Lady Bulldogs drop back-to-back matches

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Loren Erickson goes up to reject a kill attempt by Thompson Falls’ Madison Fitchett on Thursday.</span></p>

by Jaren Haser
| October 12, 2012 9:00 AM

DEER LODGE — The Lady Bulldogs dropped two matches to District 6-B opponents last week, falling 3-1 to Thompson Falls on Thursday and Deer Lodge 3-1 on Saturday.

Thompson Falls grabbed the first set on Thursday 25-13, but Mission heated up in the second to tally the 25-20 win.

However, the Lady Bluehawks stole back the momentum in the third with a 25-21 victory and Mission was unable to recover, dropping the fourth match 25-12.

The Lady Bulldogs were right on pace for the most part with Thompson Falls when it came to the stats sheet, but the Lady Bluehawks, who remained perfect in conference play, held one distinct advantage.

Thompson Falls was able to stymie much of the Lady Bulldogs’ offensive attack by turning in 15 blocks on the night. Hope Reid accounted for 10 of those.

Both teams had 31 kills apiece with Sara Nerby leading the way for Mission with 14 in the match.

Stephanie Lewandowski had another solid outing for the Lady Bulldogs with 17 digs and three of the team’s five aces.

Loren Erickson topped the team in assists with 25 assists and came away with a block in the match. Lindsay Johnson and Emilie Charlo also tallied blocks on the night.

The Lady Bulldogs then traveled to Deer Lodge to take on the Wardens.

Mission kept things close in the first two sets, losing 25-19 and 25-20 respectively, but turned things up in the third for a swift 25-8 victory.

However, the team again failed to maintain this pace and dropped the last set 25-21.

Nerby was the team’s top hitter again with 13 kills and also led the Lady Bulldogs in blocks with four.

Erickson may have been the biggest standout for Mission, however, accounting for 25 assists, 13 digs and three aces. Lewandowski and Kaylie Durglo also had 13 digs apiece in the match.

Head coach Kendal Anderson said the Bulldogs (8-5) have taken on a new approach in practice to get back on the winning track.

“We had to go back to basics and make the younger girls understand and see the court better,” Anderson said. “I believe with this new knowledge the girls will much more effective at getting the sideout and keeping the ball with us.”