It may have felt like a slow start for the Lady Dragons as they began their 2024 volleyball season, but they are in their swing now as they add two more wins to their record.  Their defeat over the Grace Grizzlies and Soda Springs Cardinals kept their home winning streak alive, a streak they have no intention of letting go.

Hosting Grace on Wednesday, September 25, the Lady Dragons jumped to an impressive lead to begin the first game.  Riglee Peterson led the assault from the service line, pounding over a series of serves that the Grizzlies just couldn’t handle.  Over the three games, Peterson led out with service aces, tallying up 6.  On the occasion that Grace was able to respond in kind, the Malad defense was quick to pop up the ball with passes setter Izzy Haycock pushed across the net for her high-level hitters to attack.  Despite the rally happening on the court, the scoreboard favored only the Lady Dragons as they pulled ahead 11-0.

Eventually the Grizzlies were able to ease back into the game, but it was too little too late as game one closed out 25-8.

Grace wasn’t going to be caught on their heels to begin the game again as the two teams moved into game two.  Suddenly, the Grizzlies were bringing a challenging game as they began putting up blocks, digging the big hits, and returning them with scoring hits of their own.  

Outside hitter Brinley Clark faced down a relentless double block that was present with nearly every attack she sent across the net.  Rather than feeling frustrated or defeated, Clark turned strategic to outplay her opponent.  In one instance, after pounding through two hits that were passed up, Clark went up for the third, approaching just as she had before.  But just as she made contact with the ball, she pulled power to tip the ball over the block and short of the back row defense.  Clark tallied up 19 kills against the Grizzlies.

Clark wasn’t the only hitter to challenge Grace.  Middle hitter Olivia Nelson added another 9 kills, Brynnlee Jones with 5, and Paityn Ward and Mady Vanbebber with three each.  The five solid Malad hitters make the battle at the net a contest difficult for any opponent.

Despite their great play, the Lady Dragons faltered as they started into game two, giving the Grizzlies a flicker of hope.  But digging deep, Malad settled back into their usual groove of quick reflexes, gritty dives, and clever plays.  From the sidelines, Head Coach Camie Tripp could be heard encouraging her team with comments, like “Great clean up!” and “Yes!  That’s how we hit!”  The Lady Dragons pulled ahead in a significant way to win the second game, 25-12.

With two games behind them and pushing through their small slump, Malad was confident that they could win out the match in their third game.  But Grace wasn’t ready to give up quite yet and was determined to put everything out on the court.  The Lady Dragon defense was ready for whatever the Grizzlies would attempt and demonstrated their prowess play after play.

One of Malad’s greatest defensive strengths is their grit, their determination to give the game everything they had.  This grit lends to scrappy play that not only appears to be a valiant effort, but is an effort that allows them to dominate their opponents.

Haycock and Ward showcased Lady Dragon grit when the Grizzly’s outside hitter managed to tool their attack off the Malad block.  Knowing that her teammate had last touched the ball, Ward dove to pop the ball back into play.  While Ward kept the ball up, it still shanked haphazardly back into the court.  To give her team the best chance to send the ball across the net, Haycock dove again to stop the ball from sailing out of play and send it high enough to be played with a more intentional hit.

Back row defenders Peterson, Jones, Anistyn Tovey, and Brylee Oglesbee displayed similar efforts throughout the game, making it nearly impossible for Grace to bring down a successful attack. Libero Peterson led the team with digs, totalling up 26, with Jones adding 21.  

The Lady Dragons swept the night as they won the third game 25-11.

Thursday, September 26, appeared to be just a continuation of the domination that had taken place just the night before as Malad hosted Soda Springs. The Cardinals found their greatest success of the match in their opening game.  Unfortunately for them, they were only able to post 13 points to Malad’s 25.  From there, it seemed like hardly a contest as the Lady Dragons continued to win out over and over.  Game two concluded with a final score of 25-9, followed by a matching winning 25-10 in the third game.

The Lady Dragons have a full week of volleyball ahead of them as they host the Aberdeen Tigers on Tuesday, October 1 and then Declo on Wednesday, October 2.  Over the weekend, they will hold their annual two day tournament on Friday and Saturday.

MHS vs Grace

Wednesday, September 35, 2024

25-8 I 25-12 I 25-11

PLAYER Kills Digs Aces Blocks Serve/Receive Accuracy

Izzy Haycock 5 15 1 5 0

Anistyn Tovey 0 8 0 0 1.3/3

Paityn Ward 3 7 0 2 1.0/3

Brynnlee Jones 5 21 0 1 2.1/3

Brinley Clark 19 6 0 3 0

Olivia Nelson 8 2 0 8 0

Mady Vanbebber 3 0 0 2 0

Brylee Oglesbee 0 7 1 0 2.8/3

Riglee Peterson 0 26 6 0 2.1

Quincee Hammer 0 0 0 0 0

MHS vs Soda Springs

Thursday, September 26, 2024

25-13 I 25-9 I 25-10

PLAYER Kills Digs Aces Blocks Serve/Receive Accuracy

Izzy Haycock 1 5 1 1 0

Anistyn Tovey 0 12 1 0 1.8/3

Paityn Ward 6 6 0 0 2.0/3

Brynnlee Jones 4 16 1 0 1.7/3

Brinley Clark 17 3 0 2 0

Olivia Nelson 7 1 0 4 0

Mady Vanbebber 1 2 0 1 0

Brylee Oglesbee 0 7 0 0 2.4/3

Riglee Peterson 0 27 0 0 2.4/3

Quincee Hammer 0 3 1 0 0