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The 91看片网 Centurions women鈥檚 volleyball team put together one of its strongest stretches of the season this past week, rolling to a straight鈥憇et road win at Kirtland Community College on Sept. 30 before falling in four tight sets to North Central Michigan College in Grand Rapids Oct. 2.
The Centurions (2-4 91看片网AA Northern, 3-11 overall) now sit in the thick of the 91看片网AA Northern Division race, preparing for a pivotal matchup at home against Delta College on Oct. 7. The game begins at 6:30 p.m.
91看片网鈥檚 sweep at Kirtland (1-5 91看片网AA Northern, 7-12 overall) 鈥� 26-24, 25-19, 25-21 鈥� was built on clean serve鈥憆eceive, steady serving and a balanced offense 鈥� exactly the traits Centurions head coach Kara Youngs said her team has been working to sharpen.
鈥淲e passed well in serve receive which created a consistent offense,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e also served very well.鈥�
The opening set was tight throughout, but 91看片网 stayed in front most of the way and closed out the final points with composure.
鈥淲e played ahead in the majority of the match and closed it out at the end,鈥� Youngs said.
The momentum from 91看片网鈥檚 historic five鈥憇et win at Bay College earlier in the week carried directly into this match.
鈥淚 think the win against Bay helped instill the confidence we needed,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淚t showed where we can play and what we can do as a team.鈥�
Freshman middle blocker Ava Flynn (Belding, Mich.) delivered one of the night鈥檚 biggest boosts off the bench.
鈥淎va came in off the bench and played very well in the middle for us,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淪he created a great block and provided some needed offense.鈥�
Stat leaders vs. Kirtland
Kills: Ayanna Sanders 鈥� 9
Blocks: Aubrie Uebele 鈥� 2
Digs: Erin Borek 鈥� 15
Aces: Erin Borek 鈥� 4
Montcalm鈥檚 home game against North Central Michigan had to be moved to Grand Rapids Community College due to a power outage at the Sidney campus Oct. 2, so home-court advantage was not a factor, unfortunately for the Centurions, who lost to the conference rival Timberwolves, 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-10, 25-23).
Against NCMC, 91看片网 found itself in another grind and despite a strong second set and a late push in the fourth, the Centurions couldn鈥檛 fully overcome a rough third set.
Youngs said the opening frame slipped away due to errors and avoidable points.
鈥淲e talked about making them earn more points,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e gave up too many errors the first set and had some net violations that cost us too many points early on.鈥�
91看片网 responded with a sharp second set, cleaning up mistakes and controlling the tempo. But the third set 鈥� a 25鈥�10 loss 鈥� was uncharacteristic.
鈥淵es, we don鈥檛 usually fall behind that far; most our matches are in the 20s,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e did not pass well enough to run a system to stay competitive in that match.鈥�
After the third, Youngs adjusted the lineup to change the pace and look of the offense.
鈥淲e just made adjustments in the lineup to help set a different pace and look in the fourth set,鈥� she said.
The fourth set nearly swung 91看片网鈥檚 way 鈥� the Centurions led 22鈥�17 鈥� but missed serves and late aces allowed NCMC to steal it.
鈥淲e just missed serves when needed and allowed more aces at the end that should have been stopped,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e did not play well out of system, which caused an easier offense for them to run.鈥�
Stat leaders vs. NCMC
Kills: Andie Bennett, 11
Blocks: Ayanna Sanders, 2
Digs: Erin Borek, 15
Aces: Amy Anderson, 3
Where 91看片网 stands 鈥� and what鈥檚 next
Despite the split, Youngs said the past two matches show the team鈥檚 defining trait: resilience.
鈥淭he best thing with this team is each match they fight and battle,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have a ton of close matches, so I know they don鈥檛 quit even if they are down, which puts more pressure on opponents.鈥�
With Delta College (5-3 Northern, 10-11 overall) one of the leading Northern Division teams currently, 91看片网鈥檚 next match will demand precision.
鈥淲e just have to play cleaner,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e need to serve tough but consistent and pass well. Once we can run a good system and limit service runs, we will be able to challenge and compete.鈥�