The Lady Dragons took their A game on the road, facing off against the Lady Cardinals of Soda Springs on Thursday, September 21, dominating the game, “kicking butt and taking names,” as the saying goes.  While the Cardinals didn’t simply roll over as Malad came into town, it was clear they were no match for the Lady Dragons.

Malad played scrappy from the get go as they settled into their rhythm.  Just a few points into the game, Hallie Horsley had a big hit from the back row to bring the energy for the Lady Dragons.  Liv Nelson, playing her best game of the season thus far, dominated the net both offensively and defensively, sending over a short tip that was just out of reach for Soda Springs as Malad drove up the scoreboard.

Leading from the service line, Izzy Haycock drilled down on the Cardinal offense with intense serves that they could hardly handle, let alone turn into scoring opportunities.  Malad was up 12-3 before an unlucky block bounced out as the Lady Dragons stopped another attack by the Cardinals.  It only took one great pass by Teagan Daniels to set Horsley up for a kill to win back the serve and keep on their winning roll.

Soda Springs would occasionally bring on a surge of energy and skill, but the Lady Dragons' signature grit pulled them through each play.  In one such instance, Kaite Allen and Adley Kimberling put up a soft block against the Cardinal hit attempt, popping it up to the deep back corner.  With quick reflexes, defensive specialist Anistyn Tovey, brought the ball back into the court where Horsley dove to keep the ball from dropping.  Tovey finished the play as she pushed the ball deep into the Soda Springs court, the Cardinals hitting it out.

For every point Soda Springs could manage, Malad answered with several of their own, their lead growing to 20-7 as Brynnlee Jones pounded the ball over from the outside attack.  Libero, Brylee Oglesbee, covered the Dragon back court well, playing a key role with big digs and stellar passes in their final points of the game, to take the win 25-10.

The Cardinals came into game two with a whole new intensity, bringing a stronger attack, tougher defense and spicier serves.  Nelson and Haycock were well prepared for such an attack, putting up a tight block and answering with their own play-ending kill by Haycock from the right side.  Nelson was forced to be reckoned with on the net as she earned points for the Lady Dragons with a block, followed by a hit up the middle, followed by a kill on a Cardinal overpass.

Unfortunately, Malad fell into a rut, committing errors that Soda Springs capitalized on to not only catch up on the scoreboard, but narrowly pull ahead to win the second game, 23-25.

Motivated by their hunger to win, the Lady Dragons came out in game three to shut out their opponent in their first several plays.  Jones began the scoring with a big hit from the outside.  The team stepped up together to win their next point with a save by Haycock, push across the net by Kimberling, another save by Horsley, and the play winning block by Nelson.

The Cardinals struggled to handle the Lady Dragon pressure, their digs shanking out, hitting into the net or coming off as a double.  In an opposite fashion, Malad picked up digs and stray balls as Tovey, Oglesbee and Daniels defended the Dragon backcourt.

Soda Springs managed a tough block as outside hitter Horsley brought a killer attack.  Undeterred by their stop, Horsley set up for another hit, smashing down on the other side in a response that said, “You can keep me down!”  She didn’t let up as she then went to the service line and pounded over six serves that the Cardinals couldn't pass up or convert into a play, running the score to 22-10.  The two teams split the next few points as they battled it out across the net, with the Lady Dragons outscoring them to finish out the game, 25-14.

The third and final game of the match began where the last game had ended, with Malad bringing on the pressure and Soda Springs failing to keep up.  Setter Kimberling kept the Cardinal defense on their toes as she continued to mix up the offense, setting up hits from the outside, middle, rightside, back court and even an unexpected dump.  Moving the ball around to the various hitters forced the Cardinal defense to wait and follow the ball rather than guess and cheat where the next hit would come from.

The final push by the Lady Dragons with great serves by Haycock and Nelson and ping-ponging hits by Horsley finished off the fourth game with a dominating score, 25-7, and ending the match with Malad 3 games to Soda Springs 1.

The Lady Dragons have a big week at home as they first host the Lady Bears of Bear Lake on Wednesday, September 27 and then as they put on their annual two day tournament over the weekend.