M-ettes Defeat Lady Mavs 3-1

The Malta M-ettes and North Country volleyball teams met in Malta last Thursday, September 29. This time around, the Malta M-ettes avenged their first and only loss of the season, defeating the Mavs 3-1.

The scores were M 17 NC 25, M 25 NC 17, M 25 NC 21, and M 25 NC 20.

The M-ettes were led by Isabel Hansen and Alli Kunze who both had nine kills. Kennedy Koss had 22 digs, Hansen had 19 digs, and Tia Siewing had 17 digs.

"We were all sick this week so we all thought that we were going to come out and lose, so we just decided to leave everything out on the court," Co-Captain Hansen said. "We really worked hard this game."

According to Malta Head Coach Mary Grace Kalal, Malta had over 20 digs per set, which she said were good numbers.

The Mavs were led by Teagan Erickson, who had a game-leading 21 kills. She also had 14 digs and four aces. Paige Wasson had 14 kills and 18 assists. Libero Kora LaBrie had 27 digs. Wasson also tied with BaiLee McColly for one block. Kendall Scheffelmear had eight kills and Mattea McColly had five.

"We fell a little short in this match and didn't convert on execution when we needed too," North Country Mavericks Coach Charlene Wasson said. "We served a little tough from the service line to win tight matches like these. Our sets were too close to the net, but all in all we were making progress towards getting our movements and timing better as a team overall."

Malta was tasked with trying to slow down the aggressive net play of Erickson and Wasson. Malta freshman Denvyr Tuss, another captain selected that night, was often in the middle against the hard hitting Mavericks Duo. She was asked what was key to defending against them.

"Timing and knowing that mistakes happen," Tuss said. "It can be pretty intimidating, but it's fun and it gives me experience."

Hanson was asked if the team was nervous about facing the then undefeated Mavericks or if they wanted to chop the tree down.

"We wanted to chop the tree down," Hanson said. "We didn't even know that they were undefeated but we just wanted to win."

Tuss was asked if they had been looking forward to this match to avenge their loss to the Mavs on September 13.

"We have been waiting for this one and working hard in practice to get them back on our home court," Tuss said.

The Malta M-ettes went on to defeat the Roundup Panthers 3-0 in Malta on Saturday, October 1. The scores were 25-6, 25-5, and 25-21.

Kunze led Malta with 11 kills. Rylee Hines had 17 assists, and Siewing had 10 digs.

"We executed at the net and with our serves. We rarely saw the ball come back over to our side until that third set," Coach Kalal said.

Coach Kalal asked the team what happened in the third set, and the team said that they went cold defensively because of the Panthers inability to pass and attack in the first two sets.

Malta will face the Cut Bank Lady Wolves in Cut Bank on Friday, October 7. They will then host the Wolf Point Wolves in Malta on Saturday, October 8, at 1 p.m. They are also scheduled to go to Harlem on Tuesday, October 11, to face the Lady Wildcats. The Harlem game starts at 4:30 p.m.

North Country went on to take on Froid/Medicine Lake last Saturday, October 1, and lost in five sets. The scores were NC 25 FML 21, NC 23 FML 25, NC 25 FML 23, NC 21 FML 25, and NC 10 FML 15.

"This was a fun match for us and we played better as a whole unit than in our match on Thursday," Coach Wasson said. "Our timing on our hits was great and our passing was a lot cleaner throughout the match. We fell short at executing when we needed a side out or defensive dig."

Wasson led the charge with a triple-double consisting of 21 kills, 17 assists, and 10 digs. Erickson also had 21 kills, a mark that she also had against Malta. Erickson also had 14 digs.

LaBrie had 17 digs. Kennedy Simonson and Berkley Hillman each had 10 assists.

"These last two matches we've played this week have shown how to defend tough offensive teams that really mix it up and use a variety of hits to get the points scored," Coach Wasson said. "It was a great defensive learning match for sure."

Now 9-2, the Mavericks will look to bounceback in Frazer this week against the Bearcubs on Thursday, October 6, at 6 p.m. The team will also face the Brockton Warriors in Hinsdale on Friday, October 7, at 6 p.m. Both games this week will be varsity only.