SMCC volleyball takes early shot, recovers in state quarterfinals

WILLIS – A hard spike sizzled across the net and caught Madeline Dettling square in the face.

The St. Mary Catholic Central sophomore never even had a chance to raise her hands. It could have been scary moment. But Dettling never allowed any tensions to rise.

She was laughing as she came over to the bench for treatment of a bloody nose.

"She handled it like a champ," coach Cassie Haut said.

The situation was a metaphor for Dettling and her SMCC volleyball teammates in the Division 3 state quarterfinals at Ypsilanti Lincoln.

The Kestrels took some shots early, perhaps were even slightly bloodied, but never lost their focus in a 25-20, 25-22, 25-10 victory over third-ranked Plymouth Christian.

"We came right back," Haut said. "We kept our composure."

Plymouth Christian came out swinging in hopes of toppling the top-ranked team in the state. The Eagles led 10-6 early, causing Haut to call a time out for the first time in the postseason.

"I just brought them in and calmed them down," Haut explained. "They just looked at me and nodded. They knew. They just needed to take a breath."

"Once we were down, I was so confident that we would get it back," said junior McKenna Payne. "We had to keep pushing."

Three kills in a span of six points by Jessica Costlow went a long way toward calming the Kestrels down. They eventually took the lead at 17-16, then never trailed again in the set.

Plymouth Christian came out fired up again in the second set, scoring the first four points, and SMCC still trailed 17-14 when Costlow took over again. The University of Toledo recruit had four kills down the stretch.

That win seemed to break Plymouth Christian's spirit. SMCC ran off the first five points of the final set, built a 10-2 advantage and never led by less than seven the rest of the night.

"At the end of the day, we played great as a team," Haut said.

One of the keys to slowing down Plymouth Christian was the play of Payne.

Midway through the first set, the University of Utah recruit changed up her game. The setter starting tipping the ball more, leaving Plymouth Christian blockers unsure whether to go out to the hitters or defend the setter.

"It's great when McKenna goes to the offense," Haut said. "It's like having another hitter out there."

Payne credited teammate Olivia Beaudrie with spotting the opening.

"She told me where the spot was open," Payne said. "The next time I went out there I decided to try it."

In one stretch of the second set, Payne recorded kills on three out of four points.

"I definitely rely on my teammates helping me out," she said.

And Payne and the other Kestrels had Dettling's back after she got blasted in the face.

"As long as she was laughing, we knew we could laugh with her," Payne said. "Then, we wanted to avenge her."

Payne fished with 35 assists, 10 digs, 6 kills and an ace.

Costlow led with 13 kills and 17 digs.

Analiese Flint and Jillian Anderson finished with five blocks each and Flint logged six kills. Ashley Ruhlig had nine digs.

The Kestrels (33-8-1) play next at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek vs. No. 4 Kalamazoo Christian in the state semifinals at noon Thursday.

"We talk about it all the time," Payne said. "We have to take it one day at a time. We can only worry about today."

"Every year, getting to the Final Four is the goal," Haut added. "It's surreal once you know that you've done it."

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Michigan volleyball playoff: SMCC recovers to win in state quarterfinals