A season with no losses at home is a hard one to follow.  Keeping the streak alive while starting off the next season at home against the reigning 4A state champion would be an undeniable challenge.  Beating two 4A teams in a single week to remain undefeated at home would be almost an impossible feat.

But the Lady Dragons have done just that.

Over the 2024 volleyball season, the MHS team didn’t drop a single set to an opponent at home, including all invitational and post season tournaments- an exciting accomplishment.  In order to keep that streak alive, the Lady Dragons would have to outplay the 2024 4A state champion team and one of their old district rivals- Bear Lake.  

Last season they weren’t up to the challenge as they fell to the Bears in Bear Lake.  But with a new season ahead of them it was a whole new game.

The first game of the match demonstrated that this would be a battle to the end.  Both teams, equally matched, were within just a few points throughout the game.  Both teams attacked the net, had scrappy digs, and enduring grit to make each point well earned.  The Lady Dragons led throughout the game until the Bears pulled ahead 20-23.

Committing a lift error, Bear Lake gave both a point and possession to the Lady Dragons. Quincee Hammer stepped up to the service line to drop a short, killer serve that died as it crossed the net.  The ace drew the score to 22-23.  The Bears managed to pop up the next serve, the two teams volleying back and forth.  That was until Liv Nelson knocked down a Bear Lake overpass, shanking it off the back defender to tie the game at 23.  

Hammer put over another tough serve to put Malad ahead and at game point.  When the night was said and done, Hammer had tallied a crucial 8 aces to help lead them to victory.  After rallying back and forth, Nelson at middle dropped a tip just wide of the block.  In an attempt to keep the ball alive, the block touched the hit, dropping it short of their passers.

Into the second game, the Lady Dragons found themselves trailing to start.  Slowly they started to climb out of the deficit, but the Bears were relentless in their attack.  Brynnlee Jones replied to their attack with a kill of her own to slow their roll, putting them up 8-5 and to take back the serve.

Malad continued to lead, getting up by several points and then Bear Lake would manage to close the gap.  Before they could take the lead, the Lady Dragons would take control again and build back their lead.  As the game wound down, the MHS expanded their lead to 24-17.  The Bears battled back to close the lead 24-20 before Jones slammed a line hit to the back corner to win the game.

Letting their energy on the court wane, the Lady Dragons allowed the Bears to dominate the third and fourth game of the match, trailing 14-25 and 9-25.  With both teams having two wins, the match came down to a final 15 max game.

Getting down to business, Malad pulled ahead to quick lead 6-1.  Bear Lake only gained one point before the Lady Dragons surged ahead again to get up 11-2.  The Bears suddenly had a second wind knocking down points even while Malad sat at game point.  The MHS team finally claimed the win after Bear Lake overshot the serve, sending it out of bounds.

The following night, Thursday September 4, the Lady Dragons hosted the Sugar/Salem Diggers, going 3-1 to post another win to their record.  

Malad opened the match with a strong start, but struggled to adapt and cover Sugar/Salem’s attack and eventually fell, 21-25.  Working through their struggling rotations and honing in on a defense to stop the Diggers, the Lady Dragons came out in a whole different way in game two.  They came out to lead 8-1 before an error notched another point for Sugar/Salem.  A team effort of good passing, strong hitting, and stellar serving allowed them to dominate as they continued to play through the game and win 25-13.

The Diggers upped their game as they played through game three, not allowing the gap on the scoreboard to stay within a few points, but the Lady Dragons clearly controlled the game, winning it 25-20.  

Lining out the rotation to the fourth game, the Diggers coach opted for a change, moving players around in hope to find a different matchup at the net that might favor her.  In the end, her changes at middle did nothing to help their cause.  Instead, Nelson dominated as she attacked over and over again with Sugar/Salem struggling to block or pass what she sent their way.  

In addition to Nelson’s strong hitting throughout the fourth match, Malad saw strong hits from Jette Nelson and Jones from the outside.   The team played a strong service game, Kialey Pickett picking up 3 aces.  Mady Vanbebber stacked up blocks to defend against the strong Digger attack, with the back defensive row popping up a number of hits.  It was a final block by Izzy Haycock and Nelson that marked the game winning point for Malad, ending the game 25-10.

Commenting on the games of the week, Head Coach Camie Tripp shared, “That Bear Lake win was HUGE! We learned a lot about ourselves in that one, but the main take away is that when our court energy is high, we’re really good, and when our court energy is low, we’re not very good. 

“But I loved how the girls were able to bounce back after two tough losses, and control that 5th set solidly for our first 13 points… We do need to work on closing hard by “playing to win” rather than playing timid with a “play not to lose” mindset, but I was so proud of them for figuring out how to get the win!”

Highlighting players that had crucial moments in the games, Coach Tripp continued, “On Wednesday, Quincee was amazing with her serving. She absolutely wrecked them, and it was impressive to watch. On Thursday, Liv was a beast. They had NO answer for her and it was fun to watch her cook! Our defense was amazing both nights… Paityn has been awesome at Libero and Izzy is always so steady and solid! 

“I’m super proud of them… it was a lot of good, fun volleyball… our fans definitely got their money’s worth!” she concluded.

Looking ahead at their upcoming schedule, the Lady Dragons will play at home as they host the West Side Pirates for their first district game of the season on Wednesday, September 10 before traveling to play in Aberdeen the following night.