Polson survives opening-game loss to get past Maidens
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RONAN — The Polson Lady Pirates got a dose of the new and improved Ronan Maidens volleyball team Saturday evening, dropping the opening game before rebounding to pick up an 18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-12 victory in the match.
“We were very, very tentative in that opening game. We just didn’t get after it like we usually do,” Polson head coach Jan Toth said. “We are so used to riding off the momentum of our hitters, but Breanne (Kelley) had been up all night battling the flu. We let Ronan set the tempo in that opening game and they played well, especially on defense. We let their blocking set the tempo of the game and we had a tough time passing.”
Ronan took advantage the situation, using momentum gained early in the game to pick up a win.
“We were very impressive in that first game,” Ronan coach Naomi Mock said. “We came out on top and it was the best I have seen us play in quite a while. We were ready and pumped up for the competition of playing a great team like Polson. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t keep up that momentum throughout the match.
While Polson was able to fight back and make it close in the opening game, the Lady Pirates were unable to complete their comeback try.
“I told the girls that we were up against a good team and that we were going to have to play hard to get the win,” Toth said. “We needed to settle down and relax. We didn’t do that until halfway through the game and by then it was too late.”
It was a different story in the second game of the match as Riley Kenney and the Lady Pirates came out strong.
“Kenney came out on fire in the second game and we let her performance set the tone for us,” Toth said. “She was putting the ball away when we needed it the most.”
Kenney and the Lady Pirates had no trouble picking up a win in game two as they cruised to a 25-15 victory.
Ronan jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in the opening moments of the third game but a quick timeout and adjustment by Toth helped get the Lady Pirates back on track. Reset with a quicker offensive attack and a variety of plays, Polson rallied to pull out a 25-21 win in game three.
“Our girls were hustling and scattering, they were doing everything that we had been talking about doing. It just wasn’t enough once Polson realized that they had to step up and play against us,” Mock said about the Maidens’ effort.
Game four belonged to the Lady Pirates as Polson easily picked up a 25-12 win.
“We are a good team but we are far from peaking,” Toth said. “Now that I have the lineup set, we should be more comfortable with what we are doing and things should be a lot smoother.”
Kenney led the Lady Pirate attack in the win, recording a game-high 19 kills and two blocks. Kayla Duford had 38 of Polson’s 39 assists in the game and Kendyall Rochin led in digs with 11 and aces with four.
Polson will be in action Thursday night at home against Columbia Falls.
Summary
Polson def. Ronan
18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-12
Kills - Polson 55 (Riley Kenney 19), Ronan 30 (Alice Van Gunten 9). Blocks - Polson 2 (Kenney 2), Ronan 1 (Brokke Deneault). Digs - Polson 51 (Kendyall Rochin 11), Ronan 51 (Marissa McCrea 13). Assists - Polson 39 (Kayla Duford 38), Ronan 21 (Van Gunten 9, Taylor Lynch 9). Aces - Polson 11 (Rochin 4), Ronan 8 (McCrea 2, Lynch 2).
