One would think that after losing several key seniors last year to graduation, the Lady Falcons would be down a bit this year. But, according to coach Christy Duchein, “There’s always going to be changes in your personnel, when you lose a player, you don’t just lose the skill, you lose the dynamics that they have on the court, too.”
On Thursday night, the Lady Falcons were definitely in sync with each other as they breezed through a match against Deer Lodge, winning in three games.
Duchein said it takes a while to adjust and mesh with each other and she was happy to see that happen on the floor against Deer Lodge. “I said I was proud of you because even when things weren’t working, you didn’t get down on yourself and you trusted in the person behind you.”
She went on to say that trusting the person next to you or behind you makes it easier for the team to execute their offense. The passes aren’t so high and the entire offense can speed up. In the back row, Kolbi Wood is the libero and can really keep the offense going. Duchein said Wood is very quick on her feet and that helps a bunch.
Even though Florence won by wide margins in all three games, the Lady Wardens did have some nice plays that kept Florence guessing. “They made some smart decisions at the right time,” according to Duchein.
Florence def. Deer Lodge
25-13, 25-11, 25-14
Florence: Kills:26 (Sarah Hopcroft 8). Assists: 21 (Halle Christopherson 13). Aces: 9 (Emily Kinnaman 3). Digs: 43 (Kolbi Wood 140. Blocks: 4 (Emma Stensrud 3)
Deer Lodge: Kills:13 (Marion Jones 5). Assists: 11 (Amy Fjell 8). Blocks: 7 (Emma Johnson and Amy Fjell 2)
Corvallis def. Stevensville, 3-0
Corvallis def. Stevensville, 25-16, 25-21, 25-14
Corvallis: Kills: 33 (Madeline Gilder 13). Assists: 29 (Hannah Martin 26). Aces: 10 (Martin 4). Digs: 29 (Casey Fison 8). Blocks: 5 (Isabel Evans 3).
Stevensville: Kills: 23 (Kennedy Praast 9). Assists: 22 (Maddie Weber 18). Aces: 5 (Cassi Kopsa 3). Digs: 36 (Kopsa 9, Weber 9). Blocks: 3 (Three with 1).
Valley Christian def. Darby
25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20
Darby: Kills 27 (Taylor Vance 6, Lexi Baer 6), Assists 27 (Fylena Rahn 17), Aces 21 (Trinity Henry 9), Digs 53 (Vance 13), Blocks 4 (Baer 2).
Valley Christian: Kills 17 (Haleigh Golden 5, Mariah 5), Assists 16 (Annie Rennaker 8), Aces 15 (Golden 5), Digs 45 (Madison Conner 15), Blocks 11 (Amber Anderson 3, Libby Schlapman 3).
Stevensville def. Dillon, 3-1
20-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-20
Stevensville: Kills:36 (Aliyah Anderson 9). Assists: 35 (Maddie Weber 32). Aces: 12 (Aliyah Anderson 4). Digs: 58 (Cassi Kopsa 19). Blocks: 7 (Maddalena Margini 4)
Dillon: Kills:33 (Evey Hansen 9). Assists: 28 (Madi Ruegsegger 20). Aces: 11 (Charli Hazelbaker 4). Digs: 63 (Ainsley Shipman 15). Blocks: 5 (Josey Jones 2)