The Lady Dragon volleyball team wrapped up their final week of the 2025 regular season, notching two more wins to their season record against the Sugar/Salem Diggers and the Wendell Trojans.  The back to back games proved to be a challenge for Malad but in the best ways to help them as they move into the post season tournaments.

Tuesday, October 14, Malad made the trek to Sugar/Salem for their second matchup of the season.  In their previous game, the Lady Dragons bested the Diggers in four sets.  Since that early season match, Sugar/Salem studied their game to learn the MHS tendencies and make the necessary adjustments.  Two additional injured players hit the court, bringing another dimension to their play.  Fortunately, the Lady Dragons made their own adjustments to not only outplay them, but outlast them through the five set game.

Malad jumped to a small lead to open the first set of the game with multiple hits by Jette Nelson and Liv Nelson as well as strong serving by Quincee Hammer.  But it didn’t take long for the Diggers to replay in kind and pull ahead, 4-5.  Trading the lead back and forth, the two teams battled out each point.  

Tied at 8 points, Sugar/Salem slowly started gaining ground with a strong attack game at the net.  Keeping Malad guessing where and when to put up the block, the Diggers brought a different look with nearly every play.  Just when they were beginning to gain momentum, Sugar/Salem missed the serve.  

Paityn Ward countered with an ace to start a five point jump for the MHS team.  Liv followed with a kill blasted through the Digger block, dropping it just short of the back row defense.  Jette took advantage of a S/S over pass, tooling the ball off the block for another Malad point.  For nearly every five points the Lady Dragons earned, the Diggers managed only one, Malad putting up a 15-3 run to finish out the opening set 25-16.

Game two was eventually awarded to Sugar/Salem as they snuck past the MHS team at the finish.  Throughout the set, the two teams were neck and neck on the scoreboard, neither team gaining more than a four point lead.  The score tied at 21, the Diggers called for a time out, hoping to stop the MHS advance.  Following the time out, Brynnlee Jones shanked a jump serve off the S/S passer.  

Still countering nearly every point, the two teams found themselves locked at 24, indicating the need to go into extra points.  Unfortunately, the Diggers managed to pull ahead two points, just what they needed to claim game two.

Game three brought a similar battle, but this time the Lady Dragons were unwilling to give up their lead.  The Diggers came within a few points but the MHS grit and determination continued to win out.  Early in the set, the two teams were tangled in long rallies, each team coming up with scrappy digs and tough attacks.  Jones broke through the S/S block to finish one big rally, sending the spike just short of the Diggers.  Kendra Rupp finished off the next long rally, putting up the solo block to cut short the outside attack.

The Lady Dragons extended their lead 18-10 after Jones swung over a perfectly placed line hit, thanks to a scrappy dig by Izzy Haycock and a butter set by Ward to initiate the play.  Sugar/Salem attempted a comeback, cutting the eight point lead in half, but the MHS held strong to finish out the game 25-18.

Game four landed in favor of the Diggers, the Lady Dragons trailing 21-25 at the conclusion of the set.  The set started off in a similar fashion to the previous games, but as the play wore on, Sugar/Salem managed to finish where before they had fallen short.  Trailing for most of the game, the Lady Dragons climbed out of the hole to tie up the game at 20 points, then took the lead after Haycock landed a spike dropping block.  But the S/S team countered on the court to push four crucial points to win 21-25.

With only a final short game left to play, Malad knew they had to come out firing.  Liv set the tone of the set as she blocked the first opposite hit of the game, sending it straight to the court.  Jette sailed over a line hit after the two teams battled at the net over and over.  Hammer made a vital dig to keep the ball in play on the MHS side, Liv finishing the play with another middle hit.  Up 6-2, the Diggers called for a time out, but it did little to slow the Lady Dragon roll, going up 9-2 before Sugar/Salem rebutted.

But it didn’t take long for Malad to start moving the needle again, playing just as smart as they were hard.  Seeing the set come across tight to the net, Jones came in from the outside position to swipe with her left hand a well placed tip out of the defenders reach.  Libero Ward continued to counter the Digger attack, passing up the killer hits that had seemed almost impassable.  

Jette put the Lady Dragons at match point with another big swing, setting the score at 14-8.  S/S brought the attack, not wanting to merely roll over at such a critical time.  Their best hitter swinging hard and fast from the outside, Haycock slipped into position to pop the hit up in a beautiful dig.  The ball bounced high, shanking off the ceiling in an unanticipated direction.  Calculating the ball’s trajectory, Liv made her approach and finished off the ball with a well placed tip that completely surprised the Diggers and fell uncontested to the court, winning the game and the match.

“Sugar hit really well, so we had to find our block and make sure we were down on defense,” shared Head Coach Camie Tripp after the game.  She continued, “It was a tough fought match, but we came out firing in the 5th set and that gave us the edge. It was good to be pushed, the girls stepped up and it was a fun night!”

After a long game and bus ride home, the Lady Dragons loaded up the following day to take on district opponent the Wendell Trojans.  The battle the night before and long trek took its toll on the MHS team, but not so much that they couldn’t still sweep the Trojans in just three short sets.

Despite playing worn, Malad learned just what they had to do to get the job done.  The Lady Dragons clearly dominated the game as they won the first set 25-14, the second 25-12 and finished off the match with 25-8 victory of third game.  Ward tallied up an impressive 36 dig total, Jones following with 16 as well as 11 kills.  Liv counted up 12 blocks in addition to her 4 kills.  Kialey Pickett led with 2 aces as well as 15 digs from the defensive specialist position. 

Talking through their final game, Coach Tripp said, “We played a bit jet lagged in Wendell, making more errors than usual… That was a tough back-to-back, especially with one match going to 5, but overall, everyone did what they had to do to get it done. It was a great way to end the season and puts us in the right mindset going into District and State.”

The Lady Dragons had their first appearance in the District 5 tournament as they once again played the Trojans on Saturday, October 18.  With the win, the MHS team advanced to the next round of the tournament, matching up against West Side after winning their opening game as well. The two teams will play in Malad on Thursday, October23 at 6 pm. 

Volleyball Stats

MHS vs Sugar/Salem

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

25-16 / 24-26 / 25-18 / 21-25 / 15-8

Player Aces Serve/Receive Accuracy Kills Digs Blocks

Izzy Haycock 0 - 5 29 5

Jette Nelson - 2.5 23 3 2

Brynnlee Jones 2 2.3 16 20 4

Liv Nelson 0 - 16 14 12

Mady Vanbebber 0 - 1 4 2

Kendra Rupp - - 0 0 2

Quincee Hammer 2 1.9 - 11 -

Kialey Pickett 2 - - 15 -

Paityn Ward 1 2.0 - 36 -

MHS vs Wendell

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

25-14 / 25-12 / 25-8

Player Aces Serve/Receive Accuracy Kills Digs Blocks

Izzy Haycock 1 - 5 15 4

Jette Nelson - - 8 3 4

Brynnlee Jones 1 2.0 11 16 2

Liv Nelson 0 - 4 8 12

Mady Vanbebber - - 11 5 4

Kendra Rupp - - 1 1 1

Quincee Hammer 1 1.4 - 11 -

Kialey Pickett 2 - - 15 -

Paityn Ward 1 2.0 - 36 -