Brighton extends volleyball dominance over Hartland
HARTLAND — Brighton’s volleyball team has high expectations this season, and justifiably so.
But the Bulldogs also have a coach who won’t allow them to get too full of themselves, even though they return all but two players from a team that reached the regional championship match for the first time in 20 years.
“This team is definitely much deeper and much more talented in depth than it was last year, but they have to remember it only matters what they do when they’re out on the court,” Brighton coach Scott Pitcher said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are on paper. You could be undefeated on paper and go out there and be bad. I try to remind them basically every practice of that.”
Pitcher hopes that driving that point home helps produce performances like the Bulldogs had Thursday night in a 25-18, 25-19, 25-23 victory over Hartland.
It was Brighton’s 12th straight victory over Hartland since losing 3-2 in a district semifinal on Nov. 4, 2015 at Howell.
“I think the team played really great,” junior outside hitter Emily Kramer said. “We had great chemistry tonight. I’m really proud of the team. We were able to pull through and get everyone on the court. That was really great. I really love the team this year.”
Kramer is one of three juniors who saw considerable playing time two years ago as freshman on a rebuilding team, the others being setter Lea Gage and middle blocker Karlie Vogelheim. Eight players return from a team that took state runner-up Ann Arbor Skyline to five games in the regional final.
“We’re all really excited and pumped for the year,” said Kramer, who had five kills and two aces. “We were happy we were able to take it to five against them last year. We’re hoping to go all the way this year.”
Brighton, which is working four freshmen into its lineup, is off to a 7-4-1 start. Two of the losses were 2-1 decisions Aug. 27 in a tournament against Skyline, the No. 4 team in Division 1, and Novi, which received honorable mention in the latest state rankings.
The Bulldogs look to be stronger when Vogelheim returns from an injury that has kept her from playing so far this season.
“We’ve had a few matches, tight losses,” Pitcher said. “We’re playing some of the better competition, especially at our Power Series. I’m looking for them to have another great October. The injuries are something you can never plan for.”
Hartland is trying to build itself back up to Brighton’s level after struggling in recent years against the better teams in the KLAA West. Dallas Wimbrow, the former junior varsity coach, has taken over as head coach. The Eagles are 5-5.
“They are an extremely hard-working team,” Wimbrow said. “They work together. It’s an actual team; it’s not just a group of kids. These guys love each other, they work for each other. We’re going to do great things. We’ve got some hiccups we’ve got to fix, and we’ll be all right.”
Brighton cruised to victory in the first game, building a 19-10 lead.
In the second game, Hartland trailed only 17-15 before the Bulldogs used a 5-1 run to open up a cushion.
Brighton was on the verge of a cakewalk in the third game, taking a 20-12 lead, but Hartland stormed back to grab a 23-22 lead. Ellie Schaeffer had two aces during a 6-0 run by the Eagles. After the Bulldogs called timeout and put its starters back on the floor, they scored the final three points.
“They didn’t give up,” Pitcher said. “They kept putting the ball on our side of the net. Then we had a few mistakes, we got aced a couple times, a couple hitting errors leading to a block. That’s how you mature as a team; you make them work through that. Never take away from a team that goes out there and forces you to go back and makes you put your starters back on. That means they earned it, and we just had to come back and finish.”
Brighton senior Megan Jagst had seven kills and was 13-for-13 serving.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton extends volleyball dominance over Hartland
