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Malden advances to District championship after win over East Prairie
MALDEN, Mo. - The Malden Green Wave made it to the Class 2 District 1 finals for the first time in three years.
They outlasted East Prairie 3-1 to secure a spot in the championship game.
After losing to Portageville last year in the semifinals, Malden’s head coach Jennifer Sokolova was proud to pull her team one game closer to a run at the state tournament.
“This feels good, because we didn’t do this last year,” Sokolova said. “It’s ironic because last year we got out by Portageville and now we get to play them in the championships.”
It was a shaky start for Malden as they dropped the first set in extra points. East Prairie pulled out a 26-24 win in set one.
Despite going down 1-0, the Green Wave bounced back and took the next three sets. They beat the Eagles in the second set 25-14. Junior Hestania Jackson led the way in the second set with three kills, which adds to her three kills from the first set. Senior setter Mariah Loya put up three assists in the second set to aid in the 11 point victory.
Malden found their rhythm in the third set, winning 25-8. Junior Khyrie Mathies led with five assists, putting her at 10 total assists through three sets.
Along with Mathies, Harper Murphy stepped up as a freshman in this varsity “win or go home” match. She was able to put down two kills in the third set, adding to her seven total kills on the night.
“Harper is a good middle and she can play any place in the front row,” Sokolova said. “She helped us out a lot tonight with those hits and helped save us.”
East Prairie began to battle back towards the end of the final set, but Malden was able to pull out another 25-18 victory and advance to the championship.
Jackson finished with eight kills while Mathies led the team with 15 assists.
This feat was one of the team’s biggest goals heading into the season.
“It feels good for these girls,” Sokolova said. “We haven’t had much of a winning season but we are getting back into the swing of things and they are playing well.”
However, their mission is not done yet. Now they set their eyes on the Bulldogs in a rematch of last year’s semi final.
Only this time, it’s for the district title.
Portageville has won districts the past three years, and have proven they can do so again this year under the right circumstances. They finished the regular season as the favorites to win the Class 2 District 1 assignment with a 28-5-2 record.
The Bulldogs eliminated Twin Rivers in the semifinal match with a 3-1 victory.
This win was led offensively by junior Gloriaha Farmer who had 20 kills and nine digs. She was helped by sophomore Lexi Priggel who put up 21 assists. Their success has been due to having multiple weapons offensively, which they were able to put on display against Twin Rivers.
The Royals did stump Portageville with a 25-23 win in the second set, but were unable to accomplish the match win.
Malden will hope to stop some of the Bulldog’s weapons for a bid to the Missouri Class 2 State Volleyball Tournament. The last time Malden advanced to state was in 2022.
“I think we are ready for [Portageville],” Sokolova said. “Our biggest struggle is mental, because when we get down our playing goes down. But they have been so positive these last few practices and the last few games so I think that will carry over and help us a lot.”
Malden will host Portageville for the Class 2 District 1 Championship game at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29.