Ending on a high note
Lady Bulldogs finish regular season with 3-1 win over Thompson Falls
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ST. IGNATIUS — The high-flying, hard-swinging, freewheeling Lady Bulldogs are back.
The Lady Bulldogs rebounded from a four-set loss to Troy Oct. 16, where they looked lethargic and seemingly just going through the motions, by downing Thompson Falls in four sets in the Oct. 19 regular season finale.
In the 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23 District 7-B victory over the Lady Hawks, the Lady Bulldogs looked like the free-spirited team of old that was mowing down district opponents earlier in the season.
"The mood definitely changed. We were intense and everybody wanted to win tonight. It was a good change. It was a change for the better," said Mission middle hitter Adessa Durglo, who was one of four seniors honored before the game.
"We were definitely having a lot of fun. We were all working together and playing hard. I think we all felt a little bit more confident tonight in everything we did," said Durglo, who led the Lady Bulldogs with 11 kills and two blocks.
Out of Durglo's 12 kills probably the most important was the one to start game two. After dropping the first game 25-18, Durglo started the second game by knocking down a ball at the net with authority and that seemed to set the tone for the game. The Lady Bulldogs took an early 9-2 lead and Mission coach Kendal Anderson said that made all the difference in the match.
Once the Lady Bulldogs recaptured the momentum – something they couldn't do against the Lady Trojans – they relaxed and just started playing volleyball. The defense started passing again, the offense started clicking again and the powerful Lady Bulldogs' arms started swinging again.
"When they just get out of their heads and just have fun and play volleyball, they do great," Anderson said.
Once the Lady Bulldogs captured the momentum they didn't give it back and won three straight sets to send off their seniors in high style, end the regular season on a positive note and hopefully recharge them for the district tournament at the end of October. After starting the season by winning their first four conference games, the Lady Bulldogs had dropped four of their last five before Tuesday, but with the win over the Lady Hawks, Anderson said that will all be a distant memory at the District 7-B Tournament in Thompson Falls.
"If we would have lost that's all they would've dwelt on that the entire time," Anderson said of the week and a half layoff they will have before the tournament. "Now we've forgotten about Troy. We've forgotten about Eureka. We forgot about those games and we're just excited to play."
Seven Lady Bulldogs combined for 40 kills, with Durglo leading the attack with 12. Ashley Courville followed with seven and Sierra Scott and Jenn Larsson each knocked down six.
Senior libero Mackenzie Trudeau led the defense; she dug out 19 of their 70 digs. Durglo and Courville also finished in double digits, each with 11.
Lady Bulldog setter Loren Erickson finished with 29 assists, two kills and seven digs. The Lady Bulldogs served 11 aces Trudeau, Corville and Sydney Allard each had three perfect serves.
The Lady Bulldogs (12-5, 6-4) will be the third seed at the district tournament in Thompson Falls Oct. 29-30. Their first game is at 3 p.m. Friday.
Summary
Mission def. Thompson Falls
18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23.
Kills - Thompson Falls 31 (Makayla Becker 14), Mission 40 (Adessa Durglo 11). Blocks - Thompson Falls 7 (Allison Vaught 2, Hope Reid 2), Mission 3 (Durglo 2). Digs - Thompson Falls 83 (Becker 20), Mission 70 (Mackenzie Trudeau 19). Assists - Thompson Falls 23 (Vaught 22), Mission 34 (Loren Erickson 29). Aces - Thompson Falls 7 (Vaught 2, Hope Reid 2), Mission 11 (Trudeau 3, Sidney Allard 3, Ashley Courville 3).
