MATCH PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/2iiiqew
The Berkshire Badgers plowed their way through a solid regular season with fundamental volleyball featuring solid defense, few errors and a big attack on the nets from their hitters.
The Grand Valley Mustangs did it much the same way, so when the two teams, seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in their Division III sectional /district tournament, matched up against each other for a district title, execution would be important in providing a winner.
The Badgers established themselves a bit more at the nets offensively midway through the first set. Then as the Mustangs battled back, Berkshire used superb defense against Mustang hitters to keep the ball alive more often, and the result was a 3-1 Berkshire victory (25-13, 25-12, 18-25, and 25-11.)
After the teams started out in a battle of unforced errors, perhaps respecting each other a tad too much and not using the skills that put them into this matchup, Berkshire moved to an 11-9 lead on a Sarah Conklin spike.
To that point, both teams struggled when serving the ball, but Madison Chapman moved back to serve, fired home four aces in a 6-point run to open a 17-9 lead.
While Grand Valley rallied in the third set, Berkshire’s ability to thwart Mustang spikes from hitting the floor, setting up better spikes for the Badgers hitters like McKenna Tucek, Chapman, and Cheyanne Bosse and Sarah Conklin, the Badgers wore down GV by the time the fourth set was in play to seal the win.
“I think we had more unforced errors in the first set today than we have had in a long time,” Berkshire coach Joni Prots said. “Once we settled in, though, about midway through that first set, we worked more toward playing our normal game and did better. We always try to stay consistent in every phase of the game.”
She continued: “We just wanted to do our own thing, we know what each other can do, and we tried to focus on just that.”
With Chapman, Delaney Tucek, Bridgett McMahon and Olivia Freiling keeping Mustang kill attempts alive, Berkshire established close to full control the rest of the way.
McKenna Tucek had a few errors early, then regrouped in the second set to lead the way for her team with 17 points, including eight in the final set and nine aces, 21 kills, and 10 digs.
“We may have been a bit too mechanical starting out and not being aggressive,” the super senior said. “Being aggessive is our game, and it’s my job as a leader to help us keep our focus and be a role model for the younger girls with aggressiveness all the time. When I was starting out, that’s how it was for me, and I want to have the young girls feed off of my efforts as well. This was a tough match, so aggressiveness was important.”
Heading into their regional matchup on Thursday at Barberton High School, 7 p.m., against Independnece, Madison Chapman sees good things if the Badgers follow their normal script.
“There really isn’t too much that we need to change or work more on,” she said. “We just need to maitain focus on our skills and take it one game at a time.” Her day included 11 points, with seven aces, six kills,, and 20 digs, proving her backcourt skills importance.
Senior Sarah Conklin, who has grown in the Berkshire program after the consolidation with the Ledgemont School District, agreed.
“When I first started here, I got off to a little bumpy start,” she said. “It didn’t take long, though, for everybody to accept me and for me to fit in to what was being done here. I just love it, and with all our successes, we still need to work harder with our blocking and service receptions while keeping what we do best at a high level.”
The second set may have been the most hotly contested set of the match, with six ties and three lead changes, but after a kill gave the Badgers a 19-17 lead, Delaney Tucek served up four straight points, including a pair of aces, and the spark departed the eyes of the Mustang players for most of the rest of the match.
Delaney Tucek added nine points, with a trio of aces, and 16 digs. Bridgett McMahon added 11 digs to her 10 points, Olivia Freiling was huge in setting up all the kills with 38 assists, and Cheyanne Bosse put home 12 kills as Berkshire built momentum after that first half of the first set.