8^th Grade

25 – 23, 25 – 16, 3 – 15

Last night, Whitmore Lake avenged an earlier loss this season to Southfield Christian.  In the first set, Whitmore Lake took an early 5 – 2 lead, then after Piper Hunt finished serving, the Trojans had a comfortable 11 – 3 advantage.  From there, Whitmore Lake started playing the net ball game, which didn’t bode well for the shorter Trojan team, and Southfield Christian hopped on the comeback train.  Whitmore Lake gave up nine points in a row to an underhand server while also losing the lead at 11 – 12 before they were able to derail the Eagles.  Aliyah Baker’s serve put the Trojans back on top at 15 – 12 and a couple of serves later Whitmore Lake was still on top at 18 – 14.  Southfield Christian wasn’t going to go down easily and got their comeback train back on track and served up four in a row to reclaim the lead at 19 – 18.  Another Trojan side out tied the set at 19, and Olivia Kurtz rallied Whitmore Lake to 23 before Southfield Christian made a stop.  The Eagles served up four more to tie it back up at 23, but then Whitmore Lake pulled the emergency brake on the Eagle’s train bringing them to a halt and Isabel Lewis finished them off with an ace to win the first set at 25 – 23.  Whitmore Lake has struggled playing two good sets in a row, but it was time to change that.  In the second set, each team would score a few, then give up the ball, and after one full rotation, Southfield Christian again held a 12 – 11 lead.  Whitmore Lake was done messing around and off the Kylie Sechrist serve, the Trojans rolled out five points in a row to open up a small lead at 17 – 14. The Eagles came within one at 16 – 17, but then Kurtz said “ENOUGH!” and served the final seven points for a 25 – 16 second set and match win.  With winning two in a row, the Trojans wanted to show they could win three, but it wasn’t to be.  Whitmore Lake got to serve the ball just three times before Southfield Christian closed out the third set at 15 – 3.  The girls continue to improve moving around better on the court and playing good defense.  They are also playing more consistent team ball on offense with three hit attacks and when they do, they are unstoppable which has led to some big set wins over good teams.  Lewis had a great night at the net with several hits, tips and blocks, while the setters of Hunt and Sechrist continue to improve running the offense.  Baker debuted her back row hitting with an awesome attack during a critical time in the second set.  The victory moves the Trojan back to a winning record at 5 – 4 (3 – 3 MIAC) and guarantees Whitmore Lake will not end their season with a losing record.  The Trojans will be back in action tomorrow, when they play their final match of the season at Roeper.