Turning point

Salem spikers take command of match against Northville with 11-0 game 3 run

  Following a Salem dig during Tuesday night's match against visiting Northville, the volleyball bounced so high that it rolled onto a vent in the gym's rafters and never came down.

  The ball was a lot like the match following the first two games: up in the air.

  However, with the contest knotted at one game a piece, the Rocks quickly seized momentum and the match with an 11-0 run to start game three en route to a 25-17, 21-25, 25-12, 25-21 victory.

  The triumph improved the Rocks' KLAA Central Division record to 5-1 and kept them within striking distance of unbeaten Novi. Northville slipped to 3-3 in the division.

  "The thing I was most impressed with tonight was how we came back in the third game and didn't fall apart," said Salem coach Amanda Suder. "I was impressed with how well the girls came out in game three and took it to them."

  The significant surge at the outset of game three was sparked by the serving of junior Lauren Aschermann and a line-up adjustment Suder employed.

  "We moved Nicole (Merget) from the middle to the outside, which was huge," said Suder. "She had seven of our nine kills to start game three, so that was big.

  "Overall, I wasn't real pleased with how we played tonight. Our serving was horrible -- we had 11 service errors, which is a lot for us -- and our serve receive wasn't great. But I was proud of the way the girls hung in there and played down the stretch."

  Merget finished with a team high 19 kills to go along with two blocks. She tormented Northville's defense from the front row and the back, launching hard-to-handle rockets that hit the floor more than the Mustangs' forearms.

  After singing the "National Anthem" with Elyse Engerer, Kerry MacDonald was in harmony with the Rocks' hitters, dishing out 33 assists to complement her 10 digs and three blocks.

  Senior Lauren Dworzanin was solid in all phases of the game, too, registering 10 kills, two assists and nine digs.

  Aschermann accumulated  a team-high 12 digs and three aces while Jillian Sommerville had a solid game up front with six kills and five blocks.

  "Our passing and hitting were on tonight," said MacDonald, who helped end game one with a perfect feed to Kerstin Johnson, who softly tipped the ball into a vacant hole on the Mustangs' side of the net.

  Northville didn't go down easily in game four as it cut a 24-19 deficit to 24-21  thanks to a Kelly Mays kill and a Rachel Huang ace.

  However, Dworzanin put a lid on the Mustangs' comeback bid when she slammed a kill into the heart of the Northville defense to set off a Salem celebration on "Parents Night."

 

 

 

 

 

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