White Team

25 – 18, 25 – 16, 17 – 16

Last night, Whitmore Lake’s White team faced Greenhills for the third time this season.  After winning the first two at home, they were looking to do the same on the road.  Hailey Bowers started the Trojans off on the right foot serving the first six points.  Greenhills tried to match that on their first serve, but could only score four before Whitmore Lake got a side out.  From there, it became a serving battle, and the teams stayed close or tied until Claire Birely got to the serving line with Whitmore Lake ahead by one at 18 – 17.  Birely served up six in a row taking the Trojans to game point.  A side out later, Whitmore Lake had the first set wrapped up 25 – 18.  In the second set, Bowers duplicated her start from the first set, and the Trojans weren’t slowing down this time.  Four points by Grace Hyland, two more by Birely and another by Sarah Brown put Whitmore Lake up 18 – 10.  It wasn’t long before the Trojans had set two under their belt at 25 – 16.  In the third set, Whitmore Lake again jumped out to a big lead at 11 – 4, but the Gryphons found a little life and scored seven in a row to tie the set at 11.  Both teams began to have problems serving and could only score on side outs.  Whitmore Lake made it to 15 first, but the set wasn’t over because Greenhills had 14.  The side outs continued and the set capped at 17, Whitmore Lake hit that magic number first, winning the third set 17 – 16, taking all three sets in their final match of the season.  The White team continues to get better and doing better at serve receive including an awesome pass by Kylie Burianek off a rocket launched by the Gryphons.  They are also having longer volleys and moving better on the court.  Many of the girls are trying their overhand serves too.  The win gives the White team an overall winning record for the season at 7 – 5 (4 – 5 MIAC).

Red Team

20 – 25, 25 – 15, 12 – 15

At Greenhills last night, the Red team found themselves in a rare situation, a competitive match.  After one full rotation, Whitmore Lake was up by one at 12 – 11, but that was short lived.  Greenhills scored the next six points.  When Ally St. Charles got to the serving line, she mounted her horse named Comeback, and served the Trojan back into the lead at 20 – 19.  Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring for Whitmore Lake and Greenhills finished the set on their next possession at 25 – 20.  Now the Trojans had to win the second set to give themselves a chance.  After each team had a turn to serve, it wasn’t looking good for Whitmore Lake, down 2 – 8.  Luckily Laenie Short wasn’t fazed by the moment and tied the set up.  Then came the big serving run by Isla Sterzik, hitting eight aces off nine serves for a 20 – 14 lead.  St. Charles finished the set with another four aces for a 25 – 15 win.  Whitmore Lake put themselves in position to win the match and momentum was on their side.  A side out and two more points by Brooklyn Blumenstiel gave Whitmore Lake the first three points of the set.  Greenhills went on a scoring run to take the lead at 7 – 3.  After St. Charles finished serving the set was tied at seven and Abby Muchow gave the Trojans their first lead since the beginning of the set with her four serving points to be on top 12 – 11.  Greenhills next server turned out to be Whitmore Lake’s kryptonite and the Trojans were unable to stop her as she served out the set for a final score of 15 – 12 and a match win.  Despite the season ending loss, the Red team had an outstanding season finishing with a 9 – 3 (8 – 2 MIAC) record.

Black Team

25 – 20, 25 – 20, 15 – 8

In their final match of the season and middle school career for many of the girls, Whitmore Lake traveled to Greenhills for round three against the Gryphons, this time on their court.  After winning the first two matches against Greenhills, Whitmore Lake was going for the season sweep.  Unlike the last few matches, Whitmore Lake got off to a slow start and the Trojans were behind at first, until Grace the Ace Bennardi got the serve and took Whitmore Lake to the lead at 8 – 6.  Then Phoenni Lou Wilson added to the lead with her three aces off four five serves putting Whitmore Lake up 13 – 7.  The Trojans were starting to cruise as usual.  With the score at 22 – 14, Whitmore Lake was headed for another easy win, but that’s when the Trojans started helping the Gryphons with a lack of communication and many unforced errors.  Whitmore Lake couldn’t decide who was going to pass the ball, thus running into each other or when they did get a good pass and set, thought the goal was to hit the ball into the net or outside the boundary lines.  Suddenly Greenhills was only down by two at 22 – 20 before Whitmore Lake got a side out.  Luckily Wilson was still on fire from the serving line and aced the final two points for a 25 – 20 first set win.  In the second set, Whitmore Lake got out of the trash can fast with a serving show by Mila Proimos putting nine points on the scoreboard including seven aces off her topspin serve.  Channing Cook added three more points and the big red volleyball machine was rolling with a 13 – 5 lead.  Whitmore Lake was again cruising to an easy win with the score at 20 – 13, but then came a second collapse.  It was déjà vu all over again.  It looked like someone replaced the Trojans with the Bad News Bears; missed passes, players tripping over each, missed serves, if it was bad, the Trojans did it.  Greenhills started to make their move as they began their second full rotation, making it 16 – 20.  Proimos’ serve opened the gap back up a little at 22 – 16, but the Gryphons weren’t going to make it easy on the Trojans and scored the next four points to make it 20 – 22, still with the serve.  Whitmore Lake put on the clamps and stole the ball back with a side out.  Two points away from a victory, it was Cook to the rescue who served a bullet ace to make it game point for the Trojans.  Another serve by Cook put the match on ice for a Trojan victory with an identical 25 – 20 score as the first set.  With the match in hand, Whitmore Lake relaxed a little and started playing Trojan volleyball in the third set.  Whitmore Lake was quickly up 8 – 3 and stayed in rhythm for the entire set and again Cook served out the set on her second turn from the serving line, this time for an easy 15 – 8 victory to sweep the Gryphons on the night and for the season.  Despite not playing their best in the first two sets, the girls again proved their mental toughness, never needing a time out to collect themselves and doing what it took when it really counted.  Wilson had her best showing while playing in the front row with a dump over the net for a kill at a crucial point in the second set and also had several powerful hits for kills.  Bennardi had several strategically placed tips for kills mixed in with her hard hitting and blocking at the net.  Slim Sheedy again showed her hitting prowess during the third set to go with her solid passing and patented diving for saves throughout the match.  Oscar Valentine was also all over the floor, while making several powerful hits during the game.  Cook showed off her setting skills in the third set and got several good hits earlier in the match, while Maria Hentnik made a couple of huge blocks with her presence at the net.  Josie Marcum came off the bench to keep the Trojans on track during an emergency hair tie malfunction and provided some solid serving when Whitmore Lake was struggling, while adding some calmness to the back row with her precise passing.  Whitmore Lake’s Black team had a remarkable season, while also being one of the best middle school volleyball teams in over a decade.  It all started with a vision from the coach at the beginning of the season and then the girls fulfilling that vision with their hard work, effort, willingness to make changes and work together as a team.  This sacrifice throughout the season earned the girls an impressive final record of 9 – 2 (8 – 1 MIAC).  The team will next be together at their season ending banquet to honor them for their dedication to the sport and each other next Wednesday, then one final outing together on Friday when they go to see Michigan take on Penn State at Crisler Center for a Big 10 volleyball match.

White Team

25 – 23

Last night, Whitmore Lake’s White team fought hard in a thrilling match against Novi Christian.  Hailey Bowers served the first three points for the Trojans, then the teams played even and after the first full rotation, the score was tied at 11.  After the second full rotation, the score was still tied, this time at 20.  Neither team could score two points in a row and they were still tied at 23.  Finally, Grace the Ace II Highland, answered the bell and scored a point off her serve giving the Trojans a one point lead at game point.  The defense held and got a side out on the next serve to win the set, 25 – 23.  Kylie Burianek had a good night of passing for the Trojans and Harper Dewar played her best all around game with good passing and serving.  The win puts the White team’s record at 6 – 5 (4 – 5 MIAC) and ensures that they will finish the season at .500 or above.

Red Team

25 – 20, 15 – 9

At Novi Christian, Whitmore Lake’s Red team showed improvement in running the offense against the Eagles.  A few rotations in, Ally St. Charles subbed in to serve and did exactly what she was sent in to do, serving six in a row with the last four being aces for a 10 – 4 lead.  Abby Muchow added two more aces, then Brooklyn Blumenstiel added four the Trojan side of the scoreboard to increase the lead at 20 – 10.  The big lead gave Whitmore Lake an opportunity to give different players some game experience in positions not normally played, including a rare appearance of Kylie Burianek on the court of a Red game due to a coaching mistake.  Although a little confused why she was being put in the game, she played awesome with some great passes from the front row.  While giving Whitmore Lake some valuable game experience, it also gave Novi Christian a chance to make the score respectable before Whitmore finished off the Eagles at 25 – 20.  In the second set, Blumenstiel put the first four points on the scoreboard, then Isla Sterzik added three more.  After just two servers, Whitmore Lake was already halfway through the set with a score of 7 – 1.  During the next few possessions Novi Christian scored two points for every one of Whitmore Lake’s to make the set tight with a score of 11 – 9.  Blumenstiel wasn’t about to let the Eagles steal the final set and served out the match with three aces and a 15 – 9 win.  Blumenstiel and Muchow were really setting up the ball well for Trojan hits including a crushing one for a kill by Sterzik in the first set.  Laenie Short made some crucial serves under pressure and Kali Root tried her overhand serve for the first time in a match.  The win moves the Red team’s record to 9 – 2 (8 – 2 MIAC).

Black Team

25 – 9, 25 – 15, 15 – 11

Last night, Whitmore Lake played the away match of the home and away series against Novi Christian.  Whitmore Lake won the first match in the series and was looking to do it again on the Eagle’s home court.  After being required to line judge at the away match and Novi Christian not quite knowing volleyball protocol,  the Black team entered the match angry and took it out on the Eagles during the first set.  After a four day weekend and not having a practice in the last seven days, it took the Trojans a few rotations to shake off the rust, but then it was over for the Eagles.  Before Oscar Valentine climbed out of her trash can to go serve, Whitmore Lake held a measly one point lead at 8 – 7. When the grouch got done serving, the score was 22 – 7, with four aces during her 14 point serving run and not even a time out by the Eagles could put a lid on the Sesame Street resident.  Mila Proimos served the final point for Whitmore Lake for a dominating 25 – 9 win.  In the second set, after points from the serves, including several more aces, by Proimos and Channing Cook, Whitmore Lake was looking like they were going to roll again with an early 6 – 1 lead.  Then came a lot of unforced errors by the Trojans and Novi Christian was able to make a game out of it for a while.  Although Whitmore Lake was trying to run their offense, they were constantly out of system and not being able to get the kills they normally would and the few times they were in system, their hits would go out of bounds.  After one full rotation, Whitmore Lake was only up by one at 12 – 11 and on the next side out, Novi Christian tied the set at 12.  Whitmore Lake didn’t panic and took control of the set from there.  Proimos added three points to Whitmore Lake’s side of the scoreboard, then three more by Grace the Ace Bennardi and finally four by Phoenni Lou Wilson, including two aces, Whitmore Lake was at game point 24 – 15.  An easy side out gave the Trojans another decisive win in the second set at 25 – 15.  Now it was time to take out the garbage and get the broom out to clean house or trash can.  After two short serving runs by Proimos and José Marcum, Whitmore Lake had already doubled Novi Christian’s score and was at game point, 14 – 7.  As the Trojans continue to try to improve the power on their hits, some balls were hit into the net or out of bounds, giving the Eagles a four point run before Whitmore Lake could get the winning side out to take the set at 15 – 11 for another three set sweep.  Whitmore Lake continues to show their relentless play, demonstrated perfectly by two almost mirror image plays, with Priomos making a diving save by right net post that any ordinary team would have never even tried to play to make the assist for a kill on the next hit during the first set.  Then in the third set, another diving save, this time by Marcum in the same location, with the same result.  The setters kept feeding Slim Sheedy during the third set some awesome hits, while Maria Hentnik is becoming another wall at the net for the Trojans.  The girls have developed that winning attitude, showing that nothing can rattle them or stop them.  Their serving has been super consistent and become a big weapon, while the offense is keeping the other teams off balance never knowing where the hit is coming from or if it is going to be a tip instead.  The dominating performance improves the Black team’s record to 8 – 2 (6 – 1 MIAC).  Whitmore Lake will play their final match of the season when they travel to Greenhills on Thursday for round three against the Gryphons.

White Team

25 – 13, 25 – 14, 15 – 13

Whitmore Lake’s White team didn’t waste any time against Greehills last night.  After strong serving by Hailey Bowers and Claire Birely, the Trojans were already on top by a score of 15 – 7.  By the time Bowers finished serving her second time Whitmore Lake increased their lead to 21 – 9.  A few rotations later, Whitmore Lake finished the set with a 25 – 13 victory.  In the second set, Bowers continued to serve well and Lanie Short showed her ability at the serving line.  Again, it didn’t take long for the Trojans to claim another victory with a nearly identical score of 25 – 14.  Now it was time for Whitmore Lake to finish the trifecta.  After scoring the first four points, Whitmore Lake became a little complacent and Greenhills started to score some points.  Soon the set was tied at seven.  From there, Whitmore Lake would take a one point lead, then Greenhills would tie it back up.  This continued for many rotations and the teams were tied again all the way up to 13.  When the Trojans took their one point lead after a side out, Birely sealed the set serving the final ace in the third set, for another win at 15 – 13.  The girls are moving much better as the season progresses and are able to get more and better volleys.  Bowers used her overhand serve for the first time in a match and scored her first point off the newly demonstrated skill.  Birely also tested out her overhand serve, showing her improvement in the game.  The win put the White team with a winning record for the first time since week one with a 5 – 4 (3 – 4 MIAC) record.

Red Team

25 – 18, 25 – 16, 15 – 7

Last night the red team faced off against Hope Christian for the second time.  In the first set, Whitmore Lake couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with their serve, and aside from Abby Muchow, missed every serve during the first complete rotation allowing the much weaker Hawks stay in the game with a score of 8 – 7.  The serving troubles continued during the second complete rotation, now with Whitmore Lake up 16 – 13.  Finally a rare third complete rotation, Whitmore Lake servers were able to hit a couple of serves in a row and took a 25 – 18 win capped off with two aces by Isla Sterzik.  In the second set, the teams continued to play even and were tied at 12 after the first full round of servers.  Finally, Ally St. Charles decided enough of this and served five aces in a row for a 19 – 14 lead.  Emma Harrison followed that up with four aces of her own, nearly finishing the set with the Trojans on top 23 – 15.  Lanie Short served the final point in the set for a 25 – 16 win.  Now it was time to send Hope Christian winless.  Haley Duncan got Whitmore Lake rolling with three aces, then St. Charles brought back her magic with six more aces and Whitmore Lake had a commanding lead, 12 – 3.  It looked like the Hawks were going to make it interesting, but Sterzik again finished the set with an ace for the 15 – 7 victory, taking all three sets to match the White team.  The win gave the Red team an astonishing 8 – 1 (7 – 1 MIAC) record.

Black Team

25 – 8, 25 – 9, 15 – 9

For round two against Greenhills, Whitmore Lake’s Black team played Gryphons A team this time.  After warm-ups, it looked like Greenhills might be able to give the Trojans a match, but \unfortunately for Gryphons, Whitmore Lake came roaring right out of the gates and played one of their best matches of the season, especially at the serving line with only three missed serves the entire night.  In the first set, Whitmore Lake was serving and playing well on both offense and defense, but a few unforced errors kept the Trojans from really launching during the first few rotations, but were still up 6 – 2.  When Phoenni Lou Wilson stepped onto the launch pad, the countdown began as she served four in a row.  If that wasn’t good enough, Oscar Valentine blew the lid off her trash can, firing seven more in a row for a 19 – 4 lead.  Chan Chan the volleyball woman Cook put the Trojans into orbit serving the final three points to rule the galaxy with a 25 – 8 drubbing of the Gryphons.  Whitmore Lake wasn’t about to come back to Earth now and Mila Proimos gave Whitmore Lake their first point in the second set, then Cook added three more for a 5 – 3.  That was the closest Greenhills would ever be to the Trojans because next up was Grace the Ace Bennardi who dropped in six of her namesake serves and added two more points before the Gryphons could stop their heads from spinning and called a time out.  Grace the Ace added another two for a total of 10 points in a row before Greenhills could get a stop.  Whitmore Lake was cruising with a 16 – 4 lead.  When Valentine rolled her trash can to the serving line this time she launched her lid even higher following the lead of Bennardi and going six for six on aces and taking the Trojans to the penultimate point at 24 – 8.  A side out later, the set was over with another out of this world victory at 25 – 9.  In the third set, the Trojans were serving up aces like light in a black hole.  Nothing could be returned.  When Greenhills could return a serve, Whitmore Lake was really working hard on adding rocket fuel into their offense, generating star struck power on their hits.  This allowed the Gryphons to hang around for a while and actually held a 9 – 8 lead after their first five servers.  Proimos came off the bench to pinch serve the Trojans back into orbit but ended up sending Whitmore Lake into a different universe serving the final six points adding four more aces to her stats and a final score of 15 – 9.  Whitmore Lake really played well with good communication and smart decisions on the court.  Valentine started showing the power she can put behind her hits and Maria Hentnik is building up her resumé as middle blocker, not letting the ball get past the net on her watch.  The Real Slim Sheedy stood up and had a great all-around night with outstanding passing, serving and hitting.  José Marcum got back to where she belonged with her incredible defense.  The dominating win sends the Black team’s record to 6 – 2 (4 – 1 MIAC).  The girls will play their final home match of the season at the high school for their breast cancer awareness pink out match on Thursday against Parkway Christian.

White Team

18 – 25, 25 – 16, 10 – 15

Last night, the White team had their own first full match.  The two teams fought back and forth with Southfield Christian holding a one point lead after one full rotation.  The trend continued but with the score tied at 18, Southfield Christian found a formula to score and served the final six points of the set, winning 25 – 18.  In the second set, Whitmore Lake said we can do that too, and Hailey Bowers served the first 15 points of the set for a commanding lead.  Southfield Christian tried to climb back into the set with two short lived serving runs, but as the set began, Bowers put an end to the Eagles serving the final two  points to take the set at 25 – 16.  In the deciding third set, Southfield Christian jumped out to a 11 – 5 lead in the 15 point third set, but behind the serving of Claire Birely the Trojans fought back to within two at 9 – 11, buts that’s all they could do before the Southfield Christian closed the final set at 15 – 10.  Despite the loss, Whitmore Lake is showing vast improvements, displayed by Grace Hyland’s strong serving and more volleying with Harper Dewar, Emma Leonard, Sarah Brown, Kylie Burianek, Birely and Bowers highlighting that skill.  The White team’s record now stands at 1 – 2 (1 – 2 MIAC).

 Red Team

25 – 21, 25 – 21, 11 – 15

In the second match of the evening, it looked like Whitmore Lake didn’t show up to play, letting Southfield Christian pull away early in the first set with a big 13 – 4 lead.  When Lanie Short got the serving line the Trojans finally started to close the gap with Short adding four points from her serve, then three more by Isla Sterzik.  Another three by Keirra Leonard put Whitmore Lake on top with a score of 17 – 16.  Southfield reclaimed the lead on their next possession.  Now the set was in the hands of Ally St. Charles’ serve and just like another day at the office, she served the final five points to complete the comeback with the Trojans winning the opening set 25 – 21.  In the second set, there were no long possessions with both teams struggling to serve more than two times in a row.  That is until Leonard got to the serving line her second time of the set.  With the score at 18 – 20, Leonard served the next five points and a side out later, Whitmore Lake finished the second set, the same as the first with an identical 25 – 21 score.  In the third set, Southfield Christian put up seven points before Whitmore Lake could get on the board, but Brooklyn Blumenstiel brought the Trojans right back serving up seven of her own points, six of them aces.  Whitmore Lake held an 11 – 10 lead, but Southfield Christian served four in a row to now go home empty handed winning the final set 15 – 11.  The red team remains undefeated with a 3 – 0 (3 – 0 MIAC) record.

Black Team

16 – 25, 25 – 5, 3 – 15

Last night, Whitmore Lake would have needed stilts to match up with the height of Southfield Christian but the smaller Trojan squad was ready to put up a fight against the giants from Southfield.  The eagles clearly had an advantage at the net, but Whitmore Lake kept the ball away from the front line and the teams battled and after one full rotation, Southfield Christian had a small lead at 15 – 12.  Whitmore Lake couldn’t find a way to get a stop then add extra points off their serve to close the gap and finally ran out of time trying with the Eagles taking the first set 16 – 25.  In the second set, Whitmore Lake pulled out the hammer and took care of business, scoring six in a row off Mila Proimos’ serve, then another six from Phoenni Lou’s serve, followed by five from Oscar Valentine and four by Channing Cook.  With just one full rotation, the set was over with Whitmore Lake dominating the eagles 25 – 5 in the second set, never letting Southfield Christian earn a point off their own serve.  As last week, Whitmore Lake would need to win the final set to win the match.  If the coin toss was a omen, things were looking good for the Trojans, but it wasn’t to be.  Whitmore Lake had trouble handling Southfield Christian’s serve and the Eagles took an opening six point lead off four aces before the Trojans could get their second serve.  Unfortunately, Southfield Christian treated the Trojans like Whitmore Lake treated the Eagles in the second set and quickly took the final set 15 – 3.  Whitmore Lake did some nice things during the match highlighted by a perfect pass from Josie Marcum to Phoenni Lou who set the ball to Oscar Valentine who then climbed up on her trash can and hammered the ball to the other side for a kill.  The loss drops the girls record to 2 – 1 (2 – 1 MIAC).  Whitmore Lake will regroup and bring the energy on Thursday when they host Roeper.