Lady Bulldogs place third

SUPERIOR - The Lady Bulldogs ended their season playing their best volleyball. A week after sweeping through the district tournament for the Western 7B championship, Mission won three games in the Western B divisional tournament, placing third.

"Overall I couldn't be prouder about the way they played in that tournament," Mission head coach Kendal Anderson said. "I told the girls that you can be disappointed about not winning but you can't be disappointed about the way you played."

Senior Adessa Durglo led the Lady Bulldogs with nine kills on Thursday as Mission disposed of Valley Christian 3-0 with scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-14. Sophomore setter Loren Erickson continued her string of stellar performances with 22 assists.That set them up in a second-round match against Loyola Sacred Heart on the same day.

"Loyola has always been a powerhouse," Anderson said. "There's always been a hesitancy in playing with them."

Loyola won the first two games, 25-18, 25-19, but Mission took the third, 18-25 before Loyola won the fourth game and the match, 25-18.

Durglo once again led the Lady Bulldogs with eight kills and six blocks.On Friday, Mission bounced back in the lower bracket by beating 7B district member Troy 3-1, with scores 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-12.

It was a full team effort as junior Jen Lars-son led them with 19 kills, Durglo had eight blocks and Erickson had 28 assists and seven aces for the Lady Bulldogs. The girls played spectacular defense as well, with junior Ashley Courville and senior Mackenzie Trudeau both collecting 20 digs in the match.

Mission would then have to face another familiar 7B district foe on Friday, this time it was Thompson Falls. The Lady Bulldogs won 3-0 to advance to the divisional semi-final game, 25-20, 25-18, 25-13.

Senior Sierra Scott, who had been hampered by a shoulder injury in the later stages of the regular season, led the team with nine kills while Courville and Mackenzie Trudeau combined forces again on the back row and both had 11 digs.They would face Loyola again and this time, the Lady Bulldogs had a little more confidence after beating them in a game the first time around.

"We beat them in that first match, they were beat-able," Anderson said. "They were scared, we almost took them."

The Lady Bulldogs took them to five games, 25-15, 13-25, 27-25, 18-25, 11-15 before falling 3-2.

"It was point for point," Anderson said. "The games were so close in the ones that we won."

Larrson had a good offensive game with 10 kills, while Trudeau was spectacular on defense with 30 digs. Erickson continued her great passing with 28 assists. Three years ago, Mission hadn't brought home a divisional trophy in their vol-leyball program's history. Since, they've taken second at districts and won a game in divisionals in 2008. They took third at districts and fourth at divisionals in 2009, and now first at districts and third at divisionals in 2010.

"I knew we would have a good team," Anderson said. "I knew we were going to be a force."

Anderson's team took third in the regular season this year in 7B, but proved to be the best team in the district tournament as the girls peaked at the right time.

"I watched a couple of other teams at tournament time fall apart," Anderson said.

But Mission was certainly not one of them.

"The girls really remained professional on the court," Anderson said. "It was just a great season and I feel proud of the group of girls I have."

Mission finished the post-season district and divisionals tournament with a 6-2 record.

"We ended the season the way we should of," Anderson said. "Playing our best volleyball."