We don't fire up (quickly)," Mitchell said after the game. "It takes a little bit for us to fire up. In the first game we fell behind and we weren't in it. After that we just fired up."

Malta was aggressive in the second set and won 25-17. A spark was lit in between the first two sets after the team's huddle.

"We talked about how we needed to play our game and that we needed to have fun because we don't really play as well if we are not having fun," Schye said. "We just needed to have some confidence."

The M-ettes brought the hammer down in the last point of the second frame, telegraphing hits. It eventually paid off on a game sealing kill from Schye.

Malta dropped the third frame 20-25 after leading by as much as three points and won the fourth set 25-21.

Malta's senior class weren't alone in the effort as many of the younger players also stood out in the team's effort against Glasgow.

"I think they played great," Schye said. "It was awesome. I am so proud of them and I am so lucky to have them as teammates."

In the team's win over Poplar, the M-ettes were able to lock things up in three sets, the scores being 25-19, 25-20 and 26-24.

Schye had a team leading 12 kills and all four team blocks, Kloie Marks led in digs with 10, Schipman had 14 assists and Mitchell had five aces. Malta had 54 digs, 34 kills, 28 assists, 14 aces and four blocks.

Schye was asked about playing Poplar after their loss to Glasgow.

"We gotta come out, block big, play our best and be the best we can be," Schye said.

The M-ettes are slated to face Harlem in Malta on Thursday, September 14, with games starting at 3:30 p.m. They will then travel to Wolf Point on Saturday, September 16, to battle the Lady Wolves at 1 p.m. They also have a game against Chinook in Chinook on Tuesday, September 19, set for 4:30 p.m.