Arlee steady to the end

Jenna Cederberg, Leader Staff

ARLEE - The Scarlets lost just one game of ten this week, sweeping both Superior and Victor, after coming up with a convincing 3-1 win over an energetic Charlo squad last Tuesday. Arlee did not lose one match this season.

The team now sits at a perfect 16-0 going into the post season.

Against Superior, junior hitter Jordan Pfau had 13 kills. After the team's win over Charlo, she said the perfect record was a goal that the team concentrated on.

"The record is what we're trying to keep," Pfau said. "We are going to keep improving. Always try to be positive."

Head coach Lonnie Morin had a different take on the feat, but was not any less excited after the final match.

"I didn't want to believe it until it actually happened. Going undefeated was never our season goal, they just wanted to play to their potential," Morin said.

The team also celebrated its 16th win as well as Senior Night on Saturday against Superior. Seniors Adrieana Trujillo, Carlee Allestad, Kayla Thomas and Veronica Nelson were honored.

Arlee didn't let the Bobcats come close, winning 25-10, 25-13, 25-20. The team had 23 kills and 18 aces, continuing an offensive stand that has guided them throughout the season. Allestad had four aces in the win.

Against Victor, the Scarlets again won easily, 25-4, 25-15, 25-20. This time, the defense complemented the team's strong offensive play. Thomas had three of the team's 11 digs. Pfau led the team with 15 kills. The team finished with a total of 19 and 12 aces.

Sophomore Melissa Ivanoff had a team-leading four aces. Freshman setter Cortney Dix, who continued to successfully fill the shoes of the second hit master, had 15 of the team's 19 assists.

Arlee moved to 14-0 with the convincing 3-1 win over Charlo this past week. Charlo came into the match with just one in the loss column, and has been a force all season.

Home court advantage and, more importantly, the aggressive play off the net by the Scarlets boosted the team over the quick Vikings.

The go-to player of the season, Arlee's Pfau was again a force that couldn't be stopped. Arlee brought themselves back from the early game one deficit to win, 25-23 after a huge dunk from Thomas.

No team has been able to defend Pfau's double-armed attack and she's been averaging well over 15 kills per match. She led the team to an easy 25-19 victory in game two.

"We started off kind of star struck," Pfau said. "We just weren't focused. But once we got a few good kills and blocks it got the team's adrenaline up."

The Scarlets led the entire game two, completely stealing any momentum the Vikings built in game one. With Pfau's kills, Charlo had a tough time covering the court later in the match, and couldn't get the offense set up for kills, this kept the ball away from Maughan, who is most effective when she can get the second hit off to junior hitter Stephanie Murphy.

"It's so cool. It surprised us to be our hardest competitor and we won in three games," Thomas said.

Now the team has to work on staying focused during the two week gap between regular season play and the start of districts on Nov. 8, Morin said. "I am trying to think of ways to make the next two weeks go faster. It is a really long break."

The team attended a University of Montana Grizzly volleyball practice this past Tuesday. Morin thought it would be one way to keep the team away from the boredom of practice.

The team will also run some scrimmages to keep in shape for the next challenge.

"I've enjoyed all of the girls this season. They all have great attitudes and amazing spirit and work ethic, so I am looking forward to what they can do at districts, divisionals and state," Morin said.

Arlee goes into the District 9-C tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Class-C Divisional tournament will take place on Nov. 14-15 in Butte. Bozeman will host the all-class volleyball state tournament Nov. 21-22.