Lady Vikings come out victorious in hard-fought match with Scarlets

ARLEE — In a closely-matched District 10-C rivalry matchup between Arlee and Charlo on Saturday, the Lady Vikings came out on top 25-23, 25-22, 25-21, but the match left both coaches wondering what might have been.

ARLEE — In a closely-matched District 10-C rivalry matchup between Arlee and Charlo on Saturday, the Lady Vikings came out on top 25-23, 25-22, 25-21, but the match left both coaches wondering what might have been.

Neither team was at full strength for the match as Charlo head coach Sheryl Kain was missing two players due to illness and Arlee’s Brian BigSam watched one of his key players in Mahalia Hendren go down with a sprained ankle in the first set.

“It would have been interesting to see how it ended up with full teams on both sides,” Kain said. “You just kind of wonder what’s going to happen come tournament time.”

Despite the missing players, the match was still a crowd-pleaser with solid play from both teams and each game being decided by four points of less.

This intense battle was reflected in the stats sheet as well, as both teams were able to come away with distinct advantages in certain categories.

Charlo had more kills with 30 compared to Arlee’s 20. The Lady Vikings’ Rachel Hoyt and the Scarlets’ Violet Pablo both led their respective teams in this department with 10 apiece.

Arlee’s 10 blocks well exceeded Charlo’s four in the game, as Alexis Shick turned in a team-high of four for the Scarlets. Hoyt led the Lady Vikings with two.

With 25 assists, including 11 from Haley Berkram, Charlo outperformed Arlee, which had 13. The Scarlets’ Bailey Rice accounted for five of the team’s total.

Arlee had Charlo’s number when it came to aces with 20 on the night, nine of which came from Pablo. The Lady Vikings produced nine aces by comparison, with Hoyt and Berkram tying for the team lead with three apiece.

The only category in which the teams were just about even in was digs, with Arlee notching 33 and Charlo coming away with 29. Rice led the Scarlets with nine, while Laura Reich turned in seven to led the Lady Vikings.

Kain was pleased to see her team emerge victorious, noting that each player “played hard” and did their job.

“The girls stepped up and did what they had to do,” Kain said.

She was particularly pleased with the play of Trinda Foust and Madison Foust, who played for the team’s two sick players.

“When you play some that aren’t used to being out there as much or have never been on the floor in a varsity game and they step up, it’s just nice to know that you can rely on that to happen,” Kain said.

The team’s ability to close out each set despite immense pressure also impressed Kain and is a good sign at this point in the season.

“They’re not thinking they have it won and just coasting along,” Kain said. “They’re staying focused through the whole thing...That’s what we need to happen.”

Despite the loss, BigSam was just about as pleased with his team’s performance without one of their top players.

“They performed well,” BigSam said. “They all stepped up to where we wanted them to...the girls handle themselves well so I was very pleased with the outcome even though we didn’t come away with the win.”

This also has BigSam excited for what’s ahead for Arlee (5-6, 4-5).

“They’re slowly coming together as a team and it’s new ballgame come districts,” BigSam said.

BigSam believes Hendren should be ready to go by Oct. 11 when the team takes on Drummond.

Charlo (13-3, 8-1) will take on Lincoln (3-9, 3-8) in its next match on Oct. 11 for Senior Night.

The Lady Vikings split with the Lynx earlier in the season at the Drummond Tournament, and is a team Kain said Charlo cannot look past.

“They’re not somebody that you just overlook,” Kain said. “I think at any given moment they can be tough. We just have to stay focused.”