Cheboygan, Collino keep rolling, beat Harbor Springs in three sets
CHEBOYGAN – It’s been a strong last couple of weeks for the Cheboygan Chiefs on the volleyball court.
The attacking has been there, the defense has been there, and the teamwork has definitely been there.
More importantly, the consistency – something the Chiefs struggled with earlier on in the season – has stood out in what’s been a solid run of play as of late.
Playing at home on Thursday, the Chiefs maintained both their consistency and momentum as they cruised to an impressive 3-0 victory over Harbor Springs (25-14, 25-7, 25-17) in a non-conference matchup.
“We ordered shirts that say ‘Grit’ on the back. They’re not here yet, and that’s a bummer, but it doesn’t matter – they know that they’re going to be wearing ‘Grit,’” said Cheboygan coach Kris Jewell. “It’s a big deal. “That’s just been kind of a motivating thing. (Assistant coach) Brooke (Demeuse) and I have spent time looking at just little things to tweak, so knowing that we had certain kids that were doing well in practice and playing middle (hitter), we want to keep them in the middle and we wanted to tweak the lineup a little bit.
“We’re at a really fun part of the season where we play every other day, so we play, then we tweak, then we play, then we tweak. We only have one practice day in between instead of it being five days of practice."
What’s really changed for the Chiefs (13-7-4) has been the aggressive play of their most powerful hitters, including senior Mya Collino, who’s been terrific in many of Cheboygan’s recent wins. Collino proved to be a problem for the Rams on Thursday, finishing with seven kills, seven service points and two blocks.
“Before Newberry, that was a turning point for Mya,” Jewell said. “She and Makayla (Steiner), they connected (in a win at Cedarville on Tuesday). It was more than just Mya figuring it out, it was the setter and the hitter connecting. They found the right set, they found the right approach, and they got the right timing, and it’s like, ‘Oh, there it is, they found it,’ and it wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t one game and it was gone. She (Collino) has been consistently hungry for the ball. I can hear her yelling that she wants to hit, she’s telling Makayla between plays to set this, set that, and I talked to Mya about it and she said, ‘I feel like a senior now.’ It's that confidence.”
Collino’s teammate, fellow senior hitter Lia Basanese, also had an efficient evening, tallying a team-high 11 kills and recording two blocks. While senior Kenzie Burt didn’t have as many kills as Collino and Basanese, she continued to play a key role in Cheboygan’s success, just as she has in recent matches.
“It hit me after Newberry that we have like one rotation where it’s Lia (Basanese), Mya (Collino) and Kenzie (Burt) up front – which is awesome, sweet! – but then the opposite rotation kind of lacks the kids that are going to finish the ball,” Jewell said. “So, we looked at that and I said, ‘I’ve got to get Mya and Lia and Kenny (Burt) further apart from each other so then we have at least one or two of them every rotation, so we tweaked it.
“There’s one spot where – and I sprung it on Kenzie – I sprung it on her that she’s going to play middle hitter, middle rotation so that I can get those other kids opposite. Sometimes I think some kids would have this look of pure fear, if I said all of a sudden, ‘You’re playing middle front,’ because that’s a hard position. She just went, ‘Cool,’ and she did great."
Runs were the theme of the night for the Chiefs, who pulled away with a long spurt to take the first, while an early tally of points in the second helped stretch their set advantage to 2-0.
Trailing 12-9 in the third, the Chiefs exploded with a 12-0 run to take a commanding 21-12 lead. A few points later, the Chiefs wrapped up what was another complete performance and win.
Jewell had plenty of praise for her attackers, but she also lauded the defensive showing of one senior in particular.
“I’m really impressed with Cassidy (Jewell),” Jewell said. “She’s always been a really good defensive kid. She’s fast, fast, fast. Watch her play soccer, she’s so fast, but sometimes it doesn’t look like it because she doesn’t always go after it, like really get after the ball, but all of a sudden, that girl, I hear her running the show, using her mouth, calling things, and watching her cover behind hitters is awesome. I think she had four or five (defensive plays) where when someone swings a ball and it gets blocked and it comes down so fast, it’s so hard to pick up that cover ball, but she’s got reflexes that just come out of nowhere, and we were able to get kills off of that. Really impressed with her.”
Steiner finished with 24 assists, five kills and six service points for the Chiefs, who received 18 service points, five aces, one kill and one block from Ava Bury, eight service points from Presley Chamberlain, three service points from Bella Lail, and one kill from Kaylin LaVigne.
With momentum on their side, the Chiefs – 1-1 in the Straits Area Conference – will prepare for a conference clash with Rudyard at home on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
“I said this before we started the season that this year, especially, that the conference is really up for grabs,” Jewell said. “I know that we lost to the Sault, but if we had played against the Sault like we played tonight, that wouldn’t have been the case, so I know we’ve got a solid team that can beat them (Rudyard). There’s been moments where I’ve felt that way against Rudyard the last few couple of years, but if they don’t show up, it’s going to be tough. I think we found it.”
In the junior varsity game, Cheboygan captured a victory over Harbor Springs (25-14, 25-16, 15-12).
For the JV Chiefs, Emily Turner had a team-high eight aces and a bump kill, while Kyleigh Burt tallied three kills and one ace, Olivia Patrick added nine assists, one kill and one ace, Hannah Whippo registered three kills, Abi Babcock recorded one kill, Jenna Mollen finished with three assists, Tessa Lake had three kills, one ace and one block, and Amber Gahn chipped in with one ace.
Pellston fall to Inland Lakes, Cardinal Mooney at home tri-meet
PELLSTON – The Pellston volleyball team suffered setbacks to Inland Lakes (15-25, 18-25, 20-25) and Cardinal Mooney (20-25, 16-25) in a tri-meet on Thursday.
Despite the losses, Pellston coach Kelsey Michaud was pleased with her team’s performance.
“The girls were really excited to play Inland Lakes,” said Michaud. “Both matches today were two of our best matches all season, if not the best. The outcome wasn’t a win, but this team has improved so much and is only getting better. They were really clicking tonight and had energy. My setters, Breanna (Willis) and Megan (Bricker), work so well together and have so much hustle. Lillie (Bourrie) was putting up great blocks and making smart, deliberate offensive plays. All of our hitters were consistent and most powerful today, but we need to work on hitting around blocks. Our defense was digging up some really hard hit balls from both teams. We need to focus on getting to the right spot on defense, but I’m not disappointed in anything from today. They played fantastic all around.”
Against Inland Lakes, the Hornets were led by Bourrie, who had six kills, eight digs, two blocks and an ace, Bricker, who tallied four kills, eight assists, seven digs and one block, and Willis, who added six assists, eight digs and a block. Lanie Irwin (five kills), Haleigh Bohn (seven digs), Allie Cameron (two kills, three digs) and Madison Jutson (two kills) each contributed for the Hornets as well.
Bricker finished with three kills, six digs and four assists against Cardinal Mooney, while Willis had five kills, two digs, one ace and one block, Irwin tallied four kills, and Bohn registered four aces and four digs. Rounding out the Hornets were Bourrie (three kills, three blocks, three digs) and Irwin (one block, two aces).
No stats were available for Inland Lakes at press time.
Pellston travels to play in the Onaway Invitational on Saturday, while Inland Lakes returns to Ski Valley play when it heads to Mancelona on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan volleyball keep on rolling, take down Harbor Springs
