Season Ends For Malta at Northern B

The season came to an end for the Malta M-ettes Volleyball team at the 2023 Northern B Divisional Tournament hosted at Malta High School last weekend.

The M-ettes lost their opening match 2-3 to the Conrad Cowgirls on Thursday, November 2. Malta then lost their elimination game 0-3 to the Fairview Eagles the next day.

Fairview went on to win the elimination bracket, but fell 0-3 to Fairfield in the championship match.

In their match against Conrad, Malta fell behind 0-2 losing set one 23-25 and the second set 25-22, before winning the third and fourth sets 25-20 and 25-23. The team ultimately fell 15-11 in the fifth set.

"We definitely missed some key serves in that Conrad match that would've put it all together in time for the win, we had eight aces but 13 missed serves over the whole match," Coach Hines said. "We definitely had the momentum carrying over from the third and fourth set, but just fell a little short. Our fourth and fifth sets were the strongest for hitting efficiency at 17% and 31%. Overall, we're very proud of the girls with their efforts and teamwork, they left it all on the court!"

The team was led by Kendall Claussen who had 14 of Malta's 49 kills. Addison Ulrich had 28 of Malta's 125 digs. Neva Jacobson had 22 of 46 assists. Brooklyn Knowles had three of Malta's eight aces, and Kataya KillEagle had two of four blocks.

In Malta's loss to Fairview, the set scores were 16-25, 21-25, and 18-25.

"Fairview brought a different viewpoint, we'd seen them a couple times already and we knew they were tough, we did a good job at hitting good seams on the serve, but we did miss some key serves in the second set that would have made the difference in that set," Coach Hines said. "I think if we could have gotten that second set, that would have shifted the momentum and our confidence, but we just fell a little short."

Malta was led by Denvyr Tuss, who had nine of 26 kills and three of five blocks.

Jacobson led in three categories; she had 14 of Malta's 24 assists, 14 of the team's 77 digs, and four of six aces.

Coach Hines was asked how it felt to host the Northern B, a tournament that Malta has hosted only a couple of times over the past decade.

"It was great having a Divisional Tourney here at home, the crowd and student section were amazing, and our cheerleaders did a phenomenal job at leading them, not to mention the excitement of having a pep band of our own to play at one of our tournaments, the girls loved it!" Coach Hines said. "Both districts were pretty darn open as far as competition, a lot of young teams with a lot of potential and natural talent!"

The Malta seniors have seen plenty of minutes this season, after following a strong group of seniors that graduated in 2022.

"For our seniors, It's hard when you know you've passed your last pass or hit your last hit, but I can't tell you how proud of our seniors we are," Coach Hines said. "They were prepared and open to learn and to step up into the varsity level none of them had really seen consistently. Kataya was a key part of our defense at the net, always prepared to hear what you had to say and be there for her team! Addison was the little engine that could, she started the serve in every match, she led in digs multiple times, she could place hits very smart! Elly was our libero, the amount of growth we saw from her was great, she was always encouraging girls on the floor, she would ask the questions for clarity for her team, and her serve came a long ways, as did her ability to read the ball!! Giona was out the 1st half of the season due to her shoulder but once she was back, she was ready to play, she would play whatever position was asked of her with a solid block! We thank these girls for the time they've put into the program, they will be missed."

The team also had a lot of underclassmen provide quality minutes for the team, something that may bode well for them in 2024.

"The future of the program is very bright," Coach Hines said. "We've got some underclassmen who are shining already and some right under them! Our upperclassmen next season have time under their belts now that will only help them in their future playing year(s). We had a lot of fun this season, we had some growing pains too of course but overall, I would consider this a very successful season and couldn't be more proud!"