Bobcats sweep Portagers

ONEKAMA — As the wins keep piling up, the target on the back of Brethren grows.

So, the goal for the Bobcats is to keep it facing their opponents. Brethren did just that in a 25-11, 25-21, 25-8 West Michigan D League sweep of Onekama on Tuesday to move to 7-0 during head-to-head competition this season.

“This is definitely going to give us the momentum we need to keep going, and the girls know that,” said Brethren coach Rachel Edmondson. “Right now, we’re playing with targets. Other teams know, I think, what we have to offer, so right now we have to live up to that and keep proving it.”

Brethren seldom trailed during Tuesday’s match, survived a scare from a resilient surge by the Portagers in the second set, and moved to 2-0 in league play.

Annie MacNeil paced the Bobcats with 12 kills and a block while Rylee Fleming had five kills and Sarah Costello led the team in passing.

Onekama took an early lead in the first set, but after the Bobcats knotted the score at 5-5, they took off.

In the second set, Brethren looked to have another comfortable win all but wrapped up with a 22-14 advantage, but the Portagers started to surge. Alexis Tribfelner and Hailey Kott put together substantial serving strings to cut the deficit to 23-21.

After a Brethren timeout, however, the Bobcats came out of the huddle focused on notching the final two points.

“I thought that we were covering the floor a bit better than we have been,” said Onekama coach Sherri Slater of the near-comeback win in game two. “We were digging the ball really well, but I thought it was serve receive — which is supposed to be the easier stuff — that was kind of putting us in a hole tonight.

“We have to count on our defense to counter our lack of height with a team like Brethren, and sometimes it seemed to be going well tonight. But, then Brethren got into a rhythm where they started hitting the corners.”

Onekama’s Emily Bergren led her team with five kills and four assists while Anna Brown had seven assists, and Kott had three kills.

Brethren came out firing on all cylinders in the third set, jumping out to an 11-0 advantage sparked by a 10-point streak from the service line from Fleming. The Bobcats’ Hailey Guinan put together a serving string of seven points shortly after to take a commanding 21-3 lead en route to the sweep.

“I liked our overall movement tonight,” Edmondson said. “If they needed to serve, they served well. If it was time for offensive, they were covering their hitter. And when it was time for defense, they were getting ready and then doing something to set it up.

“We’re playing our best when we’re always looking to set things up.”

Posted by Dylan Savela / Manistee News Advocate on-line / September 25, 2012