ESCANABA, MI – In the first ever meeting between the two teams, Bay College Volleyball (9-9, 3-3 MCCAA) got their record back to the .500 mark in both their overall and conference record by sweeping a hard-fought match against the Montcalm Community College Centurions (6-7, 2-3 MCCAA). The Norse won by scores of 26-24, 26-24, and 25-18.
Despite the sweep, it was far from a clean night for the Norse, who found themselves playing from behind often. The first set featured a back and forth beginning, but the Centurions took the first advantage with a four-point run to go up 9-5. Bay would chip away, but it seemed as though every time they got a bit of momentum, Montcalm would snatch it back. Leah Allan (SO, Oconto, WI) put down a big kill that energized the team and crowd, but the visitors responded, building the lead back up to four. The Norse responded again, this time tying the set at 15, but in the blink of an eye, the Centurions were back up by four.
It took a big Norse run to finally gain control. Two big kills by Piper Monroe (FR, Menominee, MI) sparked the team, and Olyvia Saxton (FR, Ithaca, MI) followed that up with a big swing of her own. Madison Johnson (FR, Florence, WI) picked up two aces from the service line, and suddenly the Norse had a 21-19 lead after a six-point run.
Montcalm immediately responded and tied the set up and the two teams traded points from there. Bay looked to have a leg up when Allan connected on a kill to make it 24-23, but the Centurions fought off the set-point and tied it once again. The Norse were then the benefactors of a controversial long kill attempt, and Tianna Taylor (SO, Gwinn, MI) finished it off with a well-executed swing, finally ending the first set.
Bay came out sluggish in the second set and sloppy play led to the Norse having to dig out of a hole. They would slowly chip away at the lead, and tie the match up at 15 before Montcalm went on a four-point run to regain control. Once again, every move the Norse made, it seemed as though Montcalm had an answer. With Johnson at the serving line, Bay answered the run with three points of their own. The Centurions then earned a side out and added a point, and sat in control with a 20-18 lead.
Even after it seemed Montcalm made a critical error, missing on a serve, and Allan then tied it up with a kill, the Norse could not take control. Down 22-20, Monroe and Emma Rutter (SO, Chatham, MI) combined for a block, but the visitors looked to seal the set soon after, as they sat with a 24-21 lead.
The Norse had one more rally left in them and fought back to tie it at 24. Once again down the stretch, Taylor came up with a big kill to give the Norse the lead, and playing off the momentum and the energy in the gym, Saxton finished the set with a big kill, giving the Norse the first two sets.
As if the Norse needed a bigger challenge, they once again started slow in the third set, this time digging an even bigger hole. Montcalm found themselves with an 11-3 lead and looking to roll in the third set when Bay took a timeout to try to stop the momentum. It worked. The Norse swung the momentum for good with a 14-2 run and took the lead and ran with it. Montcalm struggled to find any rhythm the rest of the way out and the Norse rode their big scoring wave all the way to a 25-18 finish in the final set.
Monroe led the Norse with seven kills, two digs, and six assisted blocks. Taylor amassed a .429 hitting percentage in the match, connecting on six kills in 14 attempts with no errors. She had four assisted blocks. Allan picked up 11 digs and four aces. Tori Jandt (SO, Peshtigo, WI) finished with 15 digs.
Bay will continue the homestand on Wednesday evening with a nonconference matchup with Gogebic Community College. That match will start at 7 pm on Wednesday evening.