Playing its final two home matches of the regular season, the Macomb High varsity volleyball team was put to the test by a pair of West Central Conference squads.
On Wednesday, visiting Mendon Unity rallied to edge the Bombers 21-25, 25-23, 28-26 The two teams faced off Oct. 11 at the Sherrard Volleyball Classic with Unity winning 25-13, 25-18.
It was the fourth match of the day for both teams. In addition, the Bombers were missing senior setter Sophie Wilson, who was participating in the state golf tournament.
“Unity’s good,” said MHS coach Hillary Humes. “We played them at Sherrard and they beat us outright (in two sets). But we wanted to see how we would deal with them on fresh legs.”
“We probably overlooked them a little bit,” said Unity coach Seth Klusmeyer. “We played them a week and a half ago at a tournament and I know they were missing some personnel. I think we were like ‘teams are going to lay down for us.’” “We’re going to have to go out and dictate play,” he added. “And we are capable of doing that. We just have to do it on a consistent basis.”
The opening set saw the Bombers fly out to an 8-2 lead, only to see a Saylor Barry kill start a 12-2 Unity run that included a five point service run by Michaela Voth.
Macomb rallied to pull even at 14-14, the first of six ties occuring down the stretch.
At 19-19, a Barry hitting error, followed by Kodi Duke reception error on a Jordyn Shoopman serve gave the Bombers the lead for good.
Kills by Dakota Thorman and Jordan Hines pushed the lead to 24-21 before a Jersee Mills tip closed out the set for MHS.
“We did not pass the best on serve-receive,” said Klusmeyer. “Macomb did a good job of putting us on our heels. We did not watch the ball into our arms, we were trying to make that next move without finishing that pass.We ran a lot of offense from the 10-foot line.”
In set two, the Mustangs galloped out to as much as a six-point lead, only to see Macomb pull even at 12-12.
At 21-21, a kill by Morgan Arnsman, a Hines hitting error and a service winner by Addison Spilker pushed Unity to set point.
A Wilson tip and Voth hitting error allowed Macomb to inch within 24-23. But an Arnsman tip closed out the set and evened the match.
Set three saw Macomb build as much as a six-point advantage at 13-7. But the Mustangs answered by scoring seven of the next eight points in pulling even at 14-14.
With the set knotted at 21-21, a Mills service error, an Arnsman kill and a net violation on Hines allowed Unity to reach match point.
But a Jillian Shaffer service error, followed by a service winner by Emily Westerhold and a kill by Thorman pulled the Bombers even at 24-24.
Both teams had match point opportunities spoiled. But at 26-26, Barry closed out the match with a pair of kills, her 17th and 18th of the match.
“She was a little passive for her in the middle of the night, but she went up and took big swings,” said Klusmeyer of Barry. “They were doing some things defensively. But she can control things. She’s so quick. Then sometimes she starts doubting herself. But she finished on a very high note there.”
“Macomb played tough. They took it right to us and had their chances there at the end,” he added. “It could’ve went either way. There were a lot of close calls at the end of that game.”
“You don’t like to lose,” said Humes. “But if you can compete and the score is close, you can’t ask for anything else.”
Unity improved to 25-4 on the season with the win, while the Bombers dropped to 18-12.
Hines finished the night with 12 kills, 18 digs and five blocks, while Cadence Hotz added eight kills and five blocks for the Bombers.
Mills recorded kills, 11 digs, three blocks and seven service points for MHS.
Westerhold added 10 digs, along with seven service points that included one service ace, while Shoopman tallied 11 digs and eight service points with two service aces.
Sophie Wilson handed out 28 set assists, while also recording 20 digs and one service ace.
“We’ve been on an upward climb these past several games,” said Humes. “We still make those 1-2 errors that costs us when it’s a two-point game.”
“But in the past two weeks, I’ve seen a big improvement with us,” she added. “We’re getting to balls that we weren’t getting in the early season. My younger players are starting to come into their own and make some plays for us.”
“We’re still on the upward climb. I don’t think this should defeat us.”
In addition to her 18 kills, Barry also added 15 digs for Unity.
Arnsman added nine kills and nine service points that included three service aces, while Duke finished with eight kills.
Shaffer tallied 38 set assists and 22 digs, while Tegan Campbell added 21 digs for Unity.
Voth finished with nine service points that included three service aces.
On Monday, the Bombers celebrated Senior Night by defeating Liberty 25-23, 25-17.
Liberty slipped to 20-10 on the season.
Seniors Addyson Fox, Ella Hare, Hines, Hotz, Shoopman, Thorman, Westerhold and Wilson were honored prior to the match.
Thorman tallied six kills, three blocks and four service points for MHS, while Hines added six kills, nine digs and seven service points.
Mills recorded four kills, five digs and two blocks, while Hotz chipped in three kills and four blocks.
Westerhold finished with 17 digs, while Wilson had 11 set assists, seven digs and six service points.
The Bombers wrap up the regular season Friday and Saturday at the Quincy Notre Dame Tournament that will be played at Quincy University.
On Friday, the Bombers will play Lincoln (16-14) and Decatur St. Teresa (3-18).
On Saturday morning, the Bombers conclude tournament play with matches against host QND (24-5) and Breese Mater Dei (24-6).
“It’s going to be a tough weekend to go into the postseason,” said Humes. “I’m not concerned what our record out of the tournament is going to be. I want us to compete well and get some fire going into next week.”
The Macomb High JV squad wrapped up its season with a pair of wins The Bombers defeated Liberty 25-20, 25-14 on Monday and Unity 25-16, 25-17 on Tuesday to finish their season with a final record of 21-7.
