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Facing one of the toughest teams in the league and on the road, the Montcalm Community College Centurions suffered a loss, Friday, Sept. 26, snapping a two-game winning streak.  

The North Central Michigan Timberwolves (3-1 MCCAA Northern, 11-4 overall) took out MCC in three sets — 25-18, 25-19 and 25-21 — at Petoskey Plastics Arena in Petoskey, Mich., using its powerful front row players. 

“They had a big front row,” Centurions’ head coach Kara Youngs said. “They put a lot of pressure on our hitters with their blocks.” 

The Centurions also had their hands full with sophomore outside hitter Chloe Winchell (Freeland, Mich.), who finished with a game-high 14 kills. Winchell was a member of the MCCAA North’s All-Freshman Team last year.  

Youngs said with Winchell’s presence, MCC’s strategy had to shift to limit her swings and kills as she dominated them in the first set.  

On offense, Youngs’ team has struggled to get up to speed early in competition, which plagued them against the Timberwolves. 

“One thing we talked about after the game was that we need to get better with each set, but we have to start strong right away and avoid finally competing when we’re down two sets,” Youngs said. “We need to figure out a way to get going quicker.” 

Sophomore libero Jaden Gomez (White Cloud, Mich.) believes if the Centurions can work on consistency, it may help with starting well early against opponents. 

“The most important thing is consistency and energy for both offense and defense,” she said. “Our team is talented with a lot of potential. When we feed off each other’s energy, we play very well and are consistent. During those times, everyone’s confidence seems to show.” 

Gomez finished with a team-leading 18 digs and three aces. Teammate Katelyn Bignall (Belding, Mich.) finished with six kills and a 0.313% hitting percentage. Freshman setter Ella Bishop (Grand Rapids, Mich.) led the team with 19 assists. 

Youngs said Gomez has been working hard in practice to improve and it is showing. 

“We’ve really focused on practice with her on where to set blockers and reading hitters,” Youngs said. “We’ve also focused on getting in better position. That has been a big change for her as well as all our players.” 

Gomez said one of her weaknesses last year was struggling to read hitters, which is why she has been working hard on improving that area in her game this year. 

“My main goal was to be a leader and ultimately be better at reading the hitters,” she said. “Coach Kara and Coach Kelsey (Fothergill) have spent a lot of time with me after practice helping me with placement. They’ve helped me a lot with my game and confidence.” 

The Centurions have an opportunity to finish the month of September with a winning record if they can beat conference foe Delta College (0-4 MCCAA Northern, 4-7 overall) at home, Monday, Sept. 29. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season.  

With her team’s defense holding up, Youngs said it will be the serve receive that she hopes the team can improve on against Delta.  

“We need our serve receive to do well to get those points going, which is what we struggled with in the first two sets against NCM,” she said. “In the third set, our serve receive got better and, defensively, we were stronger. We were able to put more pressure on them with our passes, so we were able to get them out of their system. We just need to do that more often and earlier.” 

Gomez said a good start will depend mostly on how much energy her team brings. 

“When we feed off each other, we play very well together and with tons of confidence,” Gomez said. “Volleyball is a mental game, so if we’re able to lean on each other and keep our energy up, I think we could put up a fight and win.” 

UP NEXT: At home against Delta College, Monday, Sept. 29. Game time is 6:30 p.m. The Centurions then travel to Muskegon Wednesday, Oct. 1, to play Muskegon Community College (4-0 MCCAA Northern, 8-2 overall), which is in second place in the Northern Conference.