The Harlem Lady Cats were back in action this week looking to build on their first week of action in Malta.

The Lady Cats traveled to Cut Bank Thursday night to take on the Wolves of the District 1B. The match was a very competitive one, but the Lady Cats were never able to gain the upper hand.

In the first set it was a fairly even battle with both teams having their opportunity to take control. Down the stretch it was Cut Bank that had the ball fall their way, winning the first set 25-18.

Looking to even the match at a set apiece, the Lady Cats continued to try and gain some momentum. Harlem was able to string a few points together here and there but in the end it was again the Wolves with the upper hand, taking set number two 25-17.

Looking to avoid being swept, the Lady Cats again gave it their all. The Wolves had all the momentum and used that to take an early lead and earn a 15-15 third set win to take the match 3-0.

Senior Chloe Messerly and senior Taya Trottier each tallied six Kills on the night to lead the team. Senior Vanise Little had five assists on the night and Trottier, junior Jessica King and senior Alexis Cochran each dug up 10 balls.

“The scores are not indicative of how we played. I was pleased with the number of attack attempts that we had. We didn’t send as many free balls as the previous weekend. We hurt ourselves with some serving errors at crucial moments. We attacked the ball well but Conrad defended well, just need to convert more of our attacks,” expressed Head Coach Kim Faulkinberry.

Saturday the Lady Cats played a double header on the road against the St. Labre Lady Braves.

Looking to get back in the win column, the Lady Cats were looking to get off to a fast start in Match number one. In the opening set Harlem took control early and cruised to a 25-11 set win.

Looking to keep the momentum going the Lady Cats were again able to match the intensity of set number one and rode the wave to a 25-12 set two win. Feeling they had all things going their way, the Lady Cats were unstoppable in set number three and cruised to a 25-11 third set win to sweep in the opening match 3-0.

Harlem recorded 35 Aces as a team in the opening match, King had 11 by herself to lead the team. Cochran dug up 15 balls for the defense. Little had five Assists in Match one.

Harlem entered match number two with the same game plan in hand. Looking for another quick start, they scored early and often coasting to a 25-10 set win.

In set number two the Lady Braves put up a bit more of a fight, but the Lady Cats still controlled the tempo in a 25-16 set two win.

Looking to close out the day with their second consecutive match sweep, the Lady Cats took an early lead, built on it and then finished the day with a 25-15 third set win to complete the 3-0 win.

The Lady Cats were again impressive from the serving line tallying 28 Aces in the match. Messerly led the team with 12 in the match. Kink had 13 Assists in match two while Messerly slammed home 15 kills combined in both matches.

“Overall, I was pleased some of the girls found some serving consistency and effective attacks. We still need to work on communication on the floor a bit more, but that will come,” concluded Faulkinberry.