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The Montcalm Community College Centurions volleyball team provided its hometown fans with exciting and close sets against the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks Thursday night, Oct. 17. 

Though the Jayhawks (13-10 overall) won the game by scores of 25-23, 30-28, 23-25 and 25-26, Centurions Head Coach Kara Youngs believes her team was playing some of its best volleyball all season. 

“This is the closest we’ve played Muskegon in the two years we’ve been playing them,” Youngs said. “The one thing I told them in the huddle was we were just playing volleyball, we weren’t overthinking things, we weren’t dwelling on the last mistake. We just kept playing volleyball. We were thinking about the next point and not the one that just happened.” 

Coming into the game, the Centurions (7-14 overall) had never beaten the Jayhawks since the MCC program was reestablished last year. Despite the Jayhawks’ 3-1 win, Thursday night’s game could’ve gone either way. 

In set one, MCC stayed ahead of Muskegon by a thin margin in the first part of play, leading 10-8 after sophomore Piper Groesser (Portland) slammed a pass from setter Tiana Whitacre (Sheridan) to the left side of Muskegon’s floor. The Jayhawks, however, took their first lead two plays later when Groesser spiked the ball into the net. 

The lead between both teams never strayed further than two points until the Jayhawks took a 23-20 lead with a tip over the net that the Centurions couldn’t reach. Facing a game point (24-22), Groesser found open floor on Muskegon’s side with a spike to pull within one, but on the next play, MCC freshman Katelyn Bignall’s (Belding) set-up spike was blocked by Muskegon, and the ball fell in bounds on MCC’s side, giving the Jayhawks the first win. 

In set two, Muskegon jumped out to a 10-5 lead after sophomore Kelsey Antcliff (Greenville) hit the ball into the net, however, the Centurions made a quick comeback, tying the game at 12-12 when sophomore Maia Sexton (Sidney) made a huge block that deflected off a Muskegon player. In that volley, sophomore Lily Bohen (Sheridan) made a diving save to keep play going, which helped set up Sexton for a block.  

MCC then took its first lead of the set, 15-14, after the Jayhawks hit the ball out of bounds, however, it was an epic ending as both teams went back and forth with the lead and were tied 24-24 after Groesser spiked a shot to the right side of Muskegon’s court.  

The Centurions managed to establish a one-point lead five more times on game-point but were not able to earn that last point to win the set. Muskegon finally pulled ahead by one – 29-28 – after Antcliff hit the ball into the net. The Jayhawks would take the final point on the next play when sophomore outside hitter Madisyn Dyekma (Hudsonville) was set up for a spike that found open court to the left side, securing the win, 30-28. 

“The couple things we noticed the last few points in the set that we weren’t just being aggressive, and we were tipping and rolling and not putting the ball away, which was working the whole time,” Youngs said. “So, we just need to be more aggressive in those bigger moments, as well.” 

With momentum on their side, the Jayhawks came out strong in set three, establishing an 8-3 lead, though the Centurions managed to keep it close, tying the game at 18-18 after a Muskegon player hit the ball out of bounds.  

Muskegon took a 22-19, MCC made a strong push, scoring the next four consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead and finished the set with an impressive spike down the middle from Sexton to earn a 25-23 win.  

In the fourth set, however, Muskegon regrouped and shot out to a 12-5 lead after a service ace. MCC would draw within two after Antcliff put away a set-up from Whitacre with a spike, but the Jayhawks then went on a 12-5 run to win 25-16, winning the best-of-five game.  

Though the winless streak against the Jayhawks continues (now 0-4), Whitacre knows if her team can keep playing at a high level as it did Thursday night, they’ll be in a good spot at the end of the season. 

“We played one of our best games tonight,” she said. “ We were just playing volleyball and it was fun. It was a fun, energetic game.” 

Whitacre, who recently hit the 1,000-assist mark earlier this season, said this team is close to reaching the next level of play. 

“Muskegon is a great team, they have a great program,” she said. “We were really close in that match. We just needed a couple more serves and balls-in-play and we could’ve gotten the win. But I’m really proud of our team. They played great. If we play like this from here on out and change just a couple of things, we’ll be in good shape.” 

Whitacre finished with 15 digs and 38 assists and freshman Jaden Gomez (White Cloud) finished with 31 digs. 

Groesser totaled 17 kills and 23 digs, followed by Sexton’s three blocks and 11 kills. Antcliff rounded out the top team stats with 13 kills. 

Visit montcalm.edu/centurions for updates, season schedules and rosters. 

MCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).