Mission absorbs Senior Night setback

ST. IGNATIUS — In terms of scheduling, the Mission volleyball team (11-7, 5-3 conference) saved the best for last. At Thursday’s home finale, the Bulldogs celebrated Senior Night while taking on the unsavory task of hosting the undefeated Florence Falcons, who toted a 14-0 record into the contest. While the stage was set for an upset that would have been a thrilling send-off for the team’s elder statesmen, the Falcons were not to be denied, cruising to a sweep and keeping their perfect season intact, 25-15, 25-7, 25-16.

Despite the challenge at hand, head coach Kendal Anderson made sure that her squad came into the fray with the right mindset and was undaunted by the competition.

“What did we have to lose? Florence was the one with the perfect season on the line,” Anderson said of her team’s freewheeling mental approach.

For parts of the first and third games, the Bulldogs hung with their guests, and even held leads of three to four points at times.

In the long-run, however, Florence’s outstanding defense and height at the net made life difficult for the Bulldogs, who ran into trouble on their side of the court, as well.

“Our receive was what hurt us the most,” Anderson said. “We couldn’t get a pass to our setter and our setter wasn’t able to set up our hitters.”

Though they did not come up with the Senior Night victory they sought, appropriately, the Bulldogs were led statistically by their three senior linchpins, Sara Nerby, Loren Erickson, and Stephanie Lewandowski. Lewandowski led the way with 5 kills and 12 digs, Nerby registered a team-high 3 blocks, and Erickson handed out 6 assists.

The seniors still have a last hurrah to look forward to in the postseason, as the team prepares for the start of the district tournament play.

“Within the last few weeks, we really have come together and played with more confidence and more brains.  We are seeing the court better than before and making smarter decisions with ball placement on our attacks,” Anderson said, in anticipation of the playoffs.

The district tournament will be held Saturday in Florence. The Bulldogs will take the court at 1:30 and face either Deer Lodge or Loyola.