Stepping up: Lenawee Christian volleyball rolls through injuries

ADRIAN — Last week was bittersweet for the Lenawee Christian volleyball team.

The Cougars were named the No. 1 team in Division 4, defeated Ida, went 6-0 at the Lenawee County tournament, senior Hannah Baker was named homecoming queen and fellow senior Gabby Bryja recorded her 3,000 assist.

But in between the Ida match and the county meet on Saturday was the annual homecoming powder puff football game where senior Selah Clymer injured her knee when she planted awkwardly and then got run into by another player at the same time.

"That was rough to see Selah go down," said coach Tenille Marowelli "She's a key, consistent player, and we were bummed about that."

Despite the Clymer injury, LCS continued to lead the area volleyball scene with a three-peat at the county tournament and are 27-3 this season.

The Cougars will have to rely on the next man up mentality for the rest of the season when filling the hole in the lineup left by Clymer.

"We have a team working really hard to step in if anything were to happen," Marowelli said. "Callie (Anderson) did a fabulous job today."

LCS only got a few weeks of having its lineup at full strength with Baker recently rejoining the team after her knee from basketball season.

During those few weeks of play with both Baker and Clymer together, the Cougars were dominant, beating then No. 5 Hillsdale Academy (21-25, 26-24, 15-6) and dominating top-ranked Mendon (25-11, 25-12).

Baker stepped up with Clymer on the sidelines during the county meet, coming up with some powerful swings when the Cougars needed it most.

"She's a game-changing player," Marowelli said. "For her to come back as strong as she was and as quick as she did has been phenomenal and she's only improved and she's not going to stop. She's going to go, go, go until she's the best she can be."

With Baker out for most of the season, others have had to step up to keep LCS rolling at the start of the season.

Sophia Samonek, who joined Baker and Bryja on the All-County Tournament Team, has been strong in Baker's absence and should continue to do so during Clymer's injury.

The Cougars gained experience, which will prove vital with this new challenge.

"That goes back to culture," Marowelli said. "They've created a unifying culture where everyone, whether they get a lot of playing time or a little, works hard a practice just in case. They've prepared themselves no matter what might happen in a game to step in."

Dealing with change is nothing new for this group.

While winning three-straight county titles and being ranked No. 1 in Division 4 at some point in each of the last three seasons, LCS has done it with three different head coaches.

It began with Kortney Addleman and transferred over to Glenn Christiansen before Marowelli, a 2010 LCS graduate and 2009 Lenawee County Player of the Year, took over this season.

"We've kept our team unity together," Baker said. "We're best friends on and off the court. We've kept the team the same and working hard through changes."

The Cougars will now prepare for the postseason, which begins Oct. 30, and no Division 4 team will feel sorry for top-ranked LCS.

"There is a target on our back," Baker said. "But we're ready to step up and take it."

Contact Sports Editor Kristopher Lodes at klodes@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter, @LenaweeLodes

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee Christian volleyball continues success despite injuries