The Milan News-Leader
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Big Reds split vs. Devils, Bears
Milan win streak hits three matches before tough loss to Jefferson
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 15, 2007
Against Grosse Ile Feb. 7, the Milan volleyball team pulled out three straight close games.
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Monday night against Monroe-Jefferson, it seemed to be Milan's opponent's turn to do the same.
The visiting Bears turned away a series Milan rallies to takes Games 2, 3 and 4 by combined 11 points (26-24, 25-21, and 25-20), winning the match 3-1 and snapping Milan's three-match Huron League winning streak.
Despite the loss, coach Andrea Marshall was pleased with her team's play, and said it was, in fact, stronger than in the Big Reds' three-game sweep of Grosse Ile earlier in the week.
"They played hard; I thought they played well," she said. "We just made some little mental mistakes that cost us. We've just got to tighten up the ship."
The Big Reds overcame those mistakes, including four service errors, in Game 1. With the score knotted at 14, Milan came out on top after two consecutive long rallies with big digs on both sides, but ended by kills by Milan's Jennifer Dennison and Jennifer Robison for a 16-14 edge.
The Big Reds built the lead to 23-18 from there and finished off the game with a kill from Bekah Draves and a block from Kaitlin Ludwig.
The turning point of the match came in Game 2. After trailing 20-17, the Big Reds tied it at 20 on a Dennison ace, tied it again at 23 on a Ludwig block and came within a point of a commanding two-games-to-none lead at 24-23.
But after a timeout, the Bears responded with strong hitting and solid defense to swipe the next three points and the game 26-24.
The visitors would not look back. Jefferson built an 18-11 lead in Game 3 before a 9-2 Big Red run capped by kills from Draves and Ludwig brought Milan within 22-20.
Again, however, the Bears came back from a timeout with sharper play and took three of the next four points to finish off the game 25-21.
Ahead 2-1, Jefferson ensured there would be no Milan comeback with a huge run in the middle of Game 4. The home team had taken a 16-13 lead on a Robinson kill before the Bears rattled off eight of the next nine points, turning the three-point deficit into a 21-17 lead.
The Big Reds refused to go quietly, getting a kill from Dennison to stop the bleeding and good service from Kaitlin Eisen to pull within 22-20. But Jefferson scored the next three to clinch the match with a 25-20 win.
"They dig in at the tail end of matches," Marshall said, "but we need to play as hard at the beginning of the game as they do at the tail end."
Nonetheless, Milan's solid play at the end of games was on full display against Grosse Ile. The Big Reds took Game 1 25-22 before winning the second and third games in extra points, 26-24 and 28-26. The sweep earned Milan a series split on the season with the Red Devils after falling in four games in Grosse Ile Jan. 17.
The week's split left Milan's Huron League record at 3-8 after a 0-7 start, but the important thing, Marshall said, is that her team continues its run of recent strong play and continues to develop as a team.
"We're playing a lot better than we were in the middle of the season," she said. "They're learning the game. We're making mistakes, but we're realizing when we make them. Now we just have to correct them."
Milan's next match will be a doubleheader against New Boston Huron 6 p.m. Monday.
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