2020 M-ette Volleyball

The Malta M-ettes Volleyball team lost four starters to graduation last spring but the team welcomes back a few experienced upperclassmen as well as a group of underclassmen that have been pushing them.

Assistant Coach Kalli Rummel said that the team picked a trio of captains that include seniors Erica Smith and Sidney Meeks and junior Kaylee Bishop.

"Erica and Sidney play a huge role on and off the court," Coach Rummel said. "Kaylee is one of the loudest and most positive girls on the floor."

Senior Libero Kylie Hunter is the team's lone returning All-Conference athlete. Hunter earned second-team honors last season.

The sophomore class has been described as very competitive by Coach Rummel. She also said the goup has been continually pushing upperclassmen to play at their best.

"I don't think there is a single position that doesn't have several girls fighting to earn that spot," Coach Rummel said. "It has kept our team goal-oriented and focused on being their best self."

The team lost Kaylanna Bain, Carly Garfield, Kelbee Denham, and Macy Williamson to graduation last spring.

"This group of girls demonstrated how to be good teammates and encouraged the younger players to always do their best," Coach Rummel said. "They were always a hard-working group and it set a standard for the others."

Malta's team was relieved that the volleyball season could start amid the potential dangers of the COVID-19 virus.

"With so much uncertainty about this season we are so happy to be back together in the gym again," Coach Rummel said. "Because of the schedule changes this year due to Covid we had lots of time to work on our fundamentals which is going to help us become stronger throughout the season."

Throughout the first few weeks of practice, the team focused on the fundamentals of the game. Coach Rummel said that those fundamentals include an emphasis on passing.

"We want to focus on this discipline in order to help the speed of our offense," Coach Rummel said. "We have also been working on rotation with our freshman girls and learning the rules of the game."

Coach Rummel said that the team is most looking forward to games against Glasgow and Malta's Senior Game game which is scheduled for Saturday, September 19, against Wolf Point.

The team has also had a couple of changes in their coaching staff this season. Tasha Hines will be the only Head Coach this year, while Coach Rummel has stepped down from being Co-Head Coach to an assistant role working with the JV players. The team added Kayla Howard, who will be coaching the C-Squad. Cheyenne Young stepped down from the team earlier this year.