United victory

Teamwork keys Eagle spikers' win

Oct. 7, 2009, 1:05 a.m.

  From sluggish to sensational.

  That's the path the Plymouth Christian Academy volleyball team took against visiting Lutheran North Tuesday night in the Eagles' gymnasium.

  After struggling to a 25-18 first-game win, the Eagles turned on the after-burners in the final two sets to win going away, 25-9 and 25-10.

  "We started slow, making quite a few unforced errors," reflected coach Kelly Blackney. "We weren't playing hard. We had no intensity, no energy, however, we still pulled out a win.

  "The second and third sets were totally different. We earned all of our points and played as a team. One person didn't carry us through; everyone had a great game."

  Sophomore Kristin Malcolm paced the Eagles with 21 kills, four aces, 16 digs and six blocks.

  "Kristin really got us going with her great serves, hard kills and amazing blocks," said Blackney.

  Foloke Olojo (six kills), Amy Zinn (14 digs and four kills), Abby Bartes (18 digs) and Brianna Harris (11 digs and 22 assists) also sparked the winners.

  "I was very proud of our ability to control the game," Blackney concluded. "It's something we've been working on the whole season."