Hot Springs takes home win, prepares for district play

Danielle Switalski

The Hot Springs Lady Heat swept Philipsburg on Saturday during a quick, three game match.  Only the eight seniors played during the match as it was Senior Night for the Hot Springs ladies.

The Lady Heat beat Philipsburg 25-17, 25-17 and 25-12 in what Head Coach Bonnie Franklin called an “uneventful” match.

The team had a combined total of 13 aces, 21 assists, 32 kills, five blocks and 37 digs.  Abi Retallick led the team in aces and Franklin said she had a great night of serving, MacKenzie Wood led the team in assists with 16 total, Randi Arnold led with 14 kills and Wood had 11 kills, which is a high number for a setter.  The blocks were spread out across the board, Devon White leading with two.  White also led the team with nine digs.

Despite the easy win, the Lady Heat have a tough road to Divisionals ahead of them.  Five teams are heading into district play, Two Eagle, Charlo, St. Regis, Noxon and Hot Springs. 

Hot Springs faces off in district next Friday, October 30 against Noxon at 2 p.m.  Franklin said in the game against Philipsburg she had Arnold setting with Wood focusing on hitting, as she is the team’s hardest hitter, which worked out well for them.  This is one strategy the team will take when they face off against Noxon. 

Franklin said all around their serving has been solid and their passing is continuing to improve, which is something the ladies will need when they come up against these tougher teams in district play.  They are also going to have to depend more heavily on their back court in these tougher matches. 

This Friday’s game could go either way, as Hot Springs has beat Noxon twice in regular season matches, however, Noxon has managed to take home some game wins against Charlo, something Hot Spring has not managed to do. 

“We are going to have to play prepared in order to advance to the finals and play at the top of our game,” said Franklin. 

Things this coming weekend could get interesting, as Franklin said if all the stars align, Hot Springs could end up facing Charlo, one of their toughest competitors on Saturday in Arlee if both teams win their first district match.

The top two teams out of the five will move on to Divisionals in Butte the following weekend. 

“The girls are feeling good, we are healthy and have no injuries.  They just need to bring their A game…all of them,” said Franklin.

Comments on this story can be e-mailed to Reporter Danielle Switalski at Reporter@VP-MI.com.