North Country Volleyball Ends Season At State Tournament

The North Country Lady Mavericks volleyball team's season came to an end at the State C Tournament last Saturday, Nov. 16.

The Mavericks were up 13-11 on the Bridger Scouts in the first set in the opening round of the elimination bracket, but the Scouts went on a 3-1 run to end the game. North Country battled back, winning the third and fourth set, after falling behind 0-2 in the game. The scores for the game were 17-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-21, and 14-16.

"It really was a team effort," North Country senior Berkley Hillman said. "In that third set, we changed our lineup a little bit so that we could line up with our hitters a little differently. It just took all of us. You know, passing and hitting better and we came through when we needed to. All season, I think our strongest point was really coming through when it absolutely mattered the most.

BaiLee McColly led the Mavericks offense with 21 kills and five blocks. She was asked about finding success against some of the toughest frontlines in the state.

"We really had to come together and be loud," B. McColly said. "This gym is huge and you just have to be loud, communicate with your setter, just make sure you know where the ball's going, and really connect with your teammates."

CharLee McColly had 17 kills and five blocks. Emerson Downing had 10 kills. Berkley Hillman 18 digs had three aces.

Kennedy Simonson had 22 assists, 19 digs, and an ace. Gracie Wasson had 16 assists, 16 digs, and three blocks.

North Country had a total of 99 digs, 49 kills, 41 assists, 13 blocks, and five aces.

The Lady Mavericks opened the State C tournament on Thursday, Nov. 15, with a 3-1 loss to the Gardiner Bruins. The scores were 25-23, 20-25, 16-25, and 16-25.

"We ran into a different attacker in the Gardiner match, one who was a power left-hand hitter. This changed our defense scheme and maybe threw us off a little at first," North Country Head Coach Charlene Wasson said. "We did serve very well over the weekend. Just need to score points when we need them. The momentum was slow to return to us at times."

B. McColly led the offense against Gardiner with 13 kills and six blocks. C. McColly had 10 kills. Wasson had seven kills and eight digs. K. Simonson had 15 assists, 14 digs, and a team-leading three aces.

Despite falling at state, the Lady Mavs overcame several odds, which included taking second place in the Eastern C Divisional, and earning third place in the 1C District Tournament that featured 11 teams.

The Lady Mavericks competed in 48 sets of volleyball this postseason. An experience that will bode well for this young group going forward.

"We definitely had a lot of ups and downs, but like I said earlier, we just came together and we needed to," Hillman said. "Everyone is very supportive of each other and we're a very close-knit group which is very important in tight games like that, because everybody needs to know how to lift each other up and you know, spread a smile across everybody's face."

Coach Wasson expressed a statement of pride in her team.

"The Mavericks had a great season and were right where we wanted to be at the end of the season at the State Tournament," Coach Wasson said. "We had five players make All-Conference selections."

Those athletes include: BaiLee McColly who earned All-State and First Team Honors and Kennedy Simonson who earned First Team Honors. CharLee McColly, Berkley Hillman, and Ireland Mears each earned Second Team Honors.