Mission falls to Lady Vikings, surges in tournament

CHARLO - Mission and Charlo were apparently eager to get the season going on a high note, as the two teams battled last Friday to five games and the Lady Vikings came out on top 3-2 with scores of 19-25, 25-23, 10-25, 25-23, 15-9.

"It's always interesting to see how the girls will do in their first match," Mission head coach Kendal Anderson said. "With the adrenaline pumping and nerves going, it's a shot in the dark at how they will handle the pressure."

The Lady Bulldogs took the 2-1 lead and apparently the momentum when they defeated Charlo 25-10 in the third game but the Lady Vikings won a close forth game and finished the fifth.

"I think my team did very well for their first game," Anderson said. "There are things that we will be able to take away from this and bring into practice to make ourselves better. Charlo plays very tough defense. I think we out-hit them, but their defense was better than ours."

Jenn Larsson led Mission in the offensive department with 16 kills and at the net with 8 blocks. Stephanie Lewandowski collected 16 digs and Loren Erickson continued to key the offense with 15 assists. Charlo was just able to outlast the Lady Bulldogs a little longer in the match.

"Charlo is a good team and plays very tough defense," Anderson said. "When we scrimmage in practice we don't have as long of volleys as in this game. It's hard to prepare them for these long volleys as far as court spacing and transitions between defense and offense. The girls are physically fit for this but game-like situations are a totally different scenario."

MISSION VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

On Saturday, Mission hosted their home volleyball tournament, going 5-3 in pool play and then placing second in the tournament's bracket play.

The Lady Bulldogs first lost 0-2 to Florence, who went 7-1 in pool play, with scores of 10-20, 14-20 but bounced back with a 1-1 split against T-Falls, 20-10, 13-20.

Mission then went on a tear by defeated Deer Lodge 2-0 with 20-14 and 20-18 wins. That set up a match against Plains with the second seed in bracket play on the line.

The Lady Bulldogs came out on top with a 2-0 victory by winning the first game 20-14 and then outlasting the Trotters 22-20 in the second.

"I think the girls did very well," Anderson said. "It's nerve-racking in those close games because a player can become afraid to make a mistake and not play to their full potential. The girls weren't afraid and kept playing like they knew they could."

In bracket play, Mission defeated T-Falls 2-1 with scores of 20-15, 17-20, 15-13 to advance to the championship game against Florence. Despite putting up a fight, the Lady Bulldogs fell to Florence 0-2, 10-20, 17-20.

"Florence is a very good team," Anderson said. "They are young and have played together a lot. I feel like the Florence team we saw at the tournament will be the same one we see all year long. They are at the top of their game and don't have much room for improvement. I think our girls will continue to grow as individuals and as a team this year. We've got so much that we can improve upon I think that we should be able to get better and better as the season goes along."

Anderson said that the team needs to work on its receiving and passing game along with focusing on awareness and transitions. She did like what see saw from junior outside

hitter Sara Nerby this weekend.

"Sara Nerby tore it up at the net this weekend and handled herself very well," Anderson said. "She did not see as much playing time last year and has really risen to the occasion and showed no fear on the court."

MISSION READY FOR SEASON

The Lady Bulldogs switched districts this year as Ronan moves down to Class B to reshuffle things, but Mission still have its sights on competing the way they did last year when they won a district championship.

"We have a ton of talent and we can compete with them," Mission head coach Kendal Anderson said of her team moving into the 6B district.

Historically, Mission has started strong, had a slow down in the middle of the season and last year heated up at the end. This year, Anderson wants a little more consistency.

"I'd like to see us steadily increase as the season progresses," she said.

The Lady Bulldogs have the players to do it. Senior outside hitter Ashley Courville has been on the team since her freshman year and should shine this season.

Junior outside hitter Sara Nerby should also be an offensive force for the Lady Bulldogs.

"She's been working really hard with her hitting," Anderson said.

While Mission did lose height in the middle to graduation, there are plenty of players waiting to step up. Junior setter Loren Erickson was phenomenal last season after being put into the frying pan as a sophomore, and Anderson said she could be a scorer as a hitter up the middle too.

Junior outside hitter Stephanie Lewandowski is also going to be a really solid all-around player for the Bulldogs, Anderson said.

Mission, which has seen a huge resurgence in athletics last year looks to continue the success and keep the momentum going.

"I feel like the girls in Mission are doing really well and it's kind of set a standard," Anderson said. "This is a really hard-working group of girls. They're really team-oriented. I'm looking forward to a fun season."