Marysville’s Rhiannon Gossett (12) sends the ball over the net against a Hilliard Davidson blocker on Tuesday. Also pictured for MHS is Larissa Smith (right). MHS fell in four sets.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Marysville High School varsity volleyball coach Bethany Bentz said the won-loss record really isn’t much of an indication of what she is seeing from her team.
The Lady Monarchs slipped to 5-9 on the season with Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Hilliard Davidson.
With a young outfit, though, Bentz is looking at other factors.
“We’re a good team,” she said after the 25-20, 20-25, 16-25, 15-25 setback to the Wildcats. “We aren’t winning the matches, but we’re right on the cusp.”
Consistency was once again problematic for the Lady Monarchs, who will host Westland on Thursday.
The squad played well for much of the first two games.
The Lady Monarchs climbed to an 18-11 advantage during the initial set, but kept their composure when Davidson pulled to within 20-16.
Madison Fluharty tipped the ball for a kill that gave MHS a bit of breathing room at 21-16.
Maddie Busch followed with an ace serve that put Marysville up by a 22-16 count.
The Lady Monarchs advanced to set point – 24-17 – when Davidson was whistled for a double hit.
The Wildcats later served the ball into the net to give MHS the opening victory.
Several Lady Monarch hitting and passing miscues allowed Hilliard to jump out to a 7-3 lead early in the ensuing game.
A block by Alyssa Codner pulled MHS to within 12-8 a few minutes later.
Marysville rallied and took a 14-13 margin when Davidson sent a serve reception out-of-bounds.
A Wildcat kill later tied the set at 15-15.
The visitors then went on a quick 5-1 run for added momentum.
The Lady Monarchs were caught on a double hit that gave the Wildcats a 24-18 lead.
Codner’s kill narrowed the gap to 24-19 before Davidson was called for a lift.
A Wildcat tip over the net, though, tied the match at 1-1.
The Lady Monarchs regained control early in the third set, leading 9-4 on an errant Davidson hit.
Marysville, however, could not maintain any consistency, as several hitting and blocking issues later pushed the Wildcats out to a 22-12 advantage.
MHS briefly stopped Davidson’s surge as Peyton Ingle set up a kill by Carys Gossett.
The Cats still held a 22-13 lead at that point and easily won for a 2-1 margin in sets.
The Lady Monarchs looked as though they might send the match to a full five games as they held a 14-6 advantage in the fourth game.
The bottom, however, fell out as Davidson took advantage of various MHS miscues.
Marysville had trouble keeping the ball in play, while Davidson’s front line was too much to overcome.
Maci Keys had several blocks during the Wildcats’ 19-1 scoring run that gave the visitors the set and match.
“That run Davidson made was a killer,” admitted Bentz. “You just can’t let that happen and we have to figure out mentally how to stop something like that.
“We still have some things we need to tweak,” she said. “Our blocking could be better, but blocking is one of the hardest things to learn.
“You saw what happened tonight when you have several first-year varsity sophomores on the floor.
“We need to focus on scoring an entire 75 points to win matches (in three games),” said Bentz.
“However, these girls want to continue to get better and I’ll take them over a 12-0 team any day.”