V-ballers dominate Glen Oaks at home

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

The LCC volleyball team had another convincing win Tuesday, Sept. 26 at home against Glen Oaks Community College.

The Stars dominated the match 3-0, bringing their conference record to 3-1 and their overall record to 14-2. The game scores were 25-18, 25-10 and 25-20.

This is the 11th game where the Stars beat a team three sets to zero, and LCC Coach Emily Quintero said they plan to continue this level of play going into regionals.

“We have to continue to push hard and be relentless; that’s been a big focus of ours,” Quintero said. “We have to push for runs (of points) and not let anybody back in the door, so we need to work on two or three runs in a row.”

Sophomore Alex Widner led LCC in the match with nine kills, followed by sophomore Danika Fyan and freshman Anna Hoch, both with eight.

Overall the team played a well-balanced game on both the offensive and defensive side, Quintero said.

“To me, defense wins games,” Quintero said. “And then when you focus on the defense, the offense just funnels right after it, so we definitely have a balance in our practices.”

Sophomore Macey Beyerlein, the team leader in digs, explained how she stays focused during games with the loud noise from the crowd and communication between teammates.

“Before each play, I have to mentally reset from the play before, and think about what I have to do,” Beyerlein said.

The LCC crowd during the match vs. Glen Oaks was very supportive, cheering and clapping after every point.

“The crowd is so important, they keep us hyped and motivated and it helps so much,” Beyerlein said.

The next match the Stars play will be away against Ancilla College on Thursday, Sept. 28. They will also play in the Grand Rapids Community College tournament being hosted in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1.

Even after a dominating win such as the Stars displayed against Glen Oaks, Coach Quintero still has a message for her team going into the next match.

“We had a timeout purely to discuss missed serves but we have to keep our momentum,” she said. “We were down one of our starting players. Karysn Near was out sick, so everybody just had to pull their weight and be each other's cheerleaders.”