Volleyball: Hornets Reach Final at Saline Early Bird

Saline’s varsity volleyball team rolled to 11 straight wins Saturday before dropping the final two against Northville in the finals of the Early Bird Invitational at Saline High School.
The Hornets were perfect in pool play, defeating Ypsilanti 25-5 and 25-15, Milan, 25-2 and 25-10, and Grand Ledge, 25-22 and 25-14. In the quarterfinals, Saline downed Ypsilanti 25-12 and 25-6. In the semifinals, Saline disposed of Milan, 25-7 and 25-10.
In the finals against Northville, Saline won the opening game, 25-21. The Hornets spent most of the second game playing catch-up. Saline tied the game at 9 but gave up two straight points and couldn’t catch Northville, falling 25-21. Saline fell 15-8 in the final.
Saline head coach Lisa Shea said Northville played like the team had something to prove.
“They’ve lost to us the last three years in the final of this tournament. We didn’t play our best ball that last set. But we didn’t roll over. We stayed competitive,” Shea said.
Toward the end in the final, Shea switched up the lineup to give some of the youngsters a chance to shine.
“I’ve got some varsity veterans but I’ve got some inexperienced varsity kids who are gaining that experience that I need them to get,” Shea said. “We’re walking away feeling pretty good about today.”
Shea said there were several takeaways from the tournament.
“You hope the girls remember that pit of their stomach and not to have it again. We need to keep working on the little things we need to work on,” Shea said. “We need to remember things like playing as a team. Because when you’re pushed into a corner, like we were in that set, often times they’ll go into themselves and play as individuals. They need to be reminded that there are five other people out there who can help them.”
Senior Mackenzie Shand said the team came out ready to play after going 1-4 at the Portage Tournament – one of the toughest tournaments in the state.
“(At Portage) we were playing up all week trying to beat the state champs. This tournament we had a little more leeway to run more things and mix things up a little more,” said Shand.
Shand led the Hornets with 54 kills, 14 digs and 19 blocks. Sophomore Kara Rogers had 31 kills, 10 aces and 13 digs. Sophomore Margo Main had 24 kills. Junior Ani Agbabian had 24 kills and 18 digs. Junior Jess Wolma had 21 kills and 10 aces. Junior Sidney Fletcher had 21 kills and 11 digs. Junior Taylor Whitling had 126 kills and 19 digs. Senior Natalie Sheridan had 16 digs.
The team finished 5-1 on the day and is 6-5 this season.
““I saw a lot of positives today. Our ball control was greatly improved from our tournament last weekend and we are coming together as a team,” Shea said. “We continue to be focused on getting better.”
Saline plays Tuesday at the SEC Jamboree at Huron.

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