The Lady Dragons finished out their regular seasons with two more wins, giving them an undefeated season outside of tournament games.  Besting Soda Springs at home and Bear Lake on the road also makes them the number one team in the district as they move into their post season tournaments.

As they played their final home game of the season, the MHS volleyball team, coaches and fans celebrated the graduating seniors Adley Kimberling and Hallie Horsley.  Both seniors have played volleyball on the varsity team throughout high school, playing a large part in their successes throughout the years.

The two seniors and co-captains, along with their teammates, gave their Dragon fans a night full of big hits, quick saves, tough serves and overall, a fun final win.  Izzy Haycock and Horsley started putting points on the scoreboard with smart tips and big hits all the while, Soda Springs attempted to keep pace Malad, putting up a few points of their own here and there.  But it didn’t take long for the Lady Dragons to get warmed up, sending over hit after hit and serve after serve that the Cardinals just couldn’t handle.  Setter Kimberling covered the court as she claimed the second hit of each play, setting up her hitters for the best possible opportunity for a Dragon kill.

Before long, the MHS team had extended their lead in the first game to an impressive 20-6, just needing a few last points to end the set.  Pushing to the end with some scrappy plays and true grit, the Lady Dragons wracked up their final points to take game one, finishing it with a big hit from outside hitter Brynnlee Jones to make it 25-8.

The second game started off a little rockier for the Lady Dragons with a few unforced errors, allowing the Cardinals to keep up with them and tying up the game at five points a piece.  Jones and Liv Nelson helped tighten things up on the front line offensively and defensively and with their consistent attacks and solid blocking.  Malad began to pull away on the scoreboard to take the lead, despite Soda Spring’s best efforts.  The Lady Dragons were a force from behind the service line, with killer serves by Brylee Oglesbee, Teagan Daniels, Haycock and Horsley.  A number of times, the Cardinals completely missed the serve or shanked it out of play.

Not willing to give up, Soda Springs sent a big hit over the net to land just inside the back line to stop Malad as they were about to win the set.  On the very next play, Nelson responded with an attack of her own, slamming a hit from the middle that the Cardinals mishit out of bounds to end the game, 23-16.

With a clear slate and scoreboard to start the third set of the game, Soda Springs were hopeful to make the most of their fresh start but unfortunately for them, the Lady Dragons were on a roll, keeping the pressure on from the very first pass of the game.  Malad was on a mission to sweep the Cardinals in their final home game and were playing all in.

While the front row dominated at the net with killer hits coming in from all sides, the back row dug up nearly every ball that entered the Lady Dragon’s court.  Horsley led the team in hits with 21 kills.  Nelson tallied up six blocks to lead the Lady Dragon defense at the net.  The MHS team tallied up 57 digs as a team, led by Horlsey with 11, Oglesbee with 10, Daniels with 9 and Anistyn Tovey and Haycock with 8 each. 

As Malad took control of the game, Head Coach Camie Tripp used the final set as an opportunity to bring up some of her junior players.  Mikell Keetch stepped up as an outside hitter, putting passed the Cardinals a couple of her own big hits and digs.  Paityn Ward subbed in on the back, pressuring Soda Springs with her own intense serves.  Brinley Clark took a turn at the net as middle blocker to get both a block and multiple hits, even bringing the team to game point.

With the score 24-13, Clark stepped up to the service line, sending over a serve that Soda Springs struggled to pop up as they dove for the pass.  As they mishit the ball, it went over the net in a perfect set for Horsley to slam straight back down, landing just short of the ten foot line to end the game 25-13. 

The following night, the Lady Dragons took on the Bears on their home court in a game that would be the final deciding factor for the district tournament games.  In the four set match, the Lady Dragons won out 3-1 with the scores of 25-19, 25-15, 22-25, 25-13.  Coach Tripp commented, “It was a really solid night for our girls.  I super proud of how our girls competed.  They really put it in gear when we needed it.  We were down by 7 or 8 points in that third set and tied it up at 22 but couldn't quite finish it.  But then they turned it on in the fourth set.”

With their undefeated conference season, the Lady Dragons claim the top seed in the 2A District 5 tournament as well as the hosting team.  Malad played their opening game of the tournament against Aberdeen Saturday, October 14, winning in three.  Complete coverage of the tournament games to follow in next week’s paper.