The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Volleyball hits speedbump
Tough schedule leads to tough day at Saline Invitational
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 11, 2007
The Milan volleyball team hit a speed bump on the road to success Saturday in Saline.
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A brutal schedule and the absence of senior starter Emily Hoskins led to a tough day on the scoreboard for the Big Reds at the Saline Invitational.
Playing two matches against the host Hornets and one against Summerfield Invitational champions Ida, the on-the-rise Big Reds suffered their most frustrating day of the season so far, winning only one of eight games played.
"I tell them, if they make a mistake, to always let go of the last play," head coach Andrea Marshall said afterward. "That's what we'll do with today. We'll make adjustments, come in on Monday and go to work, and let go of today."
Marshall was confident her team would do just that as they prepared for their Huron League opener Wednesday night on the road at Riverview.
"We're a good team. That just wasn't us out there today," she said. "Every team can have an off day."
Milan was also hurt by the absence of Hoskins through injury, which Marshall said had "a big impact."
Despite Hoskins' presence on the bench, the Big Reds started off strong in their pool-play opener against Saline, winning the first four points and taking a 7-5 lead on a Kaitlin Ludwig kill.
But the Hornets — who will enter league play as the arguable Southeastern Conference favorite after recent wins over Pioneer and Bedford — started flexing their muscle, winning five straight points to stretch a 12-11 lead to 17-11. A kill from senior Jennifer Dennison stopped the bleeding, but the host team would go on to record a 25-13 win.
It was more of the same in Game 2 as a late four-point serving run from Dennison –– aided by a Draves kill –– helped the Big Reds trim what had been a 10-point lead to 21-15. But Saline again came on at the end to win 25-16.
Milan then dropped their two games against the Ida Bluestreaks before taking on Ann Arbor Greenhills in the final pair of games of pool play before moving on the elimination rounds.
Milan had met Greenhills twice at the Summerfield tournament, splitting their two matches, and their first game in Saline was again close and competitive. A four-point service run by Jennifer Robinson staked Milan to a 6-1 lead.
A Kaitlin Eisen kill ended a four-point Greenhills run at 10-7, but the Gryphons would continue to surge, eventually taking an 18-13 lead. The Big Reds responded by taking seven of the next eight points, grabbing a 20-19 lead on a Robinson ace.
From there, the two teams traded blows, going into extra points after being tied at 23, 24 and 25. A Ludwig kill brought Milan within a point of victory at 26-25, but with the tournament rules having capped scores at 27, the Gryphons took the win by grabbing the final two points of the game.
Milan would take out their frustrations in the next game, however. Behind strong serving from Allore and Chelsea Thomas, solid setting from senior captain Carolyn Nelson, and plenty of kills from Robinson and Dennison, the Big Reds ended the game on a 12-1 run to win handily 25-10.
Unfortunately for Milan, an upset by Greenhills of Saline meant that the Big Reds would have to face the hosts a second time in the first round of the elimination bracket. Although Milan hung with the Hornets early in both games ––trailing only 10-7 in Game 1 and 7-5 in Game 2 –– both times Saline pulled away for identical 25-12 wins, sending Milan home.
"It's a matter of the team learning how through adversity," Marshall said when asked what the Big Reds would take away from their performance. "Hopefully, we've got all the negativity out before we start in the league on Wednesday."
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or.
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