By Travis Smola
The Lady Bulldog volleyball team just keeps on winning. Vicksburg swept Plainwell in Coloma to move on to the MHSAA Regional Championship where they will face Buchanan.
While the Lady Bulldogs swept the Trojans, Plainwell didn’t make things easy, especially in the second set. That was where Plainwell attempted to set the pace early and had a lead much of the game. “We had to re-adjust, once we did, we were OK,” Head Coach Katrina Miller said.
An ace serve by senior Ashton Bjork helped keep the Bulldogs in the match early on, but the Trojans held a three or four-point lead much of the game. Eventually things got down to a 24-20 match point in favor of the Trojans. This was where the Vicksburg defense stepped up again.
Morgan Preston and Grace Welch then came through with crucial kills to even things up to 24-24. After that, momentum seemed to get on the side of Vicksburg again and they took the set 27-25. “We have been working so hard on our block,” Miller said.
The first and third sets provided a little more breathing room as the Lady Bulldogs took set one 25-18 and set three 25-15. The girls came out all business early in the first set and Miller noted that at first, a few of them struggled.
Miller took them aside to repeat something she’s told them all year. “You have to have fun,” she said. After that, they settled down and focused better.
The Lady Bulldogs will be back in action again Thursday night where they will face a Buchanan team that eliminated a very good Harper Creek squad in four sets. The Bucks will have a size advantage on Vicksburg, but the Lady Bulldogs are playing some of their best volleyball of the year right now.
That match-up will happen in Coloma at 6:30 p.m.