Volleyball Recap: Itasca Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Emma Malke and Kylee Montes

Itasca was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They came up short against the Italy Gladiators, falling 3-0. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Gladiators this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 3-0 on October 7th.

Itasca took the loss but they managed to make steady progress, increasing their score in every set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 25-22, 27-25.

Emma Malke

Digs

10/24/25 @ Italy	13
10/21/25 vs Rio Vista	11
10/14/25 vs Frost	14
10/10/25 @ Meridian	22
10/07/25 vs Italy	15
+ 4 more games

Despite the loss, Itasca had strong showings from Kylee Montes, who had 12 digs, and Emma Malke, who had 13 digs and one assist. Malke is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in each of the last nine games she's played.

Itasca's defeat dropped their record down to 13-15. As for Italy, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-6 record this season.

After both having extra time off, Itasca and Dawson will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Italy, they have already played their next contest, a 3-2 loss against Wortham on the 30th.