Semi-sweet

Wildcat spikers advance to semifinals of Madonna Invitational before falling in 3

  Plymouth's volleyball team was nearly the host with the most Saturday at the Madonna Invitational.

  In a tournament played in the Plymouth gymnasium, the Wildcats rolled through pool play with a 4-0 record, but they eventually were sidelined in a thrilling semifinal match by Walled Lake Northern, 13-25, 25-20, 15-4.

  Salem defeated Walled Lake Northern in the championship match.

Plymouth is now 12-3 overall.

  "The girls had a great day of volleyball," said Plymouth coach Kelly McCausland. "We played aggressively on the net all day and defensively we were reacting to every ball. Our serve reception was also much improved from last week, which allowed us to speed up our offensive tempo."

  The Wildcats' victories in pool play came against Dearborn Heights Crestwood (25-9, 25-11), Redford Union (25-13, 25-14), Dexter (25-19, 25-23) and Detroit Cass Tech (25-16, 25-9).

  "Everything was clicking in the first two games against Northern," McCausland added. "We were 'dime'  passing, which gave Katie Salo the opportunity to mix the offense up quite a bit.

  "Unfortunately, we started out the third set with five pass errors, which gave them the momentum. Defensively, we were not reactive to their outside hitters, and we simply ran out of gas. Overall, though, I am impressed with how they played the entire day."

  Front-row standouts Kelly Smoltz (27 kills, 11 blocks), Alex Roberts (20 kills, 15 blocks) and Dani Risi (23 kills) all had solid days for the 'Cats. Defensively, Mariah Tesarz (51 digs) and Andrea Haidar (28 digs) both excelled.

  And Salo was her usual stellar self, recording 87 assists, 11aces, 17 digs and just one missed serve.

Ed Wright can be reached at info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 453-1980.