Salem spikers turns in semis-sweet
performance at WLC tournament
Aug. , 28, 2010, 10:45 p.m.
Salem's volleyball team got off to a solid start to its 2010
season Saturday when the Rocks advanced to the semi-final round of the
Walled Lake Central Tournament.
Salem went 1-1-1 in pool play, ousting Livonia Franklin (25-14
and 25-16) and tying North Farmington (25-27 and 25-19) before falling
to the host Vikings, 25-22, 25-20.
Salem knocked off Walled Lake Northern in a quarterfinal match,
29-27, 22-25, 15-6, 5-4, but lost a thrilling three-setter to Petoskey
in the semis, 25-20, 26-24, 6-5.
"It was a very up-and-down day," said Salem coach Amanda Nies.
"We opened up very strong against Franklin, but the passing and
communication were lacking in games two and three. When we can't pass,
we can't get anything going and get into a good rhythm."
Nies said the Rocks rebounded nicely against Northern, which was
a No. 1 seed.
"It was a very intense championship-like match," she said. "We
both played very hard and well. We really came together at key times
and Nicole Merget had an outstanding performance with 25 kills in that
match alone."
The Rocks rallied from an 18-6 deficit in game one to win, 29-27.
"I was very proud of them, how they didn't give up," said Nies.
Petoskey had a little bit too much for the Rocks to handle, Nies
added.
"They were a very good defensive team and ran a nice middle
attack that we could not defend," she said. "We looked tired from the
previous match and just drained.
"There were a lot of good things that came out of today. We have
the attackers; we just need to be able to get the ball to them with the
passes. Overall, for day one, there were a lot of great things and a
lot of things to work on, too."
Merget sparkled the entire day, racking up a team-high 66 kills,
four aces, 23 digs and four blocks.
Also shining were Kerry MacDonald (107 assists, 32 digs, four
aces); Jillian Sommerville (10 blocks, 20 kills); Madeleine Vala (35
digs) and Abigail Dworzanin (33 digs and 11 blocks).
