Emilee Beyer elevates for a kill during Tuesday night's match against Churchill. (George Roberts photo)

Wildcats fail to build on
strong start, fall to Chargers

  At 7:15 p.m. Tuesday night, it appeared as if the Plymouth volleyball team's time had arrived.

  Looking strong and playing with confidence, the Wildcats constructed a 10-6 lead in the Livonia Churchill gymnasium -- a place where they had experienced little success the past six years.

  Heck, no team has experienced much success in the Chargers' gym the past six years.

  But as quickly as you can say bump, set, spike, the momentum shifted to the hosts, and by 8:30 p.m., the Chargers had prevailed in three games: 26-24, 25-16, 25-13.

  (To view a video of Tuesday's match, click on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6olZpTwJT0g)

  "Definitely," Plymouth coach Kelly McCausland said, when asked if she thought it was going to be her team's night after the first 16 points. "We came out strong and aggressive on offense. Everything was going well.

  "But we made a few mental errors, Churchill got its confidence back and we never recovered. We battled back after being down 7-0 in game two, but in game three, we just fell apart."

  After falling behind 4-2 in game one, the Wildcats resembled a well-oiled machine, scoring eight of the next 10 points to seize a 10-6 advantage and push the Chargers back on their heels.

  Kayla Bridge, Madelyn Betts and Emilee Beyer were the catalysts of the early surge.

  But Churchill rallied behind the strong front-row play of sophomore Emily  Norscia, who combined with senior setter Cory Urbats to lead the Chargers all the way back to a 26-24 game-one win.

  Norscia sealed the deal in the opener with an emphatic kill.

  Churchill seized the game-two momentum early, busting loose for a 7-0 advantage before the 'Cats regained their bearings and drew to within 12-10 on a Betts block.

  The most outstanding play in the comeback came when Lindsay Stemberger made an incredible dig on what looked to be a certain kill. A few seconds later, Bridge ripped home a kill.

  But the Chargers scored the next two points and Plymouth never got closer than three points in Churchill's 25-16 victory.

  Plymouth never got into the swing of things in game three, falling, 25-13.

  "Churchill went to their outside with No. 12 (Norscia) and their No. 16 in the middle," said McCausland. "We were hoping we'd get a block on them, and we got some good touches, but not nearly enough."

  When asked for a silver lining in the loss, McCausland mentioned freshman setter Shayla Smalls and Stemberger, who dug out several would-be kills.

  Bridge was solid for Plymouth, racking up seven kills and 18 digs. Beyer and Betts also registered seven kills.

  Defensively, Mariah Tesarz notched 17 digs. Stemberger was credited with 13 while Dani Risi dug out 12 balls.

  Smalls finished with 16 set assists, five more than fellow setter Jessica Scott.

  The Wildcats return to action Thursday when they host Salem at 6:30 p.m.

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

Dani Risi prepares to unleash a serve. (George Roberts photo) 

Kayla Bridge (6) celebrates a first-game point. (Ed Wright photo)

The Wildcats come together during a timeout. (Ed Wright photo)