Maidens fall just shy in quest for districts
<p>The Maidens were amped up for senior night against Arlee last Thursday.</p>
The Ronan Maidens continued to make strides in the right direction, but fell in three matches against stiff competition last week and once this week to conclude their season.
On Tuesday, the Maidens hosted the Mission Lady Bulldogs and hung tough, but ultimately fell 25-13, 25-13, 25-20. Ronan was led by Alaina Madsen's six kills and two blocks, as well as Ashleigh Lynch's eight digs and six aces.
Bethany Colman added six assists, but the Maidens couldn't overcome the Lady Bulldogs. Two nights later, Ronan hosted an up-and-coming Arlee Scarlets team on senior night. The Maidens got contributions from all over the floor, including 12 digs and two aces from Madsen and four blocks from senior Darian Blixt-Leo, but Arlee dealt Ronan a 25-10, 25-17, 25 11 defeat. Senior Payge DeLaurenti notched eight assists, Lynch added five kills and Brittney Mock helped with a pair of aces in the loss.
Ronan bounced back from a tough first set to take an early 7-2 lead in the second. The Maidens staved off an Arlee rally until about midway through that set, before the Scarlets finally pushed through, never looking back after claiming a 12-11 edge.
To wrap up the week, Ronan headed to Deer Lodge and despite 15 digs from Lynch and eight assists from Lindsay Clairmont, the Maidens were defeated 25-23, 25-7, 25-18.
"The ladies were still struggling with keeping the momentum but that is OK," head coach Naomi Mock said. "We came back the third game and fought back again so that is better than having a slow start and no ending."
The Maidens then travelled to Deer Lodge for a rematch with a district berth on the line. Playing their best volleyball of the season, Ronan nearly shocked Deer Lodge before falling 22-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-15, 15-10 to end their season.
They didn't go down without a fight, however, as they out-dug Deer Lodge 97-36, including 23 apiece from Madsen and Lynch, who also contributed eight of the Maidens' 30 kills.
Clairmont helped with 13 assists, while Mock added five blocks and four aces in the defeat.
"I was beyond impressed," coach Mock said. "The attitude, the work, everything came to a climax. It was spectacular to watch."