INDIAN RIVER – Last Thursday wasn’t a good night for Inland Lakes volleyball.
Surprisingly, the Bulldogs were swept 3-0 by the Pellston Hornets.
But with a few days to regroup, the Bulldogs came back with a much better performance on Tuesday night against their M-68 rivals.
Paced by dominant hitting and solid all-around play, Inland Lakes coasted past rival Onaway in a 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-11, 25-8) in a Ski Valley Conference home matchup.
Here’s some takeaways from Tuesday’s matchup.
‘Intense’ practice pays dividends
It wasn’t the best start on Tuesday for the Bulldogs (11-10-0, 4-3 Ski Valley), who fell behind by six points against the Cardinals, whose hitting was a problem for Inland Lakes early.
But then something changed as the Bulldogs picked up their attacking, played better defense, and got themselves back on track. Eventually taking the lead, Inland Lakes closed out the first set in impressive fashion. Putting the set away for the Bulldogs was senior Chloe Robinson, who delivered a kill.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a similar situation in the second, trailing by multiple points, but they fought back again, took the lead, and made it 2-0 in the match.
“Our talent is there, but we’re having problems coming together and using all our talent together,” Inland Lakes senior Jenna Stubbs said. “We had a really intense practice (earlier this week) and really worked on pinpointed areas that we needed to, and that really helped us tonight. I definitely think we’re going to take this win as motivation for the rest of the season.”
Resiliency on display
It’s been an up-and-down season thus far for Inland Lakes, but what they did show on Tuesday was resiliency when they fought back despite being down in the first two sets.
Another encouraging sign was the way the Bulldogs finished the match, as they took a huge lead in the third and never looked back to beat the Cardinals (12-12-5, 3-4).
“We’ve struggled with (being resilient) this season, so I’m proud of them for being able to stay calm and come back,” Inland Lakes coach Nicole Moore said. “We were behind, but it didn’t feel like we were falling apart, so they kind of just stayed in it. We were stuck in a rut (this season), for sure. They were all frustrated, so hopefully this was the confidence and the game we needed to get back on track.”
Chloe Robinson’s 14 kills, 10 digs and five aces fueled the Bulldogs, who received nine kills and two digs from Myla Thompson, 28 assists, 13 digs, four kills, three aces and two blocks from Addison Byrne, and nine digs and three assists from Kaylee Taglauer.
“I am so proud of the girls for their performance,” Moore added. “Our hitters had an outstanding night.”
Inland Lakes hosts Mancelona in Ski Valley action on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Cardinals struggle to close, fade late
The Cardinals put themselves in a solid position to take the first two sets, but their defense had problems handling the powerful hitters of the Bulldogs.
In the end, it was a disappointing Ski Valley loss.
Amya Janusky paced Onaway with eight kills, 10 digs and two blocks, while Ella Lintz recorded nine kills and 10 digs, Brooklyn Boughner had 15 assists, six digs and two kills, and Carley Karsten added eight digs and two kills. Layla Box and Marley Szymoniak chipped in with seven digs apiece.
Onaway heads to Harbor Springs for a tri-match with the Rams and Alcona on Thursday, Oct. 9.
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: Inland Lakes volleyball gets best of rival Onaway in Ski Valley Conference sweep
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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