The Lady Dragon volleyball team tallied up ten intense games of volleyball in just as many days.  In those ten games, they had their first taste of a new district opponent, faced the 6A back to back defending state champions, challenged an old rival, and took on a variety of teams at a high level tournament.  Through it all, the Lady Dragons kept the win column ahead of the losses, a true feat of its own considering the opponents they have faced.

In their first home game of the season, Malad easily dominated their newest district opponent, the Wendel Trojans, winning 3 games to 0.  Head Coach Camie Tripp admitted that they knew very little about the Wendell team but that didn’t matter because what she did know was that her Lady Dragon team was more than ready to take them on.

From the first serve of the game, it was clear that Wendell would have a tough time keeping up.  Before long, Malad was up 6-1 largely due to their own skill but also in part to Wendell’s errors.  Just when it seemed like they would be gaining some ground in the play, the Lady

Dragons would pound one more over, reminding the Trojans that they were going to have to fight for any every and any point.

That couldn’t have been demonstrated any more clearly than in the second game when Malad went on a 16 point streak, going 16-0 before Wendell put a stop to their run.  Even then, they were only able to score one more point before the Lady Dragons ended the game in an impressive 25-2.

The Trojans had a little luck on their side as they jumped into game three, getting a small lead over the Malad 0-3.  Wendell continued to trail the remainder of the game, but played with more fight and intensity, requiring more from the Lady Dragons.  Malad responded with an offense that was difficult to predict as setter Izzy Haycock pushed the ball across the net to all her hitters.  The MHS clinched the victory after claiming the third game 25-13.

The first home win was just what the team needed to get their momentum rolling in this new season.  While they have been playing well and seeing success, the Lady Dragons have had some challenges settling into their groove in their opening games.  Replacing graduating players, settling into new positions and getting comfortable with a new rotation has taken some time but Thursday night’s game demonstrated that the Lady Dragons have found their magic formula for winning games this season.

The team was scheduled to host Aberdeen but the game had to be rescheduled for later in the season.  The break allowed them time to focus on their next opponent, the Bear Lake Bears.  Despite moving up in classes, the rivalry between the old district opponents still runs strong.  Playing Thursday, September 12 in what is deemed, “the bear cave,” Malad had a challenge ahead of them.

Unfortunately, the Lady Dragons came out flat, struggling to keep up in their opening game of the match as they lost, 25-12.  But they were able to rally and bounce back as they played their second and third games, pushing Bear Lake to win on their own merits rather than Malad’s mistakes.  Head Coach Cammie Tripp shared, “We had opportunities to win in both the second and third sets but had some untimely errors that cost us. Bear Lake is a hard place to play… the noise is a huge factor!  I was proud of how the girls bounced back from set one and competed.”  

Dropping the second and third sets 26-28 and 23-25 respectively, the Lady Dragons fell 0-3.  Brynnlee Jones led the offense with 15 kills while Riglee Peterson led the defense with 30 digs.  Mady Vanbebber put up 8 blocks while her counterpart, Liv Nelson added 8.

The very next day, the Malad volleyball team loaded up the bus to compete in the Bonneville two day volleyball tournament.   The Lady Dragons first went up against the Idaho Falls Tigers.  Dropping the first set 25-27, Malad came back to win the second 25-20.  In the final game, ending at 15, the Tigers held the Lady Dragons back 11-15.

The MHS team split their next two games to end their Friday tournament play.  They bested Bishop Kelly in two games, going 25-11 and 25-23.  Rocky Mountain High School of Meridian came out swinging as they led Malad 22-25 in both sets.

Saturday’s schedule had five games on their docket, beginning with Butte County.  The Lady Dragons dropped the first set, 24-26, but rallied back to win the second game 25-20, and win the match as they claimed victory in the final game 15-13.  They next faced the 6A back to back State Champions, the Madison Bobcats.  Over the very tough two match game, the Bobcats played with incredible skill.  Coach Tripp shared, “We played a lot of BIG girls that hit HARD!  But it was so good for us to play those quick tempo sets.” Madison won out, 15-25 and 14-25.

Malad went on a two game winning streak as they took on the Hillcrest Knights from Idaho Falls and the Devils of Evanston, Wyoming.  The Knights pushed the Lady Dragons in the opening set, but trailed in the end 26-24.  The MHS team took control of the second game, pounding it down to win 25-17.  The Devils went down in a similar fashion, making it a close game to open the match, going 25-22.  But they couldn’t keep up as they played through the second game losing the second game 25-13.

The 5A Blackfoot Broncos were the final team for the Lady Dragons to go up against in the Bonneville tournament.  The strong and talented team dominated the court, despite the gritty effort Malad made.  The Broncos took the win in two games, going 16-25 and then 20-25.

Following the weekend of games, Coach Tripp said, “Overall, we competed so well.  I felt like we were able to learn to CLOSE on the close sets, and defensively we were moving quicker and reading better by the end of the weekend. It was a great weekend.”

Throughout the tournament, outside hitter Briney Clark led with 71 kills, followed closely by Jones with 63.  Brylee Oglesbee led in serving with 6 aces from behind the line.  Defensive specialist Peterson tallied up 161 digs, with Jones adding 86, and Haycock another 84.  At the net Vanbebber and Nielson both put up a total of 26 blocks.

The Lady Dragons will next play in Aberdeen on Wednesday, September 18 and then at home with West Side on Thursday, September 19.