Whitmore Lake vs. Roeper

White Team

25 – 17, 15 – 8

Last night, Whitmore Lake took on Roeper.  The White team had trouble serving during the first set, but so did Roeper.  Midway through the set, the Trojans finally figured out their serving problems and Claire Birely hit five in a row putting Whitmore Lake on top 13 – 9.  A few rotations later, Hailey Bowers came off the bench to serve seven in a row, almost completing the set with a score of 23 – 14.  Two more side outs closed the deal with a Whitmore Lake win at 25 – 17.  In the second set, Bowers and Emma Leonard each served a couple of points, then Whitmore Lake began trading side outs with Roeper for the remainder of the set.  The four point early edge remained and was enough to finish off the Rough Riders, 15 – 11. The team’s passing continues to improve and Grace Hyland demonstrated that with a great dig in the second set to keep the ball alive.  The win puts the White team’s record at 2 – 2 (2 – 2 MIAC).

Red Team

25 – 15, 15 – 2

The red team opened their match with serves from Brooklyn Blumenstiel and Haley Duncan with each serving Whitmore Lake to an early 6 – 1 lead.  Keirra Leonard added three later in the set, then Duncan served five straight points nearly doubling up Roeper’s score, 23 – 12.  After a couple of side outs later the set was over with Whitmore Lake on top 25 – 15.  In the second set, Blumenstiel was only able to put one point on the scoreboard to start the set.  Next it was Lanie Short’s turn and she added two more.  Ally St. Charles was the Trojans’ third server and she did not want to share the ball, putting the final 10 points on the scoreboard for a big 15 – 2 win.  Abby Muchow found her overhand serve again during the match, while Duncan also had one of her best nights serving.  The easy win keeps the Red team undefeated with a perfect record of 4 – 0 (4 – 0 MIAC).

Black Team

25 – 7, 25 – 9, 15 – 6

Last night, Whitmore Lake’s Black team looked to rebound from their Tuesday match, and rebound they did.  The coaches from Roeper were in a hurry to get home, and the Trojans were happy to oblige them.  A line-up error by the Trojan coach gave Roeper one of their few points before the set even began, but that was just charity to the poorly skilled Rough Riders.  Mila Proimos opened the set serving a run of 12 points before the Rough Riders had a chance to posses the ball and try to earn a point.  After Proimos’ serving show, Whitmore Lake struggled a little at the serving line, not being able to serve more than two at a time in-bounds.  Finally, José Marcum put together the final five points for an easy 25 – 7 win.  The second set was more of the same.  Feeling sorry for the visitors, Whitmore Lake’s coach made another line-up error handing Roeper another free point before the set began.  When play actually began, Proimos served the first six.  Phoenix Wilson put the next big string of points together with nine in a row and the lead was 19 – 4.  Proimos put Roeper out of their misery serving the final points of the set for another lopsided win at 25 – 9.  In the third set with the help of the players, the coach for the Trojans finally got the line-up right, and no free points for the Rough Riders this time.  Now it was Channing Cook’s turn to serve first and she took the Trojans halfway to the finish line, serving the first seven points.  After just four rotations, the set was over with Whitmore Lake on top 15 – 6, completing a night of sweeps, not giving up a set to Roeper during any of the matches.  Whitmore Lake didn’t have many chances to run their offense due to the inability of Roeper to return the ball, but the few surprising times they did, Whitmore Lake continues to show their ability to scramble and not let anything hit the floor.  In the third set, Whitmore Lake did get to run their offense a few times and had four, 3 hit attacks in row making the Rough Riders wish they could get on their bus even sooner.  Wilson also debuted her spot serving in the second and third set with great success, while Hailey Sheedy and Channing Cook had their first opportunity to fill in as setters and looked like pros.  Maria Hentnik and Grace filled their role as the wall playing tough at the net keeping the ball from ever coming over.  In a match that didn’t have a lot of action, the girls did a marvelous job staying alert and focused by bringing the energy with their cheers and chants.  The victory puts another notch in the win column for the Black bringing their record to 3 – 1 (3 – 1 MIAC).  Whitmore Lake doesn’t have to wait long to play again.  They are back in action tonight when they travel to Inter-city Baptist for their first road trip of the season in round two against the Chargers.