Crystal Falls Forest Park has gained quite the reputation for their strong volleyball team this fall. The Lady Trojans are ranked seventh in the state and number one in the U.P. There’s no need to remind Munising head coach Josh Cole that after their straight sets loss at Forest Park on Thursday, October 3.
“Man, Forest Park was really, really good,” Cole said after the 25-13, 25-7 and 25-21 setback. “We knew coming in they were going to be our toughest opponent of the season, but wow, do they play with a lot of pace and power. Coach Bobbie Anderson has had that program rolling the last seven or so seasons, and even though they reloaded with lots of youth they sure have a balanced team.”
The Trojans jumped to an 11-4 lead in the first set, and Munising could never pull within eight points the rest of the frame. Late in the set Tamryn Nolan did show off some good serving, including an ace.
“Our strong serving usually produces points for us in sets, but Forest Park defensively was great,” Cole said. “They do not let most balls hit the floor defensively, and that is why they are so tough to play against.”
The Mustangs fell behind 8-4 and 13-6 in the second set, and were never able to make a serious run in that one.
“I honestly thought we were executing the right serving strategies and hitting the ball well, but we just could not get any down balls to produce points on the scoreboard,” Cole said of the frame.
The Mustangs saved some of their best play for last. A kill by Addie Bowerman tied the frame at 10-10 and Carissa Deatsman had a kill that made it a 12-10 Munising lead. The Trojans once again proved to be too much though, pulling ahead on a six point serving run and fishing off things from there.
“The focus going into set three was to play loose and aggressive, down two sets we had to take more chances attacking the ball,” Cole said. “I thought we did a better job of attacking the zones we wanted to and the girls competed and adjusted to the game speed in that third set.”
The Mustangs were led by Bowerman who had nine kills and one block. Bailey Corcoran had five kills and two blocks and Oliva Cotey tracked down 18 digs. Deatsman finished with 14 assists, two kills and one ace.
“I thought the girls played well in most aspects of the game, we just needed to be better in covering our hitters and blockers,” Cole said. “We knew that coming in, but sometimes it takes a bit to adjust to that game speed versus a really tough opponent. Hats off to Forest Park, they were the more complete team start to finish. But we told the team after the match, the coaches were proud of their effort throughout the evening and we can clean up some small adjustments for next week.”
On Tuesday, October 1 Munising won a home match over Powers North Central in straight sets, 25-12, 25-5 and 25-17.
“The girls played well at home for their homecoming match this week, they dominated the net and served efficiently throughout the night,” Cole said.
Bowerman once again played well, getting eight kills, four blocks and two aces. Behning had four kills, three aces and four digs and Deatsman finished with 13 assists, six kills and four aces.
As a team they had 16 aces and served at 92-percent. In the first set Bailey Corcoran and Janey Bellinger had long serving runs, while set two saw Dayne Behning get an eight point run and Nolan closed out the set with an 11 point run and three aces.
The match ended in the third set with Bowerman going on a six point serving run.
Munising was at Ishpeming on Monday, had another road contest at Carney-Nadeau on Tuesday and they’ll also host Superior Central on Wednesday, October 16.
