Lady Bulldogs ousted early from divisionals

RONAN — Despite entering the Western B divisional tournament in Ronan with a No. 2 seed and a hopeful outlook, the Lady Bulldog’s stay was short-lived after the team dropped back-to-back matches against Troy and Loyola Sacred Heart, ending their season.

RONAN — Despite entering the Western B divisional tournament in Ronan with a No. 2 seed and a hopeful outlook, the Lady Bulldog’s stay was short-lived after the team dropped back-to-back matches against Troy and Loyola Sacred Heart, ending their season.

Unbeaten Florence went on to claim the tournament title with a sweep of Thompson Falls in Saturday’s title match. Both teams advance to the Class B State Tournament in Bozeman on Nov. 8-10.

Mission opened the tournament last Thursday against third-seeded Troy and looked to have the momentum early in the first set, but struggled to close things out, falling to the Lady Trojans in extra points, 27-25.

Lady Bulldogs head coach Kendal Anderson said the result of that first set would have a significant impact on the players through the rest of the match.

“I really think if we could have gotten that first set we might have been able to play with more confidence,” Anderson said. “Dropping the first set puts a lot of pressure on the team, especially the younger girls.”

Troy took the second set 25-13 before Mission rebounded with a narrow 26-24 win in the third. However, the Lady Trojans foiled the Lady Bulldog’s comeback attempt with a 25-20 win in the fourth set to put the match away.

“Troy was there to win and it was apparent from the start we would have to battle for points,” Anderson said.

On the frontline of that battle for Mission was Sara Nerby, who led all players in the match with 19 kills, while also turning in an ace. Kaylie Durglo and Stephanie Lewandowski also had aces in the match.

Lewandowksi led the team in digs as well, posting 16 in the match.

Loren Erickson was also very much in the mix, accounting for 25 assists and coming away with three blocks for the Lady Bulldogs.

The loss pitted Mission against Loyola on Friday, a team it had beaten twice already, but a team that had also “improved throughout the season” according to Anderson.

This proved to be the case, as the Breakers would go on to sweep the higher-seeded Lady Bulldogs 25-21, 25-21, 25-18.

Lewandowski had match-highs in both kills (12) and digs (16) for Mission, while Erickson notched all 21 of the team’s assists and came up with two blocks against Loyola.

Nerby topped the Lady Bulldogs with three aces in the match.

Meanwhile, Loyola’s Sierra Tiede put together an impressive individual performance for the Breakers, posting nine kills, nine digs, three aces and two blocks.

While the loss and early exit from the tournament was tough to swallow, Anderson said she was still proud of the way her team handled themselves.

“I can’t be too upset about the losses because we played two tough teams,” Anderson said. “The girls never gave up on themselves though, and that’s the most I could ask for.”

She was also pleased with their play, as they showed true camaraderie throughout both matches.

“I actually thought the whole team played well together,” Anderson said. “We played as a team, won as a team and lost as a team.”

Friday’s loss to the Breakers was the final match for seniors Nerby, Erickson, Lewandowski and Emyli Gillingham as Lady Bulldogs. Anderson said each will be “dearly missed.”

“These seniors will be impossible to replace,” Anderson said. “I’ve learned a lot from them and consider it a privilege to have gotten to work with them.”

They leave behind “some big shoes to fill” for those returning according to Anderson, forcing her to revamp her coaching strategies going into next season.

“The next year will be a lot different,” Anderson said. “We will be working much more on the fundamentals of play before trying to get to more advanced playing.”