Charlo stayed undefeated with win over 10-C district rival Arlee
CHARLO - The Charlo Lady Vikings ran their stellar record to 7-0 with a hard-fought 25-22, 25-13, 25-14 straight-sets victory over the visiting Arlee Scarlets Saturday, Sept. 17.
Rachel Hoyt recorded three of the Lady Vikings' 13 aces, while Derika Stipe notched 15 assists in the win. It was Charlo's second win of the weekend after they knocked off Thompson Falls Thursday night.
Arlee, meanwhile, was coming off a marathon straight-sets victory over Hot Springs. Against the Lady Vikings, the Scarlets got 11 kills, six blocks and a pair of aces from Mahalia Hendren, but couldn't get the win. Arlee was still without starter Whitney Malatare, who is expected to miss another week with an injury.
The match's first set swung both ways, with the Scarlets using a 9-0 run to turn a 12-5 deficit into a 14-12 lead. From there, the teams were never separated by more than two points, tying four times, until the last point of the first set, when Charlo took a 1-0 lead.
The second set belonged to the Lady Vikings, as they stormed to an 18-7 lead and held tight the rest of the way to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
Both teams battled strong early in the third set, with the Scarlets trailing only 12-11 midway through. But Charlo returned the favor from the first set, using a 9-0 run of their own to stake themselves to a 21-11 advantage and finished off the match seven points later.
Cortney Dix contributed six assists for the Scarlets, while Becca Nelson added 16 digs in the defeat.
"There are a couple things we need to work on, but other than that, I was pleased," Arlee head coach Brian Big Sam said.
Dawn Blevins recorded all four Lady Vikings blocks while notching 14 assists and Kinley Pope added 19 and eight kills in the win. Deondra Brown led Charlo with 14 of the team's 33 kills.
"Against Arlee, we came out a little flat," Charlo head coach Sheryl Kain said. "They hit the ball well the first game but it seemed as the night went on they got a little off their game and we woke up."
The teams meet again in the regular season's final matchup, Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in Arlee.
Charlo 3 Thompson Falls 1
CHARLO - Charlo notched a 3-1 victory over Class B Thompson Falls by winning three straight games against the Lady Bluehawks.
"Wow, that was an intense match," Charlo head coach Sheryl Kain said. "It was really good. Thompson Falls hit the ball hard even from the back row and they find your weak sports. If your coverage is for the deep hard hit then they will hit it a little softer, or just tip it."
Junior Rachel Hoyt led the Lady Vikings with 12 kills while Deondra Brown added 10. They also were anchored by several impressive performances on defense. Brown had 19 digs, followed by Kelsie Blevins' 17, Dawn Blevins' 16 and Kinley Pope's 14 digs.
"I think the girls adjusted very well," Kain said. "They block at the net well too and that is something that we don't see a lot so that was good for us to get used to and make sure that we are ready for that in our coverage."
Dawn Blevins also had 16 assists and Pope had five service aces.
It was the second time this year that the Lady Vikings defeated a Class B school.
Arlee 3, Hot Springs 0
It took a marathon third set, but the Arlee Scarlets finally put away Hot Springs 25-22, 25-19, 33-31 in high school volleyball action Friday night.
Arlee recorded an astounding 140 digs, including 35 by Becca Nelson, while Cortney Dix added 10 kills and 12 assists in the three-set win.
"I liked that we had more communication on the floor," head coach Brian Big Sam said.
The victory, coupled with their defeat the following night against Charlo, moved the Scarlets to 4-2 on the season with a pair of contests set for this week.
Ronan will visit Arlee on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before the Scarlets head to Superior for a rematch with the Bobcats on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. In the season opener on Aug. 27, Superior handed Arlee a 25-10, 25-16, 25-20 defeat.