Week 6 Recap: All-Thumb Edition
We’re reached the halfway point of the MHSAA volleyball season. Week six was another great week of volleyball in the thumb. Teams are beginning to take leads in their respective conference standings and shine at big-time tournaments. Here’s a recap…
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Continue ReadingWe’re reached the halfway point of the MHSAA volleyball season. Week six was another great week of volleyball in the thumb. Teams are beginning to take leads in their respective conference standings and shine at big-time tournaments.
Here’s a recap of what went down last week in the Thumb.
Cass City Eying Number One in GTW
After dropping the conference opener to Bad Axe in week 4, the Hawks have thrown the match in the past without looking back. This week the Hawks had a critical league match on tap with the Caro Tigers. Even during their homecoming week, the Lady Hawks dialed in for the match, even without key defensive specialist, Madison Cumper. Stepping up was OH Haven Bouverette expanding her role to six rotations, Bouverette had the performance of her life exclaimed Coach Amy Cuthrell. Bouverette pocketed 6 kills, 3 aces and 8 digs. Cuthrell also sought out another big performance from one of her rookies in MB Sierra Spry. Spry terminated 13 kills to a tune of .393 and added a block. The biggest key in Cass City‘s success though came defensively with Abbey Salcido‘s 39 dig performance, a career-best for the libero.
Despite Caro‘s loss in Thursday’s match in Cass City, they did take down the last undefeated team in the league Tuesday. When Reese came to town, the Tigers were hungry. After dropping the first set, Caro rallied the next three sets. Opposite Kaitlyn Arebalo was huge dropping 19 kills and stuffing 6 attacks. Ellie Hornbacher wasn’t too far behind and totaled 16 kills and held a 97% reception rate. Both Arebalo and Hornbacher put up great performances against Cass City, posting 16 kills apiece and Arebalo with 7 blocks.
Unionville-Sebewaing also found success this week. The Patriots breezed through Vassar and Lakers sweeping both, only allowing one set for the opponent to get into the 20s. As the lone senior, Allyson Kemp came up big on the pin. Kemp pocketed 28 kills hitting over .300. Grace Williamson was another efficient hitter posting 22 kills hitting just under .400. Williamson also averaged over a block per set in USA’s victories.
Harbor Beach Hangs with the Best in D3/4
After sweeping Capac in conference play Thursday evening, the Pirates made the trip down to Michigan Elite. In one of the toughest tournaments in the state, Harbor Beach came to play! After going 1-0-2 in pool play, the Pirates made their way to the semifinals before dropping to #2 St. Mary Catholic Central. The ladies from the Beach were impressive in their outing and have a lot to look forward to come post-season play.
Brown City also had an impressive week walking away with two more wins in the Greater Thumb East and playing well in Marysville for weekend play. During weekly conference play, the Green Devils had very little trouble garnering wins against Marlette and Ubly. The key to success again came from Jenna Welke‘s pins. Grace Schlaud was impressive totaling 41 kills and 31 digs between seven sets. Against the Red Raiders, Schlaud was superb hitting .600 in the sweep. Adding to the artillery of arms on the squad, MB Olivia Bovenschen, posted 17 kills, getting more and more crucial in Brown City’s offense.
Ubly was another team that saw impressive performances this week. The Bearcats dropped their first match against Brown City before sweeping Sandusky. They were led offensively by MB Allison Lautner and defensively by libero Josie Gusa. Lautner was dynamite posting 27 kills, 5 blocks and 3 aces between the two matches. Gusa’s scrappiness made times tough for opposing hitters bringing up 47 digs.
BWAC Comes Down to Two
Croswell-Lexington and North Branch are the last two remaining undefeated teams in the Blue Water Area. What a coincidence they both will go head-to-head in the final game of regular season BWAC play on October 10th.
Cros-Lex took down another conference foe this week and played in Marysville on Saturday. In a 3-1 defeat over Almont, the Pioneers saw a very balanced attack. Maia Fagan led her squad again with 13 kills and digs. The duo in the middle of Ashley Westbrook and Kyler Kolakovich combined for 16 kills, hitting .375. Cros-Lex then traveled to Marysville on Saturday, going 1-3-1 on the day. Ryan Wilson‘s team was positioned in a highly competitive pool with the likes of D1 ranked teams in L’Anse Creuse North and Flushing. The Pioneers made it to the silver semifinals before dropping to St. Claire in a top-notch 3-set thriller.
North Branch swept through Armada on Thursday before heading to Goodrich for another cut-throat tournament. The match at Armada saw OPP Quinn Peterson come alive with a career-best performance. Peterson was unstoppable offensively dropping 15 bombs on a .615 clip. Breann June was impressive with her consistency as a 6-rotation outside. June scored 14 points in the match with 4 coming off of aces and led the team in digs with 16.
In weekend play, North Branch had themselves struggle to find momentum. Placed in a pool with the top-ranked team in the state of Michigan, Mercy and the number 16 team in Division 1, Oxford – the Broncos had met their match. North Branch found themselves offensively frustrated hitting a .138 clip throughout the tournament. Peterson was a bright spot for the team however terminating 20 kills on a .280 clip.