MALAD — It took two matches, nine games, 400 points and nearly four hours for the Malad Dragons to win the 2A Fifth District Championship.

    “They’ve worked so hard,” said Malad head coach Camie Tripp in a hoarse voice afterwards. “They deserve this win.”

    In the fabulously cramped Malad High School Gym, known locally as the Dragon Dungeon, every point took on added significance because only one team could advance to state.

    Malad entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, undefeated in district play. Entering Wednesday night, the Dragons had only dropped on game to district opponents all season.

    That one loss came at the hands of the defending 2A state champion West Side Pirates.

    West Side had lost to Malad Tuesday, and after advancing through the loser’s bracket, the Pirates faced the task of defeating the Dragons —  who had not lost to anyone in the district all season — twice to win the district.

    But with an unwavering energy led by Casey Rich and Britani Moser West Side defeated Malad 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-13.

    “We felt like the first match got away from us not necessarily because of what West Side did, but because of what we didn’t do,” Tripp said. “We just brought it together and talked about how we needed to focus on the little things.”

    In the second match, Malad, propelled by Aubrey King and the team’s lone senior Heidi Hannah, the Dragons defeated the Pirates 27-25, 28-26, 21-25, 25-19.    

    Malad High School, and its Dragon Dungeon, is tiny. The kind of small where after cramming in two school bands, clusters of student bodies and fans, it requires everyone to get comfortable with  their neighbor.    

    The fans enjoyed two volleyball matches where neither team gave an inch.

    “They’re the defending state champions and they came to this tournament playing like state champions,” Tripp said. “In order for us to be No. 1, we had to beat the best.

    “So much of the year has been so easy for us that we sorely needed a challenge. West Side brought their A game. They made us play. They made us step up our game.”

    Malad travels to Hillcrest High School Oct. 26 for the 2A state tournament.