Lady Cats fall to Shelby, Take Down Cut Bank 3-0 in home opener to start season 1-1
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Lady Cat Head Coach Kim Faulkinberry with seniors Alaynee Hawley, Brandy Calvert, Brooke Reed and Tia Kuntz at their first home match of the season Saturday versus Cut Bank.
The Harlem Lady Cat volleyball team has been steadily laying a foundation for the past few years and Head Coach Kim Faulkinberry has her team playing quality volleyball to start the season.
The Lady Cats have co-oped with the girls from Turner recently as well and the combination has been a benefit to all involved.
The Lady Cats began their season this past Thursday with a trip west to take on the Shelby Coyotes of the District 1B.
The Lady Cats fell 3-0 in the season opener but were highly competitive. After dropping the first set 25-9, the girls rebounded well.
Harlem played much better in set number two, pushing the Coyotes all the way to the end before falling 26-24.
The third set was nearly identical with both teams answering each others point with one of their own. In the end the Coyotes managed another slim set win, closing out the Lady Cats 25-23 in set number three to win the match 3-0.
Juniors Chloe Messerly and Taya Trottier each recorded four Kills in the match as did sophomore Jessica King. Senior Alaynee Hawley and King each served up three Aces. Messerly led the defense with three blocks while King, Trottier, senior Bandy Calvert, senior Brooke Reed and junior Vanise Little each dug up six balls. King also set up the hitters with seven Assists.
"I think jitters got the best of us in the first set, but then we settled in and competed very well the next two sets," commented Faulkinberry.
Looking for their first win of the new season the Lady Cats entertained the hometown fans Saturday afternoon with an impressive outing against the District 1B Cut Bank Wolves.
The Lady Cats were on the right side of another thrilling, down to the wire set as they edged out the Wolves 27-25.
Set number two was a different story as Harlem took control early and never looked back. The fast start and consistent play earned Harlem a 25-14 second set win.
Looking to complete the seep the Lady Cats kept up the attack, finishing off the Wolves with a 25-15 third set win to complete the sweep and improve to 1-1 on the season.
The Lady Cats got offense from all over the court as 10 players recorded a kill in the match. Messerly led the attack with eight Kills while Hawley added six more.
Hawley, King, Reed and Trottier each served up a trio of
Aces in the win for the Lady Cats. King, Little and Reed each collected four Assist in the match. Little and Trottier kept the ball alive with 10 digs each, King added seven to the team total.
"It was a really great team effort that helped get this win," said Faulkinberry.
The Lady Cats will be at home again this Thursday as they welcome North Country to town in a non-conference clash. Saturday Harlem will honor their seniors as they host the Rocky Boy Morning stars,
The Lady Cats first conference action will be a home contest, September 17 against the Malta M-ettes. They will then head out on the road September 19 to take on the Glasgow Scotties.
