Emilee Beyer and Madelyn Betts rise for a block during Thursday's match against Salem. (John Kemski photo)

Nearly flawless defense
leads Salem over Plymouth

  Depending on the situation, there could be anywhere from two to six hands in Nicole Merget's face when she rises for one of her mighty swings at a volleyball.

  "I just try to hit around them the best I can," said Salem's stellar senior.

  On Thursday night at Plymouth, Merget was able to steer around the Wildcats' blocks for a match-high 17 kills, leading the Rocks to a three-game sweep of the hosts.

  "I thought we played really well tonight as a team," said Merget. "We eliminated a lot of our errors, we were covering well and our serve-receive was great. I'm really proud of the girls."

  Salem improved to 7-4 overall with the victory.

  (To view a video of Thursday's match click on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arMzPad7oiE&feature=channel

  "I thought we played outstanding," Salem coach Amanda Nies said. "Defense was the difference tonight. A lot of times, defense is where we break down, but tonight we only had three serve-receive errors the entire match, which is kind of unheard of for us.

  "When we pass like we did tonight, it sets things up for our Nicole. When we get our attack and defense going well together like we did tonight, we can do some damage."

  Plymouth slipped to 4-3-1 overall after dropping its second-straight match to a formidable opponent. The Wildcats fell in three games at Livonia Churchill on Tuesday.

  "I think we did a nice job of defending some of Merget's powerful swings," said Plymouth coach Kelly McCausland. "Of course, she got some balls to the floor, but Lindsey Stemberger did a great job as libero tonight with 24 digs. Our double block also got some nice touches.

  "We made too many crucial errors at the net with some tight passes. Offensively, we could not connect at key moments. We only had 25 total kills, and we allowed Salem too many runs. We will focus our attention on keeping our momentum and eliminating the mental errors going into next week."

  The Rocks led throughout game one before putting it away with a five-point, game-ending surge that was capped by a pair of Kerstin Johnson aces.

  Plymouth bounced back strong at the outset of game two, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. However, powered by fine defensive play from Katie Vincent and Lauren Aschermann, the Rocks scored five strationg points and never trailed again.

  The Wildcats were close to drawing even, trailing just 22-20, late in game two, but two defensive errors and a Merget kill sealed their fate, 25-20.

  Plymouth displayed some resilience in game three, fighting back from an early 15-9 deficit to close to within 21-20 on an Emilee Beyer kill. But the Rocks tallied four of the final five points to earn the 25-21 victory and the sweep.

  "I thought Lauren Ashermann played outstanding tonight," said Nies. "She had 12 digs and no serve-receive errors."

  Merget finished with 17 kills, seven digs and five blocks. Johnson also had a solid all-around night, registering seven kills, three aces and eight digs. Johnson committed just one attack error.

  Madeleine Vala contributed 11 digs, three blocks and three kills, while senior setter Kerry MacDonald chalked up 24 assists and two aces.

  Dani Risi and Madelyn Betts led the Wildcats' attack with seven kills each. Stemberger was outstanding, hitting the floor for 24 digs. Kayla Bridge added 15 digs and Shayla Smalls recorded 25 set assists.

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


Salem libero Katie Vincent had a solid all-around night, recording nine digs. (Ed Wright photo)

Nicole Merget goes up for one of her five blocks. (John Kemski photo)

Plymouth freshman setter Shayla Smalls (11) had 24 set assists. (Ed Wright photo)