CHEBOYGAN — Really good teams always bounce back quickly.
One week after a 3-0 loss at Kingsley in a Northern Shores Conference volleyball showdown, the Cheboygan Chiefs finally returned to the court and had a chance to respond.
And did they ever.
The Chiefs started quickly, showed consistency most of the way, and rolled to a 3-0 victory over Kalkaska (25-10, 25-16, 25-21) in a conference clash on Tuesday.
Here’s some quick takeaways from Cheboygan’s win.
Lightning-quick start
Even after not playing for seven days, there was no rust shown by the Chiefs (19-5-2, 6-1 NSC), who blitzed the Blazers by building a quick 7-0 lead in the first set. The Blazers had all sorts of problems defending Cheboygan’s top hitters like Tessa Lake, Diem Schley, Olivia Patrick and Abi Babcock, who each delivered successful attacks that pushed Cheboygan’s lead to 20-8.
With those attackers dominating, as well as senior setter Makaela Steiner leading the offense with her setting and senior libero Presley Chamberlain anchoring the defense, the Chiefs won the first set easily, then built an 8-1 lead in the second and coasted.
The third set wasn’t as easy for the Chiefs, whose big lead shrunk to two after Kalkaska went on a big run. However, Cheboygan used a game-winning kill from senior Kyleigh Burt to finish off the sweep.
“Bouncing back from losing to Kingsley, our first conference loss, that really made us want to fight even harder,” Cheboygan senior Presley Chamberlain said. “Just to come back and lose again, that’s not a good feeling. We knew Kalkaska didn’t have the best record, but we didn’t want to take them lightly. We still played our hearts out and we played to win tonight.”
Character-building win
What Cheboygan’s victory showed was a team full of character and one that’s capable of having success in the postseason, which is only a few weeks away.
From her best player on down, Cheboygan coach Jordan Barrette was impressed by her squad’s ability to shake off a tough defeat and rebound with a thumping triumph.
“I am so proud of the fact that they showed up with energy, and that was a big thing we talked about coming off (the loss to Kingsley),” Barrette said. “We didn’t necessarily show up with the energy that we usually output, so this week it’s been let’s show up to practice with energy, let’s show up with energy (in the Kalkaska game). They got back on track tonight.”
Patrick finished with five kills and three aces for the Chiefs, who received five kills and an ace from Lake, four kills and three aces from Steiner, four kills from Maddie Long, three kills from Burt, and two aces and one kill from Mackenzie Stockman.
An updated version of Cheboygan’s stats will be provided as soon as they become available.
Building for November
With their win on Tuesday, the Chiefs assured themselves of at least a second-place finish in their conference. In the coming weeks, Cheboygan will play multiple home matches — including an Oct. 28 date with Pellston in the annual Volley for a Cure match — and looks to be at its best once district play arrives. Thankfully for the Chiefs, they’ll be hosting this year.
“Our big push right now is getting hits to the ground,” Barrette said. “We want to see more kills to the ground and that changing of our attack strategy. A hit to the ground, now we’re going to push to the back corner, now we’re going to tip.”
Cheboygan hosts Rudyard in a non-conference match on Monday, Oct. 20.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan volleyball bounces back from Kingsley loss, captures 3-set sweep over Kalkaska
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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