By Chad Wingert (Contact / Staff Bio)

Originally published October 14, 2009, 12:05 p.m. EST. Updated October 14, 2009, 12:05 p.m. EST

By Chad Wingert

Sports Editor

ESSEXVILLE — The Mayville volleyball team traveled to the Garber Duke Invitational on Saturday. And, according to head coach Nita Stevenson, the Wildcats had some trouble early on.

“We struggled to get into a rhythm,” Stevenson said. “We had difficulties passing the ball and a lack of communication on the court. But still, we brought home a trophy in the Silver Division.”

Mayville started the day off with three difficult losses in pool play that came at the hands of Bay City John Glenn (18-25, 22-25), Sanford Meridian (23-25, 19-25) and Saginaw Heritage (18-25, 19-25).

After pool play the teams were divided into the Gold and Silver Divisions. The Wildcats were placed in the Silver division and first matched up with EPBP, who they edged out in three sets (20-25, 25-19, 15-8) and moved on to top Michigan Lutheran Seminary in the finals (25-13, 25-20).

Mayville was led by Chelsea Roehl with 24 kills, 25 digs, 20 points and eight aces while Tessa Buhl added 14 kills, 34 digs, 28 points and eight aces. Annie Richardson posted 14 kills, 14 digs, 23 points and seven aces alongside Jamie Binder, who added five kills, 19 digs, eight blocks and 17 points on six aces.

Amy Elenbaum ran the Wildcat offense with 45 assists and added 17 digs, 22 points and seven aces while Amber Savage had three blocks. Kelsey Schenk had a pair of blocks and 17 digs on the day.

Mayville improves to 12-13-4 on the season.

Caro struggles at Morley-Stanwood Tourney

MORLEY — Caro made the long haul to Morley-Stanwood High School on Saturday to take part in the tournament hosted by the No. 1 team in Class C.

The Tigers hung tough through all of their games, yet failed to post a win on the day.

“The competition was very tough all day,” Caro head coach Bob Tobey said. “We were competitive with each opponent, but we could not break into the win column all day.”

Caro suffered three straight losses in pool play to McBain (21-25, 22-25), Newaygo (22-25, 23-25), and host Morley-Stanwood (16-25, 18-25) before ending the day with a loss to St. Louis in bracket play (21-25, 20-25).

Andrea Henry was the leader for Caro throughout the day, totaling 32 kills, 23 digs, three aces and seven blocks while Vanessa Taylor added 11 kills, 48 assists, 22 digs and three blocks. Brittney Quick gathered seven kills and two blocks while Hayleigh Vinson posted 13 kills. Madi Campbell led the Tigers defense with a team-high 49 digs.

Caro is now 11-17-5.

Rollercoaster weekend for Eagles at Northwood

MIDLAND — Hot and cold. That was how Frankenmuth head coach Joanne Mahnke described her team’s performace at the Northwood University tournament this past weekend.

“We could dominate one set, and then go completely cold the very next set with the same opponent,” Mahnke said. “Unfortunately, we came out cold in the first round of playoffs and went home earlier than I thought we should.”

Frankenmuth started the day off strong by earning a split with Almont and former Eagles volleyball coach Sue Frederickson (25-14, 24-26) before chalking up yet another split with Bay City Central (25-12, 15-25). Then, in the final match of pool play, the Eagles earned their first win of the day against Grayling (25-19, 25-11).

Then, just as Frankemuth started to heat up again, they were shut down in the first round of tournament play with a loss to Petoskey (17-25, 12-25).

Kelsey Ritter had a big day for the Eagles, posting 25 kills, 15 digs and 40 receptions with only three errors while Ashley Hool set up 37 assists, seven aces and nine digs.

Lauren Reinbold had 12 digs and Chelsie Bender added 11 while Emily Wee and Chelsea Mertz each chipped in with 13 kills apiece. Wee and Mertz were also the Eagles’ leading blockers, gathering one solo block and four assists each. Nicole DeGrage was Frankenmuth’s leading server with eight aces.

From Monday:

USA nudges off Cass City

SEBEWAING — Cass City and USA played a make-up game on Monday night that was re-scheduled due to a power outage at USA High School earlier this season.

It may have taken the Patriots five sets, but still USA came out on top to knock off the Red Hawks and improve their record in the Greater Thumb West to 5-3.

Calie Valentine led the Patriots offense by setting up 21 assists and earning 12 points while sister, Cami Valentine posted 12 points, 11 receptions, six digs and six kills. Jenny Williamson chalked up 18 points, 16 receptions and eight kills on the night alongside Chelsea Ewald, who chipped in with 10 points, two aces and nine assists. Rachel Mowry had eight kills, three points and two aces while Andrea Vermeersch tallied nine kills and two blocks. Sami Eisengruber had 11 kills and a team-high six blocks.

Reese brooms Bad Axe

BAD AXE — Reese made quick work of their trip to Bad Axe Monday night by sweeping the Hatchets in three straight sets (25-23, 25-15, 25-20).

“We are continuing to play consistently as a team while executing our offense and defense well,” said Reese head coach Amanda Robinson.

Kayla Sahr led the way for the Rockets, chalking up 11 kills, 16 digs and a block while Tiffany Buchinger rattled off nine kills, 15 assists, eight digs, a block and an ace.

Amber Gotham had a team-high 21 digs and one ace while Kaitlyn Squanda dished out 17 assists and eight kills. Shelby Tafoya had six kills and four blocks.

With the win, Reese improves to 7-1 in the GTW, 22-7-3 overall.

Tigers fall short at John Glenn

BAY CITY — Caro may have came up short of a win against Bay City John Glenn Monday night (24-26, 25-22, 24-26, 28-26, 13-15), but Bob Tobey was pleased with his team’s efforts.

“We played an awesome match again tonight, but still we came away empty after five sets,” Tobey said. “This match was intense from start to finish.”

Andrea Henry was the leader for the Tigers, posting 20 kills, 20 digs and eight blocks while Vanessa Taylor dished out 31 assists, 14 digs, eight kills and four blocks. Mary Laethem gathered four kills and three blocks while Madi Campbell led Caro’s defense with 34 digs. Hayleigh Vinson tallied five kills and Brittney Quick added four while Katie Ramos had 15 digs.