Mission finishes better than ever

ST. IGNATIUS - Mission volleyball made it further than they ever

had before.

ST. IGNATIUS - Mission volleyball made it further than they ever had before.

"Each year, we set higher goals," junior captain Ashley Courville said. The Lady Bulldogs finished third in the divisional tournament after sweeping through the district tournament and beating two teams that finished higher than them in the regular season.

"We always had a mental block against those two teams," Courville said.

Those two teams were Eureka and Bigfork. After winning their first match of the district tournament, they ousted Bigfork and then defeated Eureka twice for the district crown.

The Lady Bulldogs would go on to win three game in the divisional tournament, just one win away from the state tournament.

Their success started early in the season, as Mission went 10-0 in their home tournament, but they got a rude awakening with a loss to Superior.

Not being ones to stumble, the Lady Bulldogs rattled off six straight wins, including a revenge victory over Superior.

"We all had individual goals and team goals and we really wanted to accomplish them," outside hitter Sierra Scott said.

Sophomore Loren Erikson took over at the setter position with minimal experience, but came up big for the Lady Bulldogs, posting impressive assist numbers every match.

Senior Adessa Durglo, Courville and Scott all earned all-conference honors for their performances throughout the season.

The long season wore on Mission, as Scott suffered a torn labrum and many of the girls found themselves sick and worn down.

"I kind of just dealt with the pain," Scott said. "Volleyball is my life."

It was then that volleyball head coach Kendal Anderson gave her team several days off after the end of the season to get ready for districts.

With the third seed, they had to knock off some teams, but at least they were able to recover.

"It just made it feel more like the beginning of the season," Courville said. "That helped a lot."

The Lady Bulldogs returned rejuvenated to make an inspiring run.

"It really helped our mindset going into districts," Scott said.

Many commented on how it appeared Mission was the best team in districts and that's easy to believe with their mindset.

"The way we played together was as a team and nobody cared who got the point," Scott said. "We all stayed positive and we wanted the best for one another. We all just wanted it so bad. We never got mad at each other and there was no drama."

After their season was over at divisionals, Anderson told her team that they couldn't hang their heads about the way they performed.

"Overall I couldn't be prouder about the way they played in that tournament," she said afterward.

With six seniors returning next year, the Lady Bulldogs should have plenty of talent to continue to set those high goals.

"We really did make a name for our team," Scott said.