窪蹋勛圖厙

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By Ryan Schlehuber, 窪蹋勛圖厙 Sportswriter

It started out a little rocky, but the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Centurions women���s volleyball team shook off a bad start to sweep Kuyper College for its first win of the season, Wednesday, Sept. 3.泭

The Centurions came into the game hungry for a win, beginning the season 0-7, and hoping to earn their first win against the Cougars, who are part of the National Christian College Athletic Association.泭

After a rough start in the first set, the Centurions made a comeback to win 25-22 and then never trailed in the second set, winning again, 25-22. In the third and final set, the Centurions went on a 14-5 run and then an 11-1 run to cruise to a 25-6 win to complete the sweep.泭

With more than half of the team made up of freshmen players, Centurions Head Coach Kara Youngs finally saw some of her young players step up, including freshman setter Ella Bishop (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who saw a lot of court time against the Cougars.泭

���I was impressed with how we made adjustments on the court and the girls coming off the bench helped out when we were struggling in some areas,��� Youngs said. ���I really liked that we were adapting to positions really quick and not going on and being frantic about it.���泭

Youngs said Bishop was subbed in to help reset the team���s rhythm as Kuyper began gaining momentum. Bishop quickly set the tone, putting up solid sets to her hitters, which began turning the momentum back to the home team.泭

���Our hitters weren���t seeing as good of a rhythm; the sets were moving a little too much forwards-backwards. So that���s why we put Ella in,��� Youngs said. ���She has been working hard, and the great thing about our bench is that we have three great setters that we can interchange, if needed. Last week, Ella had some playing time, she made that adjustments and gave us that confidence to be able to pull her in mid-game.���泭

Bishop, who finished with 21 assists, which led the team, said her confidence grew as her hitters executed her sets well, making her happy to find that rhythm with her hitters.泭

���I was putting a lot of positivity on my players,��� she said. ���When I made a mistake, I let it go. Usually, I���m one to be really hard on myself but today I let it go. I played my game, I was in my zone, I connected with my hitters.���泭泭

In the first set, the Cougars went on a 7-2 run to lead 15-10. However, after a few Kuyper miscues and three consecutive kills by sophomore middle blocker Alanna Kent (Belding, Mich.), the Centurions tied the game 19-19, forcing the away team into a timeout.泭泭

窪蹋勛圖厙 then took the lead for good as Bishop set up freshman power hitter Emily Davis (Jenison, Mich.) for a clean kill, giving the Centurions a 23-22 lead. Kuyper then hit back-to-back serves into the net, giving the Centurions a well-deserved 25-22 comeback win.泭

In the second set, 窪蹋勛圖厙 established a 7-3 lead, taking advantage of many miscues from Kuyper. However, the Cougars tied the game at 10-10 as the Centurions had back-to-back miscues of their own.泭泭

The teams went back and forth to a 17-17 tie, but when Kuyper hit the ball out of bounds on the next play, it gave 窪蹋勛圖厙 the lead, which the Centurions never relinquished.泭泭

Kent earned two kills from there and sophomore libero Jaden Gomez (White Cloud, Mich.) nailed a serving ace, which put 窪蹋勛圖厙 up 23-20. Freshman outside hitter Hailey Guerra (Grant, Mich.) then earned a kill to make it 24-22. Sophomore middle blocker Katelyn Bignall (Belding, Mich.) finished off the Cougars, nailing a hit to Kuyper���s backcourt, which deflected off a Cougars defender and to the floor, giving 窪蹋勛圖厙 a 25-22 win.泭

Fueled with momentum and facing a chance to earn their first match victory, the Centurions came out in the third set with a force, going on a 13-2 run, which included a nice block by Bishop, which then set up a kill by freshman middle blocker Edy Davidson (Carson City, Mich.).泭

窪蹋勛圖厙���s defense gave up only three more points from there, as the Centurions handled the Cougars easily for a 25-6 win, clinching the best-of-five series.泭

���It feels really good,��� smiled Bishop, about the team���s first win of the season. ���This was definitely needed for our team.���泭

Youngs said she was impressed with how her team put things together and kept miscues and bad serves to a minimum against the Cougars.泭泭

���We went over about a couple players we needed to watch for. We told our blockers to key on certain players so it would be a lot easier on our defense, so we didn���t have as many gaps,��� Youngs said. ���I think the defense did really well with reading what they were going to do a lot sooner than usual and made those adjustments, as well.���泭

With the win, and how well the Centurions performed, Youngs is hoping it is a sign of better things to come for her team.泭

���It was just finding that rhythm that I knew they would find. It just took a little longer than expected,��� she said. ���Hopefully, this is what you���re going to see in the weeks to come with them. This being our first win, it���s a great motivator for them. I think they really needed this to have that confidence within themselves, like, ���OK, yeah, we can do it.������泭

Kent led the team in kills with 11, followed by Davis, with seven, and Davidson, with five. Bignall led the team in blocks, with four, and Gomez had a team-leading 12 digs.泭泭

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UP NEXT: 窪蹋勛圖厙 will be participating in a tri meet at Grace Christian University in Grand Rapids, Friday, Sept. 12, going up against Kalamazoo Valley Community College at 6 p.m. and Grace Christian University at 8 p.m.泭