St. Phil beats Colon in battle of Top 10 teams, Burr Oak splits
COLON — Battle Creek St. Philip and Colon met up for an anticipated Top 10 matchup on the volleyball court Tuesday.
Unfortunately for Colon, the visiting Lady Fighting Tigers were able to be just a bit better in the contest, winning in four sets. The road team won 25-9, 25-17, 23-25 and 27-25. The Lady Magi surely played better in the final three sets compared to the opener, where St. Philip took advantage early and ran away with the win.
"We started out very slow. This was our first matchup against a hard and fast hitting team," Colon co-coach Brianna Vinson said. "Our defense wasn’t quite ready for that change of pace from previous games."
St. Philip came into the contest ranked eighth overall in the latest Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association prep poll. The Lady Fighting Tigers are no strangers to being ranked in the polls. Colon was ranked seventh in the same poll as both schools are represented in Division 4.
Colon might take a step back in the polls because of the loss, but the Lady Magi still feel good about playing well against the Fighting Tigers. Colon was in a big hole during the second set, but battled back to make the score much closer. The Magi then went on to win the third set before playing well again in the fourth.
"In set three, everything started to come together. The nervousness wore off and the girls were ready to play," Vinson said. "We are so proud of the girls for fighting back and playing their game. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Magi volleyball team be able to pick themselves up after a rough couple sets and push back and fight. They worked hard for every point."
Megann Mullins finished with a team-high 10 kills while both Raegan Thaxton and Macey Burgess logged seven kills. Reese Williams handed out 15 assists with six kills and two blocks, Kelsey Burgess had a team-high three blocks while Allison Vinson passed out nine assists.
Colon returns to action this weekend at the Union City Classic.
Burr Oak splits
The Burr Oak volleyball team split its most recent two matches. The Lady Bobcats dropped a tough five-set match to Climax-Scotts on Tuesday with both teams alternating victories in the match.
Climax won the opener at 27-25 followed by a 25-22 win for Burr Oak in the second. Climax would take the third set 25-20 before Burr Oak forced a fifth and final set with a 25-21 win in the fourth. The Lady Panthers won the race to 15 in the fifth at 15-13.
Sarah Hirschy logged 24 kills with 12 digs for Burr Oak, Braylyn Hernandez totaled 31 assists with 29 digs. Cristal Hernandez posted 17 digs, Makaila Whittington scored eight kills while Brooklynn Root added five. Both Addison Eldridge and Amy Ledyard finished with 10 digs in the match.
Last week, the Lady Bobcats beat Litchfield 25-21, 25-16 and 25-16. Hirschy scored 16 kills, Root added 12. Burr Oak also had a road matchup against Hamilton (Ind.) last week, the Bobcats won that in three sets as well. Hirschy posted 15 kills in that matchup.
Bronson at Bedford Invite
The Bronson volleyball team won two of its five matches at the Bedford Invitational held last week. The Lady Vikings won matches over Ida and Adrian Lenawee Christian but fell in matches to Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, Ann Arbor Skyline and Bedford.
"We played without a few players today, and I thought we showed a lot of grit and determination to pull off a couple wins against some strong competition," Bronson coach Jean LaClair said. "Aleah (Brackett) did a very good job of running the offense, spreading the wealth and keeping all hitters involved in the offense."
Brackett passed out 55 assists on the day. She added eight kills with 24 digs and three blocks while Kennedy Clemens finished with four kills, six aces, 17 digs and four blocks. Aubree Calloway finished with 17 kills and 17 digs with 13 blocks, Ciara Blankenship totaled four kills with six aces and 17 digs while Ryleigh Fee had eight digs and five blocks, Itzel Albarran scored 15 digs.
Mendon beat Jackson Christian
The Mendon volleyball team made easy work of Jackson Christian last week in a match that lasted three sets. The Lady Hornets won 25-11, 25-14 and 25-11.
Leading the way for Mendon was Makennah Mullin with eight kills, Brianna Heitkamp scored four kills while Gracie Schultz added three. Both Cienna Nightingale and Alicyn Arevalo finished with two kills, Jadyn Samson finished with a team-high 10 digs. Kayla Wenzel passed out 14 assists on the night.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: St. Philip volleyball beats Colon in battle of Top 10 teams; Burr Oak, Bronson in action
