GH, Fruitport fall in quarterfinals
Mon, Aug 25, 2008 
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Grand Haven and Fruitport locked horns in a rugged battle during pool play of Saturday's Lakeshore Volleyball Invitational, held at Grand Haven High School.
The Buccaneers came out on top of that match, but both teams ended the day in diappointing fashion as both lost in the quarterfinal round.
The Bucs, who beat the Trojans, 14-25, 25-20, 17-15, went on to lose to Holland Christian in the quarterfinals, 28-26, 25-19. The Trojans, who finished 2-2 on the day, lost to eventual tournament champion Jenison in the quarters, 25-15, 25-15.
"We played pretty well for the day," said Grand Haven coach Aaron Smaka, whose team is 3-1 after its first action of the year. "We ran into a couple bumps against a good Holland Christian team. We're going to learn from it and we're going to improve.
"We played a great match against Fruitport. Both teams played hard. We were fortunate to come away with that one."
The Bucs opened with a 25-12, 25-16 win over Lowell, then beat Grand Rapids Northview, 25-18, 25-18, before sneaking past Fruitport.
Stacy Kalsbeek had a strong showing for Grand Haven as she finished with 36 assists, 18 service points, two aces, 21 kills, eight blocks and 18 digs. Robyn Power was the Bucs' toughest server with 23 points and eight aces to go along with a team-high 36 digs.
Mindy Marx led the way with 26 kills and 11 blocks, while Bri Soule added 15 kills and seven blocks. Lauren Stolarz had 26 assists; Kristin Woods added 11 blocks; and Andrea Norman provided 28 digs.
Fruitport also scored wins over Northview and Lowell, winning 25-23, 25-21 over Northview and 25-16, 25-18 against Lowell.
Samantha Geile had a team-high 19 kills for the Trojans, while Shelby Ray added 15 kills and Tiffany Brufladt chipped in with 14. Brufladt added seven blocks while Kayla Timmer had five. Charlene Stolarz led the way with 24 digs whileAshley Hulber had 14 and Crystal White added 12.
Lauren Hazekamp was the Trojans' most effective server with 38 points and 10 aces. Hulbert contributed with 36 points and 10 aces, and Stolarz had 30 points and five aces. Hulbert had 35 assists while Julie Larson added 22.
The Bucs are at Northview Tuesday, then host a quad Thursday, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The Trojans host a quad meet Tuesday, beginning at 10 a.m.
WARRIORS WIN TITLE
Western Michigan Christian started off its volleyball season by repeating as champions Saturday at the Godwin Heights Tournament.
The Warriors defeated Wyoming Rogers in the finals, 25-23, 25-23, to claim their second title in a row.
WMC defeated Grand Rapids Creston, Grand Rapids Union and host Godwin Heights en route to the finals.
WMC Coach Bret Noordhoff singled out seniors Lauren DeYoung and Hannah Meyers. "Lauren helped us control the ball and played great defense. Hannah was our offensive leader. DeYoung had six aces and 28 digs.
LAKERS GO 1-2-1
AT PUFFER
Spring Lake couldn't handle Forest Hills Eastern in a pair of matches at the Reeths-Puffer Invitational Saturday, as the Lakers fell to the Hawks in both pool play and in the quarterfinals of the Gold Bracket.
Forest Hills Eastern would go on to win the touranement title.
Lakers' coach Sarah Bulthuis saw a pair of blaring problems that limited her team throughout the day.
"Our serve receive really broke down, which is an area we need to improve at," she said. "And we have to be more consistent at serving. But I like our aggressive defense, and our ability to keep the ball in play. We showed a scrappiness to get that done."
Spring Lake split with Hamilton (23-25, 25-14) in the opening of pool play, then was downed by the Hawks (16-25, 13-25). The Lakers rebounded with an impressive sweep of Comstock Park (25-12, 25-16), before dropping their last match to the Hawks (11-25, 21-25).
Senior Tiffany Holmes had a strong all-around day with 17 points, seven aces, 48 assists, and 15 digs. Kelsey Bekius paced the team with 23 kills, while Taylor Keyser was tops in digs with 19 and Sam Hankinson led the way with seven blocks.
JUNIOR VARSITY: Spring Lake advanced to the semifinals of Saturday's Coopersville Invitational before falling to Forest Hills Eastern, 25-20, 25-17. The Lakers beat Ravenna in pool play, 25-18, 25-12, before splitting with Zeeland West, 25-20, 19-25. Spring Lake also split with the host Broncos, 19-25, 25-11, then beat Cedar Springs in the quarterfinals, 25-10, 25-22. Hayley Schram had seven aces and 13 kills, and Lindsey Bogi had six aces and 14 kills. Louise Silverman led the way with 30 digs, and Jackie Wruble had six blocks.
