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M-ette Volleyball team wins camp tourney

The Malta M-ettes volleyball team was the top team at the 2021 Missoula Team Volleyball Camp, an event that started on Wednesday, July 7, and concluded on Friday, July 9.

The team lost two pool play games early in the event, but caught fire during the tournament and defeated each team they faced. The M-ettes defeated Noxon for the camp title.

"Every single one of our girls played their role in this, and man, was it fun to be a part of," Coach Tasha Hines told the PCN. "I don't remember who it was but in our final huddle one of them said, man, 'I feel like we just won a national championship'."

The camp was the first volleyball camp that any of the M-ettes had attended, according to Coach Hines, who was accompanied by assistant coach Kalli Rummel throughout the event.

"There was some pretty strong competition out there," M-ette senior Kaylee Bishop said. "There were teams that we had never seen before, so it was nice to see something different and have a bigger competition than we are used to."

The first day served as a day to work on individual skills, while on days two and three, the teams worked together. Pool play was also introduced so that the teams could be seeded for a tournament.

"I had several compliments on how receptive they were to feedback, coachable and ready to learn," Coach Hines said. "Day two we were tired, but day three was brutal."

She said that so many of the M-ettes had bonded over the trip, enjoying an Airbnb and eating meals together.

"Our team chemistry is a lot better this year," Bishop said. "We work really well together."

In the opening round of the tournament, Malta was paired with East Helena, who they were paired with that morning for team drills. Malta won the match in two sets.

It would take three games for Malta to defeat Florence in the second round, and then another three sets to defeat Great Falls in the semifinals.

"At this point, exhaustion was an understatement," Coach Hines said. "We played these three games back to back so when Great Falls beat us badly the first set, the girls decided it was time to send them home and that's exactly what they did, so fun!"

The M-ettes had a rest period of one game before their championship clash with Noxon.

"Luckily, we had fruit and carbs in the coolers from the house, so they destroyed those quickly, and then we met Noxon in the chipper," Coach Hines said.

Coach Hines said that even though they were fueled by their snack, it took the team a while to find their groove again.

"Noxon had great servers so we had to adjust a lot to handle that, but everything we received we returned aggressively and beat them in two!" Coach Hines said. "What a great experience, I (give Missoula Team Camp a high recommendation!) Our girls saw that when you truly work together, anything is possible. This year is gonna be fun!"

 

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