Lady Mavs Struggle in Malta, Squeak Past Harlem, Fall to Scobey

The Lady Mavericks opened their volleyball season with two tough weekends. First, with a busy tournament in Malta on Aug. 25.

Although the girls finished with some nice scores, they were unable to win a set for the day. According to head coach Charlene Wasson, the squad struggled at being aggressive at the net. "It was a hit and miss kind of thing," she explained. "We also struggled a bit to have real consistent passing."

Following the games in Malta, Wasson said the team needed to focus more on overall communication and planned to make some adjustments before the games in Harlem and Scobey.

Malta Tournament

Set 1 - North Country 10, Chinook 25 (Serving 7-10)

Set 2 - North Country 19, Plentywood 25 (Serving 10-18)

Set 3 - North Country 21, Poplar 25 (Serving 14-20)

Set 4 - North Country 22, Winnett-Grass Range 25 (Serving 10-18)

Tournament Match 1

Set 1 - North Country 19, Malta 25 (Serving 14-17)

Set 2 - North Country 9, Malta 25 (Serving 13-19)

The Lady Mavericks traveled to Harlem for their second set of away games on Aug. 30. While the teams traded wins for the five sets, North Country came out on top with a win in the final set. Danika Soper led the team in assists with 38 out of 59 and a 90 percent attacking percentage. Elise Strommen went 14 of 15 to lead in serves, and Kaitlyn McColly led in three categories: aces (five of 14), digs (10 of 31) and blocks (six of seven).

Harlem Scores

Set 1 - Harlem 25, North Country 20

Set 2 - Harlem 16, North Country 25

Set 3 - Harlem 19, North Country 25

Set 4 - Harlem 25, North Country 22

Set 5 - Harlem 8, North Country 15

The team struggled to make any headway against the perennially strong Scobey Lady Spartans on Aug. 31, dropping three sets in a row to the visitors in Hinsdale.

Soper led in assists again with 25 of the team's 45, while Strommen, McColly and Kia Wasson each finished with two aces for the day. McColly and Jaydyn Erickson both had three blocks to lead the category, and McColly also led in digs for the day with seven of the team's 19. Sarah Boucher and Emilie Carillo could not have done any better with their serves, with both going five of five, and Wasson had another good attacking percentage with 11 of 12 or 92 percent.

Scobey Scores

Set 1 - North Country 7, Scobey 25

Set 2 - North Country 19, Scobey 25

Set 3 - North Country 13, Scobey 25

The Lady Mavericks will compete at the Froid/Med Lake Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 8.