Maidens head into divisionals
<p>Christine Robinson led the Maidens to a divisional berth.</p>
FLORENCE — For the first time in recent memory, Ronan’s volleyball team will be headed to the Western B divisional tournament.
The Maidens clinched a divisional spot by virtue of a straight-set (25-11, 25-16, 25-14) victory over rival Mission in the District 6-B tournament play-in game on Saturday.
They went on to play top-seeded Florence in the first round, falling 25-8, 25-14, 25-16. Loyola swept Ronan in the loser’s bracket, 25-12, 25-16, 25-21, to cement the Maidens as the fourth-place team out of 6-B. The Maidens will play District 7-B tournament champion Bigfork in the first round of divisionals today at 10 a.m.
“We did what we needed to to make it to divisionals,” Adrienna DeCock, the first-year Ronan coach said. “We definitely didn’t play our best against Florence. Things kind of fell apart against Loyola there as well.”
Ronan got a big day from setter Christine Robinson, who totaled 37 assists and 26 digs at the district tournament, but the usually powerful Maidens hitters seemed to be a bit off.
“It’s a long day, and we don’t play in any tournaments prior to this,” DeCock said. “… It’s a different mentality, and a lot of them aren’t used to that.”
Mission’s disappointing volleyball season came to an end with the play-in game. The Bulldogs only merited one win, a 3-1 decision over Plains on Sept. 13.
Bulldogs coach Kendal Anderson said her team was nervous in the season-ending loss.
“It’s just frustrating to drive all the way down [to Florence] and put so much emphasis on this one game,” Anderson said. “You could just see they were nervous and they didn’t have any fun in that last game.”
Anderson’s club only loses four seniors, though, and return the majority of their front row for next season.
Middle hitters Lindsay Johnson and Emilie Charlo, as well as sophomore setter Jordyn Eichert will highlight the team. The Bulldogs were without Eichert—who had a foot fracture—in their final three games of the season.
“They’ve got to get in the weight room, work on their verticals and stay in shape,” Andseron said. “They’ve got to put in the time. … The teams we play are all young, too, so it’s going to be just as tough next year.”