Lakers bow out in finals at Kenowa Hills Invite

Thu, Aug 28, 2008    to del.icio.us

Spring Lake volleyball coach Sarah Bulthuis was pleased with her team's improved play at the Kenowa Hills Invitational Wednesday, which ended with a runner-up finish to Wayland.

"In the semifinal game against Caledonia, we were down 22-19 in the first game, and had to come back to win. It was pretty tight in the second game and we were tied at 10 in the third game. We had to really buckle down and stay focused in some tough situations.

The Lakers (7-3-3 overall) took second in their pool after splitting with Grandville (23-25, 25-22); defeating North Pointe Christian (25-12, 25-16); and splitting with the host Knights (25-19, 18-25).

Spring Lake marched onto the Gold Bracket, where it proceeded to sweep Hamilton (25-14, 25-19); and then pull out the thriller over Caledonia (27-25, 21-25, 15-11).

The Lakers' run came up short against Wayland, however, as they fell in two games, 17-25, 19-25.

"We were within a couple points up to the 15-point mark," Bulthuis sadi. "But they're a good team who serves tough and has really aggressive hitters. We kept the ball in play, but we struggled to set up our offense. That hurt us."

Bulthuis said senior Tiffany Holmes had an oustanding tournament, finishing with 68 assists, 24 service points, eight aces, and 22 digs. Kaitlyn Schram added 40 points, nine aces and 19 kills.

The biggest boost came from Spring Lake's blocking, especially Sam Hankinson (15 blocks), and Rachel Kilbry (19 blocks).

"Those kids blocked so well," Bulthuis said. "Sam's tall, but the rest of them are only 5-9, 5-10. But they did a nice job blocking."