WHITEFISH — In their first time on the court this season, the Ronan volleyball team established that they don’t give up.

At the Whitefish Starter tournament this past weekend, Ronan found themselves down by 13 points to Bigfork in the first set of the game. The Maidens kept going after the ball and never gave up.

“They were always positive, always working hard,” head coach Shae Hutchinson said.

They lost the first set 25-11 and battled exhaustion to win the next one 27-25.

Ronan lost to Whitefish 25-13 and 25-17 but split series with Eureka and Columbia Falls to go 3-5 at the tournament.

Even though the team had been up since 6 a.m., they played hard all day long.

 “They weren’t used to playing all day long but they powered through it,” Hutchinson said.

The hard work is something Hutchinson knows will help the team during the season. Ronan graduated eight seniors last year and is left with little varsity experience.

“My girls actually played really well,” Hutchinson said. “As a coach, [the first tournament] lets you figure out what we need to work on. I’m really excited for the season. They know they can play with any team.”

Ronan plays tonight at Stevensville.