M-ettes Defeat Glasgow, Poplar

The Malta M-ettes volleyball team picked up a pair of wins over District 2B opponents last week as they defeated the Poplar Indians on Tuesday, September 6, in Poplar, and Glasgow 3-1 in Glasgow on Friday, September 9.

The M-ettes were also scheduled to face the North Country Mavericks on Tuesday, September 13, in Whitewater. Coverage of that game will be in the September 21 issue of the PCN.

This week, the M-ettes are scheduled to host the Harlem Wildcats in Malta on Thursday, September 15, at 4:30 P.M. They will then travel east to take on the Wolf Point Lady Wolves in Wolf Point on Saturday, September 17, at 1 p.m.

The M-ettes are now 3-0 this season, and first time Head Coach Mary Grace Kalal is appreciative of how her team has performed so far.

“I am super proud of the girls so far and their ability to adjust to what I throw at them,” Coach Kalal said. “We have people playing different positions and I am trying different things. They are being very coachable and patient with this process which I am super thankful for. They make it hard for me to have someone in a set in stone position because they all do so well in many areas.”

Malta defeated Glasgow last Friday. It was their first meeting since the M-ettes defeated the Lady Scotties at State last fall. The scores were 13-25, 25-22, 25-16, and 25-22.

“Wow! The win over Glasgow was huge for us,” Coach Kalal said. “All of the girls wanted this win so bad and I could feel it. As soon as we walked in the gym I felt a tension, maybe it was built up from when I used to play them, but I could tell we were there for business.”

Senior Addy Anderson led Malta with seven kills. Senior Brylee French had five aces and eleven assists. Maddie Williamson had 10 assists. Tia Siewing had 16 digs.

“There was insane energy in the gym and we did a great job at stealing that from their crowd and players,” Coach Kalal said. “Our JV and C squad girls were providing our cheer section along with the parents and I believe their energy helped us to fight back and come out on top.”

Coach Kalal said many of the M-ettes performed well last week and that she is excited to help the team continue to improve.

“I would say our girls performance was around 65-70% which is crazy to imagine what it would look like if they were at a high 80 or 90%,” Coach Kalal said.

In Malta’s win over Poplar, the scores were 25-13, 25-15, and 25-22.

Allison Kunze and Denvyr Tuss tied for the lead in kills with four each. Tuss had a team-leading four blocks. Anderson had five aces. Siewing and Kennedy Koss each had six digs. Williamson and French each had nine assists.

“Our key to victory over Poplar was focusing on the fundamentals and building energy,” Coach Kalal said. “We knew coming in that Poplar would be a high energy team that doesn’t quit until the whistle blows. We had everyone on the team pitching in, which helped us gain that advantage over Poplar.”