Click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Tori Jandt and Graci Varoni, and Coach Dan Porath. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the videos and photos from the match are unavailable.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse volleyball team picked up a 3-0 victory over the Montcalm Community College Centurions Monday night, but it was not as easy as that score indicates. Bay had to come from behind in all three sets, winning 26-24, 26-24, and 25-17.
"It would have been great if we got off to a little better start," Bay College Coach Dan Porath said. "Eapecially in the first set and in the second set. We got behind early. It made for an exciting match, but when we got to around 19 (points), we made our push, and we were able to come back."
The girls, though, were happy to pull through with a win after a long road trip to Lower Michigan that didn't end until the team got home in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
"We did so good," Norse sophomore libero Tori Jandt said. "I mean, there were points where we were falling down a little bit, but we did a really good job of getting the energy back up, and restarting. We all know we can do it. There's just that piece that we have to put together, and we did that tonight."
Bark River-Harris graduate Graci Varoni joined Jandt in the back row, and played perhaps her best match in a Norse uniform.
"I'm feeling pretty good tonight, I'm not gonna lie," she said. "It was fun. It's definitely been a jump (from high school volleyball). I've definitely re-learned quite a few things. It's been good. It's been a challenge. I think we did really well in keeping our positivity and our energy. Even when we were down, we kept encouraging each other."
The pivotal comeback came in the second set, when they trailed, 24-22, but saved two set points, getting four points in a row, to win, 26-24.
The Centurions raced out to an 11-3 lead in the third set, but the Norse, after a time out, went on a big run of 14-in-16 points, to take a 17-13 lead.
The Norse kept the momentum going, and won that set, 25-17, to take the first-ever meeting between the two schools. For Bay, it continued a grueling stretch that included a long road trip over the weekend to Grand Rapids and Muskegon, with only Sunday to get some rest.
So, how did the team prepare for a team that they've never seen before, with no practice?
"I think the biggest thing is learning how to read the block," Jandt said of the defensive approach against the Centurions. "Kind of coordinating with the blockers by talking before. I think all of our back-row players are all getting the hang of it together, being in the right place at the right time, and it just worked out."
Gwinn High School graduate Tianna Taylor had a great match, including a dominating third set in which he recorded three of her six kills. Menominee's Piper Monroe had seven kills, Superior Central's Emma Rutter added five kills. Amber Caylor contributed 15 assists, and Madison Johnson added 12. Jandt had 15 digs to lead the Norse on defense.
"Piper has been doing a great job for us," Porath said. "She really brings the tempo for us, and she runs things a little bit quicker for us. She really sets our offense up. When she's running quicks, it opens the outsides for us."
Lauren Rowe led Montcalm with ten kills, and Maia Sexton added seven kills. Tiana Whitacre had 21 assists, and she added a match-high 14 digs.
The Norse improved to 9-9 on the season (3-3 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association). The Centurions fell to 6-7 overall, 2-3 in the MCCAA.
Of note for Bay College is the team's record in home matches.
The team is 5-1 while playing in Escanaba, often in front of a loud crowd fueled by relentless chanting and cheering from the Bay College baseball and basketball teams.
Bay has another home match this Wednesday night, against Gogebic Community College. The match will start at 7:00 and will be broadcast live on FM-93.5 and AM-600 in Escanaba, and on AM-1450 on the Bay College West campus in Iron Mountain. The radio broadcast will also be streamed on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse volleyball team picked up a 3-0 victory over the Montcalm Community College Centurions Monday night, but it was not as easy as that score indicates. Bay had to come from behind in all three sets, winning 26-24, 26-24, and 25-17.
"It would have been great if we got off to a little better start," Bay College Coach Dan Porath said. "Eapecially in the first set and in the second set. We got behind early. It made for an exciting match, but when we got to around 19 (points), we made our push, and we were able to come back."
The girls, though, were happy to pull through with a win after a long road trip to Lower Michigan that didn't end until the team got home in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
"We did so good," Norse sophomore libero Tori Jandt said. "I mean, there were points where we were falling down a little bit, but we did a really good job of getting the energy back up, and restarting. We all know we can do it. There's just that piece that we have to put together, and we did that tonight."
Bark River-Harris graduate Graci Varoni joined Jandt in the back row, and played perhaps her best match in a Norse uniform.
"I'm feeling pretty good tonight, I'm not gonna lie," she said. "It was fun. It's definitely been a jump (from high school volleyball). I've definitely re-learned quite a few things. It's been good. It's been a challenge. I think we did really well in keeping our positivity and our energy. Even when we were down, we kept encouraging each other."
The pivotal comeback came in the second set, when they trailed, 24-22, but saved two set points, getting four points in a row, to win, 26-24.
The Centurions raced out to an 11-3 lead in the third set, but the Norse, after a time out, went on a big run of 14-in-16 points, to take a 17-13 lead.
The Norse kept the momentum going, and won that set, 25-17, to take the first-ever meeting between the two schools. For Bay, it continued a grueling stretch that included a long road trip over the weekend to Grand Rapids and Muskegon, with only Sunday to get some rest.
So, how did the team prepare for a team that they've never seen before, with no practice?
"I think the biggest thing is learning how to read the block," Jandt said of the defensive approach against the Centurions. "Kind of coordinating with the blockers by talking before. I think all of our back-row players are all getting the hang of it together, being in the right place at the right time, and it just worked out."
Gwinn High School graduate Tianna Taylor had a great match, including a dominating third set in which he recorded three of her six kills. Menominee's Piper Monroe had seven kills, Superior Central's Emma Rutter added five kills. Amber Caylor contributed 15 assists, and Madison Johnson added 12. Jandt had 15 digs to lead the Norse on defense.
"Piper has been doing a great job for us," Porath said. "She really brings the tempo for us, and she runs things a little bit quicker for us. She really sets our offense up. When she's running quicks, it opens the outsides for us."
Lauren Rowe led Montcalm with ten kills, and Maia Sexton added seven kills. Tiana Whitacre had 21 assists, and she added a match-high 14 digs.
The Norse improved to 9-9 on the season (3-3 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association). The Centurions fell to 6-7 overall, 2-3 in the MCCAA.
Of note for Bay College is the team's record in home matches.
The team is 5-1 while playing in Escanaba, often in front of a loud crowd fueled by relentless chanting and cheering from the Bay College baseball and basketball teams.
Bay has another home match this Wednesday night, against Gogebic Community College. The match will start at 7:00 and will be broadcast live on FM-93.5 and AM-600 in Escanaba, and on AM-1450 on the Bay College West campus in Iron Mountain. The radio broadcast will also be streamed on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
