Mavs Second at 1C Tournament

The North Country Mavericks Volleyball team overcame some adversity in the 1C District Tournament, an event that featured 11 teams each trying to earn one of three spots in this weekend's Eastern C Tournament in Culbertson.

The Mavericks will enter the Eastern C as the 1C's second seed after their championship loss to Froid-Lake, a team that defeated the Mavericks twice in the tournament last weekend in Plentywood.

Mavericks Head Coach Charlene Wasson was asked how the team felt after last weekend's tournament.

"We felt like we put on a very good showing at Districts ending up where we were seeded," Coach Wasson said. "Those two matches with Froid/Med Lake on Saturday were tough losses because we were in each of the sets and if a few things went our way, we would've won the set. (The scores from the two games were) 23-25, 23-25, 18-25, 21-25, 22-25 and 25-27.

"I was super proud of the kids. The last match was tough both physically and mentally since it was our third match of the day and back to back after we beat Plentywood, which was also a good match," Coach Wasson continued.

The Mavs will open the 2022 Eastern C Divisional Tournament against the Jordan Mustangs on Thursday, November 3. Jordan faced a similar situation in the 2C tournament, as the team lost twice to Circle, who eventually took second place in that tourney.

"We've played Jordan in the past at divisionals about two years ago," Coach Wasson said. "They have three hitters that are decent. I would say they are a lot like Scobey. They have some weapons and are good servers."

In the 1C Championship game held last Saturday night, the Mavericks lost 3-0 to the Froid-Medicine Lake Redhawks. The scores were 21-25, 22-25, and 25-27.

The Mavs were led by Paige Wasson who had seven kills, 12 assists, eight digs, and four aces. Teagan Erickson had six kills, Kora LaBrie had nine digs.

"Froid/Med Lake has four seniors that have been playing varsity since freshmen," Coach Wasson said. "They have worked over the last four years on some really quick offensive tools and have become very consistent at executing those tools."

Coach Wasson described Froid-Medicine Lake's leader and what the Mavericks learned from facing the Redhawks, this time around.

"Dasani Nesbit is a great hitter and powerful," Coach Wasson said. "Where they place the ball is hard to defend when we have only a few seconds to make an adjustment. I believe our kids learned that they need to be more consistent in executing as well. When we have a lead or the points go back and forth in the set, at some point we have to execute to get ahead, and then stay ahead no miscues can happen when you play teams like that."

To reach the 1C championship, North Country first defeated Scobey 3-0 in the second round of the tournament last Thursday. The scores were 25-17, 25-21, and 25-14.

Erickson led North Country with 20 kills. Wasson had 17 assists and 13 kills. LaBrie had 12 digs, Kennedy Simonson had 11 assists, Kendall Scheffelmear had 10 kills and Berkley Hillman had 10 assists.

The Mavericks then defeated Savage 3-1 on Friday. The scores were 25-13, 26-24, 16-25, and 25-20.

Erickson had a career-high 26 kills and 12 digs. Wasson had a 27 assist, 18 kill double-double. Simonson had 12 assists and Hillman had 6 assists.

"We talked about our defense and pounding the ball at the other team when we had the opportunity," Coach Wasson said. "We knew with both of the teams, they are scrappy defenders so you have to make a hard attack so it goes down and is hard to play. We also talked about staying calm and communicating constantly. We did both of those things and that gave us pretty convincing wins over Scobey and Savage."

The Mavericks lost their semi-final match to Froid-Lake 3-0. The scores were 23-25, 23-25, and 18-25.

Erickson and Wasson each had 17 kills. Wasson also had 19 assists. Simonson had 15 assists. Hillman had 10 digs, BaiLee McColly and LaBrie each had eight digs. Erickson and Scheffelmear each recorded two blocks.

The Mavericks bounced back in their elimination match against Plentywood. The Mavs defeated the hometown Wildcats 3-1. The scores were 25-27, 26-24, 27-25, and 25-23.

Erickson had 20 kills. Wasson had 17 kills, nine digs and five aces. Scheffelmear had 11 kills and Mattea McColly had six.