Maidens split pair in conference, down Troy in 5-game marathon
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LIBBY — Ronan closed out an up-and-down week with a pair of wins Saturday as the Maidens pulled out a five-game, nonconference win at Troy in the afternoon before racing to Libby to down the Lady Loggers in four games.
“The Troy game was just too close,” Ronan head coach Naomi Mock said. “I was quite worn out by the end of the fifth game and then we had to hurry and get to Libby because we were already late getting there.”
The Maidens came out on a roll in the opening game at Troy but dropped the next two before battling back to win the match in five games, 25-18, 22-25, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13.
“It’s such a mental thing with us,” Mock said. “We just had to play our way so we could pull out those last two games. It was like, hello, time to wake up and play.”
There was no time to rest for the weary Maidens as they were forced to rush to the bus and make the trip to Libby for a conference matchup immediately after finishing the fifth game with Troy.
The Maidens picked up right where they had left off in Troy as they opened the match against Libby with a win in game one, downing the Lady Loggers 25-20.
The afternoon of hard play seemed to catch up with the Maidens in game two as they fell to Libby 21-25, but Ronan bounced back with crushing 25-13 win in game three to gain control of the match.
Ronan put the match away with a 25-18 win in game four to pick up the win and improve to 4-3 in conference play.
Alice Van Gunten led the Ronan attack with nine kills while Tuesday Salmon added eight and Tailyr Irvine had seven.
Marissa McCrea led the Maiden defense with 16 digs while Irvine added a pair of blocks in the win. Salmon led the way in aces with three while Taylor Lynch led the team in assists with 13.
The Maidens came up short in another road game earlier in the week as they fell at Whitefish, 21-25, 27-25, 18-25, 21-25.
“We played well. It’s not like the girls played horribly. It just wasn’t quite enough,” Mock said. “It was really a combination of little things. They were attacking us, and we weren’t quite able to pick them up. That’s all it was. Whitefish just had a good squad and a good program. They have been that way for a while with very competitive teams every year.”
Whitefish was able to handle a relentless hitting attack from the Maidens, digging 66 attacks and blocking 10 more.
“We just weren’t being smart about our playing,” Mock said. “They have some tall girls that are going to get blocks if you hit it into them. It’s not hard for them to pick up blocks when you do that. You can’t hit the ball through people.”
Irvine and Van Gunten led the Maiden effort with eight kills each in the loss while Salmon added seven. McCrea led in digs with 14 while Van Gunten added 12. Lynch had 14 assists to lead the Maidens and Lynch led in aces with two.
The Maidens played a nonconference matchup with Mission Tuesday and will have another nonconference match again Thursday at Stevensville.
Summary
Ronan def. Libby
25-20, 21-25, 25-13, 25-18
Kills - Ronan 34 (Alice Van Gunten 9), Libby 27 (Kim Tangen 12). Blocks - Ronan 7 (Tailyr Irvine 2), Libby 2 (Alex Kulbeck 2). Digs - Ronan 54 (Merissa McCrea 16), Libby 44 (Tangen 10). Assists - Ronan 22 (Taylor Lynch 13), Libby 24 (Lexie Hageness 21). Aces - Ronan 7 (Tuesday Salmon 3), Libby 15 (Becky Boulware 4, Lauren Wepprecht 4).
Whitefish def. Ronan
25-21, 25-27, 25-18, 25-21
Kills - Ronan 32 (Tailyr Irvine 8, Alice Van Gunten 8), Whitefish 39 (Olivia Nagler 12). Blocks - Ronan 2 (Tuesday Salmon, Bethany Colman), Whitefish 10 (Marlow Schulz 2). Digs - Ronan 60 (Marissa McCrea 14), Whitefish 66 (Heather Bailey 20). Assists - Ronan 25 (Taylor Lynch 14), Whitefish 38 (Taylor Havens 20). Aces - Ronan 6 (Lynch 2), Whitefish 5 (Madison Tveidt 3)
