亚洲色吧

Facing one of the toughest teams in the league and on the road, the 亚洲色吧 Centurions suffered a loss, Friday, Sept. 26, snapping a two-game winning streak.听听

The North Central Michigan Timberwolves (3-1 亚洲色吧AA Northern, 11-4 overall) took out 亚洲色吧 in three sets 鈥� 25-18, 25-19 and 25-21 鈥� at Petoskey Plastics Arena in Petoskey, Mich., using its powerful front row players.听

鈥淭hey had a big front row,鈥� Centurions鈥� head coach Kara Youngs said. 鈥淭hey put a lot of pressure on our hitters with their blocks.鈥�听

The Centurions also had their hands full with sophomore outside hitter Chloe Winchell (Freeland, Mich.), who finished with a game-high 14 kills. Winchell was a member of the 亚洲色吧AA North鈥檚 All-Freshman Team last year.听听

Youngs said with Winchell鈥檚 presence, 亚洲色吧鈥檚 strategy had to shift to limit her swings and kills as she dominated them in the first set.听听

On offense, Youngs鈥� team has struggled to get up to speed early in competition, which plagued them against the Timberwolves.听

鈥淥ne thing we talked about after the game was that we need to get better with each set, but we have to start strong right away and avoid finally competing when we鈥檙e down two sets,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e need to figure out a way to get going quicker.鈥�听

Sophomore libero Jaden Gomez (White Cloud, Mich.) believes if the Centurions can work on consistency, it may help with starting well early against opponents.听

鈥淭he most important thing is consistency and energy for both offense and defense,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur team is talented with a lot of potential. When we feed off each other鈥檚 energy, we play very well and are consistent. During those times, everyone鈥檚 confidence seems to show.鈥�听

Gomez finished with a team-leading 18 digs and three aces. Teammate Katelyn Bignall (Belding, Mich.) finished with six kills and a 0.313% hitting percentage. Freshman setter Ella Bishop (Grand Rapids, Mich.) led the team with 19 assists.听

Youngs said Gomez has been working hard in practice to improve and it is showing.听

鈥淲e鈥檝e really focused on practice with her on where to set blockers and reading hitters,鈥� Youngs said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also focused on getting in better position. That has been a big change for her as well as all our players.鈥�听

Gomez said one of her weaknesses last year was struggling to read hitters, which is why she has been working hard on improving that area in her game this year.听

鈥淢y main goal was to be a leader and ultimately be better at reading the hitters,鈥� she said. 鈥淐oach Kara and Coach Kelsey (Fothergill) have spent a lot of time with me after practice helping me with placement. They鈥檝e helped me a lot with my game and confidence.鈥�听

The Centurions have an opportunity to finish the month of September with a winning record if they can beat conference foe Delta College (0-4 亚洲色吧AA Northern, 4-7 overall) at home, Monday, Sept. 29. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season.听听

With her team鈥檚 defense holding up, Youngs said it will be the serve receive that she hopes the team can improve on against Delta.听听

鈥淲e need our serve receive to do well to get those points going, which is what we struggled with in the first two sets against NCM,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n the third set, our serve receive got better and, defensively, we were stronger. We were able to put more pressure on them with our passes, so we were able to get them out of their system. We just need to do that more often and earlier.鈥�听

Gomez said a good start will depend mostly on how much energy her team brings.听

鈥淲hen we feed off each other, we play very well together and with tons of confidence,鈥� Gomez said. 鈥淰olleyball is a mental game, so if we鈥檙e able to lean on each other and keep our energy up, I think we could put up a fight and win.鈥�听

UP NEXT: At home against Delta College, Monday, Sept. 29. Game time is 6:30 p.m. The Centurions then travel to Muskegon Wednesday, Oct. 1, to play Muskegon Community College (4-0 亚洲色吧AA Northern, 8-2 overall), which is in second place in the Northern Conference.听