Mavericks' streak hits 10

The North Country Mavericks split a pair of games this week as they defeated Richey-Lambert 3-1 on Friday, October 2, and then fell to Plentywood 0-3 on Saturday, October 3.

In the team's win over the Richey-Lambert Fusion, the Mavericks were led by Kaitlyn McColly who had 14 kills, 11 digs, and two blocks. Jaydyn Erickson had seven kills, five digs, and two blocks. Kia Wasson had 11 digs and seven kills. Libero Zandora Longtree had 10 digs.

"The key to our win was winning the mental battles," Longtree said.

Longtree shared her mental battle in the game; saying that she had struggled through the first set and that fight continued throughout the game.

"The coaches told me that it takes strength and I thought that I didn't have it," Longtree said.

She also said that her teammates were cheering her on throughout the game, which helped her get focused.

According to Mavericks Head Coach Charlene Wasson, the team had a total of 12 serving errors in the first two sets of the match. The team also struggled in serve-receive early in the game, but eventually, the team eventually found their rhythm.

"In sets 3 and 4 we started passing and the timing between our setters and hitters was more fluent," Coach Wasson said. "We didn't play our best but we found a way to win when things weren't always going great. I believe this match gave us some perspective of what we really need to focus on down the stretch."

The Lady Mavericks win streak ended at ten by the hand of the last team to defeat them back in August. This time, the Mavericks scored more points than in their first meeting against Plentywood. The scores were 25-22, 25-22, and 25-16.

"We did some great things in this match just not enough to push us over the top to a win," Coach Wasson said. "Our defense dug so many of their hits up we just need to be the most aggressive team on the floor to finish the point and we did that 75% of the time."

Coach Wasson said that the missing 25 percent is competing against tougher opponents and overcoming tough moments.

"We were in the bottom half of the 1C conference last season. We didn't have any pressure on us to be perfect because we didn't know the competition and they didn't think of us as a threat."

Coach Wasson said that it is much easier to thrive and grow in an Underdog role but now that the team is second in the conference, it is crucial that they limit mistakes without overthinking.

"The difference is your mentality of how you handle the pressure," Coach Wasson said. "We are learning this right now. We want to be a team that is not afraid to make mistakes and when they happen they are few in number but more importantly, we learn quickly from them and move on to the positive side of the game."

The Lady Mavericks were scheduled to play Wolf Point on Thursday, October 8, but the game was canceled amid a COVID-19 outbreak in Roosevelt County one week ago.

Instead, the Lady Mavericks will face off against the Circle Wildcats in Whitewater on Thursday. The JV game will be played at 4 p.m. The Mavs will then travel to Saco to take on the Froid - Medicine Lake Red Hawks on Friday, October 9. The JV game starts at 4 p.m.