GH's Smaka wins in return to coaching
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 
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Aaron Smaka's first game back on the bench with the Grand Haven varsity volleyball team was a pleasant one as the Buccaneers overpowered the Muskegon Big Reds on Tuesday, 25-11, 25-8, 25-12.
"I'm really proud of how they came out. We tried a couple different lineups, and they worked well," said Smaka, who coached the Bucs for four seasons before stepping down from his post a year ago. He re-joined the team when coach Steve Burmaster left to take a new job out-of-state.
"Our energy was really positive. It's only been two days, but I hope we're improving," Smaka said.
Alyssa VanderStel finished with 17 service points, 39 assists and six digs for the Bucs. Mindy Marx led the way with 18 kills and three blocks, while Emily Franks had nine kills and Kristen Woods added six.
Robyn Power passed well for Grand Haven and had seven service points. Laura Kooistra also had seven service points for the Bucs, who are now 35-14 on the season and finish 3-4 in the O-K Red Conference.
Grand Haven hosts a quad meet on Saturday and will face Holland Christian, Lake Odessa Lakewood and North Muskegon.
SL SWEEPS GRANT
Sarah Bulthuis feels her team's ball control and aggressive serving is the best its been all season.
That was bad news for host Grant, which was swept by the Lakers on Tuesday, 25-17, 25-13, 25-16. Spring Lake improves to 21-11-1 overall and 5-2 in the Lakes Eight Conference.
"I was also pleased with our hitters. They were hitting to different areas and using all their offensive weapons," Bulthuis added. "It's nice to see us coming together, as we gear up for the league tournament and districts."
Kaitlyn Mulder flourished in a number of areas for the Lakers, as she led the team in kills with 15 and also added 10 digs, 10 points, three aces and two blocks. Setter Taylor Keyser had a team-best four aces to go along with 31 assists, nine digs and three blocks. Keyser spread the wealth among the Lakers' hitters as Evie Lorimer added six kills and Kelsey Bekius totaled five.
Junior Varsity: Despite being severly shorthanded as a number of players battled illness, the Lakers fought past Grant, 25-16, 20-25, 15-8, to improve to 21-9-3 this season.
Molly Cooke led the Lakers with five kills and 17 digs, while freshman call-up Erin Vargo led the team with three aces and also contributed five blocks.
LAKESHORE BAPTIST JV VICTORIOUS
The Grand Haven Lakeshore Baptist Academy junior varsity volleyball team scored a 2-1 win over the West Michigan Home School Association on Monday.
Lakeshore Baptist won the opening game, 25-21, then lost 25-12 before winning the third and deciding game, 15-11.
Becca Wallace had a strong showing at the net for Lakeshore Baptist, while Ally Sides finished with 15 service points, including several aces. Kenzie Green, the team's junior setter, had 13 service points and several kills, while Marissa Gentry and Sarah Vandybogurt led the team in passing and digs.
The Lakeshore Baptist junior high team also won in three games on Monday. Ally Sides, Taylor Maertz and Sarah Vandybogurt were the team's top performers.
Volleyball is a new sport this fall at Lakeshore Baptist Academy, coached by Amy Martin.
