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Greenville junior Alexa Hyler (10) leaps high for the attack on the outside for the kill during the final home match of the season against West Michigan Aviation Academy on Wednesday. The Jackets swept the Aviators in straight sets, 25-9, 25-13, 25-22. — DN Photo | Meghan Tripp
GREENVILLE — An hour was all the Greenville volleyball team needed to sweep its competition Tuesday night.
In their final home game of the season, the Jackets (21-12-1) went head-to-head with West Michigan Aviation Academy (9-18-1) with the intent to finish the regular season as strong as possible before turning their attention to district play next week.
Aggressive swings at the net caused a handful of miscues for the Aviators, enabling the Jackets to get the upper hand and take the match in straight sets, and speedy fashion, 3-0.
“We wanted a team win,” Jacket head coach Kaylee Fracker said. “We wanted to make sure that everybody got to see the court, which is always our goal. We’ve been preaching being able to play with a fast tempo and we were really just trying to execute that. I think that was a good last home game for the season to see the trust that they have built as a team from the beginning of the season.”
“We played them last year on Halloween and we swept them the last time,” sophomore Briana Russell noted. “I wanted to sweep them again this year and win one for our seniors since this is their last time on this court.”
The Jackets wrapped up their conference season two weeks ago with the River Cities Alliance (RCA) league tournament at Sparta where the Jackets finished fifth. Overall, the Jackets came in close behind Coopersville and Sparta, who finished tied for third place in the conference standings.
The Jackets have won seven of their last 10 matchups of which the last three have been right in a row against Hastings and Carson City-Crystal last week.
Reflecting on the last couple weeks of the regular season, Fracker said things have been turning upwards for her squad.
“Things have been great,” she said. “We got out of our rut, I think, and after our conference tournament, we’ve really worked on that tempo. We started our season trying to go with a quicker tempo and then we slowly got away from that. Every game that we’ve played since we’ve really been trying to press it and both of our setters are doing a great job with it. Some of our hitters are able to have a better connection with them because they’re responding better to that faster tempo. It’s refreshing for us and I think it’s what we needed.”
Russell, on the other hand, attributes their recent success to the team’s strong chemistry with one another that reflects heavily on the court.
“I feel like since we have a strong connection with each other outside of sports, it helps us,” she said. “It helps us be more together on the court, so we can have fun with each other instead of getting frustrated with each other.”
The Jackets exploded offensively to start the first set and ran away with it before the Aviators could even cross the double-digit point threshold, 25-9. A kill from Russell assisted by freshman Lillian Miron was deflected out of play to award the set to the Jackets.
Their momentum from the first set didn’t waver in the second as the Jackets propelled to a 6-0 lead with back-to-back kills from junior Haylee Kubec, a block, kill and tip from Russell and plenty of assists from Miron. A kill from senior Lauren Russell from Miron put away the second set for the Jackets, 25-13.
The third set was the most competitive one yet as the Aviators slowly but surely made improvements throughout the course of the match. Despite a threat for a fourth set late in the third, a kill from Briana Russell assisted by Miron, gave the Jackets the win, 25-22. The Jackets only trailed the Aviators twice over the course of the three sets.
“I feel like we had really high energy tonight,” Russell said. “We had more than we usually do, but today was even better.”
“I think a lot of it comes from our girls being flexible,” Fracker said. “They’re willing to play whatever position I put them in if that means getting somebody else in or whatever. They don’t question that and that says a lot about who they are as young women and athletes they’re becoming.”
The Jackets have a tall task ahead of them as they kick off Division 1 district play next Wednesday at Lowell. They’ll face No. 1-ranked and one-loss Rockford in the district semifinal for a chance to play in the district final Thursday night.
Wanting to avenge themselves from the team that’s knocked them out of the postseason twice out of the last three years, they’re going to have to play their cleanest ball yet, according to Fracker.
“We’re going to have to be clean from the service line to serve receive,” she said. “We’ve been trying to push kills from the season and we’ve kind of struggled with that in practices. They just really have to get on the same page and find the floor. I think that’s what it’s going to be, being able to find a way to put the ball away and not let them go on those runs.”
