MONTAGUE — A fast start propelled Montague to a rivalry victory over Whitehall Tuesday night, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18, just the latest impressive performance for the Wildcats.
Senior setter Jaelyn Sundberg continued her steady work, piloting the offense with 26 assists as the Wildcats grabbed a double-digit lead early in game one and never looked back. Whitehall briefly held a 14-11 lead and pushed Montague to an 18-18 tie in game two, but the ‘Cats finished with seven straight points to win that one, and an 8-8 tie in game three also did not last long as Montague rolled to victory.
Coach Gretchen Schneider said getting off to a fast start was a point of emphasis for Montague after it dropped the first game of a match against Whitehall last Thursday at the Big Rapids Quad. Montague went on to win that match in three games.
“That just wasn’t going to happen tonight,” Schneider said of the previous slow start. “We knew what we had to do so we came out strong and set the tempo and never let them steal that tempo.”
Schneider added that she told her team, “They woke a sleeping giant,” after that first-game loss the previous week.
Sundberg credited her senior teammates with leading the way all night. Montague (14-6-2, 2-1 West Michigan Conference Lakes) played cohesive, connected volleyball throughout the match, with Maizie Collins’ eight kills leading the offense and Jordan Netcott’s 15 digs anchoring the defense.
“I think the seniors really carried that game,” Sundberg said. “We all talked about it before the game. We were so excited. We didn’t go into it cocky, we went into it confident.”
That focused mindset has propelled Montague to eight consecutive wins since a conference-opening loss to Fremont. The Wildcats know they’ll likely have to win the remainder of their league matches in order to earn the #1 seed in the WMC Lakes tournament, and it’s a goal they are focused on achieving.
“That’s one of our goals,” Schneider said. “We’re still feeling the pain of that dropped game to Fremont early, and that’s going to come back to haunt us a little bit, but we’re going to come strong.”
The Wildcats are reaping the benefits of an offseason spent bonding with Schneider, in her first year coaching at Montague. The new coach wasted little time instituting team-building activities after getting the job in February; “we all just clicked,” Sundberg said.
Among other things, the Wildcats visited her house, went on a kayaking trip, and had a sleepover in the arena under the volleyball net, bookended by scrimmages against their parents that Schneider dubbed “Moms and Munchies at night and Dads and Donuts in the morning.”
“When you spend time with each other, it’s just an easy connection,” Schneider said. “We’ve overcome some hurdles very fast by just taking the time to get to know them and letting down my guard to let them learn who I am as well. We’ve blended our team quite well.”
Whitehall (7-9, 1-2 WMC Lakes) struggled early in the match and was never able to fully recover. The Vikings, coach Ted Edsall said, showed improvements in passing and serving, but couldn’t put it together with a strong attack. The team posted only a .056 hitting percentage. Sidney Shepherd led the way with 11 kills, and Lou Mulder had 13 assists.
“We were ready,” Edsall said. “We had a great game plan and a good practice. We played them Thursday, lost in three, played good, and (tonight) we just didn’t show up. It happens. We’ve got four (sophomores) on the floor and this is their first Whitehall/Montague match. They were actually OK. I just thought their best was better than our best.”
Schneider credited her team - and its hardworking attitude - with providing the “best” that was too much for Whitehall.
“I get the pleasure of orchestrating this whole operation, but it’s all these girls,” Schneider said. The girls come in strong. They come in motivated. They come in skilled...It’s hard for me to get them to leave. They stay after practice quite frequently, so to get them to go home is hard.”
