Headlines
Maroons Crowned Queens of Green
Kara Sall saw her team battle through adversity on Saturday and they emerged victorious winning the OK-Green conference
tournament.
While the freshmen battled for a chance at the conference title on the
court to their left, the JV were also undertaking the same mission. If
Holland Christian defeated the Hawkeyes of Hamilton they would win the
OK-Green conference championship. They would do this around the
strength of their regular season and the first place finish this past
weekend. That task would be no easy mission as Hamilton was able to
give the Maroons their only loss in the tournament. Holland Christian
ran through the loser’s bracket and avenged their earlier loss
defeating the Hawkeyes in three sets. The two squads had played to
three sets in their previous meetings so both knew they were in for a
test. Only one team would be up for the final exam as a MaKenzie
Branderhorst (left) spike for HC on the board early. Hamilton rattled
off four consecutive points before another Branderhorst kill gave HC
the serve. Hot off of the two kills, Branderhorst took the serve and
stayed hot tallying the next four points for Holland Christian as they
gained a 5-4 lead. Hamilton would tie the game before Natalie Sapp
toed the service line. Five points later, the Maroons had doubled
Hamilton’s score and had grabbed momentum. They used this surge of
scoring to mount a nine point lead.
Hamilton would fight back but it was too little too late. With the
score 24-19, Haley Luurtsema took a Lindsey Bieri feed and hammered
home the kill to win the first set 25-21. With their back against the
wall, Hamilton came out of the gate in the second set and notched a 5-0
lead. Not wavering, the Maroons fought back and won the next six
consecutive points to gain a lead they would not relinquish. The team
continued their strong play at the net with Branderhorst, the Hop
sisters (Laura & Leah), Luurtsema and Alli Waterway. Overpowering
Hamilton at the net, the JV pushed to a 17-9 lead before a Hawkeyes
timeout. The timeout could not stop HC as they continued to excel all
the way to match point. Waterway took the serve and feathered a
perfect shot in the middle of Hamilton’s defense. The Hawkeyes got the
ball over the net and Bieri found Leah Hop on the right side. Hop
nailed a shot off a Hamilton defender to clinch the 2-0 victory and the
25-13 second set win. The win also gave the team the OK-Green
championship. “I am so proud of these girls,” said Sall. “They worked
so hard all year and I loved coaching this group.” The team ends a
great 2008 with a record of 36-10-1 and an OK-Green record of 6-1. PHOTOS
October 25, 2008
Teamwork Leads to Hardware
There was much to be sought after on Saturday morning when the JV volleyball team woke for their final tournament of the season. The Maroons were in search of their thirtieth win, and a chance at the conference championship, when they began play at Hamilton High School. All of the OK-Green schools were competing under the same roof in the conference postseason tournament. Despite having one conference dual meet remaining, the Maroons took part in the tournament hoping to put themselves in place for a conference championship. Things got off to a great start early as HC defeated Wyoming Park with ease. The offense clicked, as all of the hitters were able to find room on the Vikings side of the court. With the offense getting points in bunches, Holland Christian waltzed to a first round victory winning 25-13, 25-10. They moved on to face Hamilton, who was also victorious. The Hawkeyes and Maroons had yet to face one another and will do so Monday at Holland Christian. The unfamiliarity with each other lent itself to the two squads going back and forth in game one. Haley Luurtsema’s spike put HC up 18-17 but they could not pull away. The two remained tied when the game reached 25 and then Hamilton made their move. The Hawkeyes knocked two straight points down and took game one 27-25. HC bounced back in game two, as Alli Waterway (left) owned the middle of the net for a five point swing. That cushion was enough to give the team momentum and they used it to win game two 25-17. In the third and final set, the two evenly matched teams pressured
one
another trying to create miscues. Neither would bend as both defenses
proved capable. With the game tied at 8-8, the service game for HC let
them down. Costly service errors gave Hamilton a lead and they never
gave it back. The Hawkeyes won 15-11 to knock HC into the loser’s
bracket. Off the tough defeat, the girls came out flat against Zeeland
East. This allowed the Chix to remain in the game for much of the
first set. Head coach Kara Sall called a timeout and regrouped her
team. This tactic proved critical as her team came out and with great
kills from Laura and Leah Hop on feeds from Lindsey Bieri. The swing
gave HC a lead and they coasted to a first set victory, 25-20. Still a
little down from their defeat, the team allowed ZE to hang around in
the second set but found a way to dig the game out winning 25-21. A
minor break after the game allowed the team to get their feet under
themselves and they blew through their next match. Emily Eilers and
Natalie Sapp (below, right) played very well on the backline digging
the Bulldogs shots and feeding them to the front line. This is
important in volleyball and the Maroons showcased it in both games
winning 25-11, 25-13. The victory continued their tournament as they
awaited the loser of the Hamilton-Unity Christian game. Unity was able
to win and that forced a rematch between HC
and Hamilton. The Maroons did not waste their second chance, as they
were able to come out and win the first set 25-16. Hamilton took the
second set but Holland Christian fought back and pulled out the third
set 15-8 to move into the finals. There awaited Unity Christian. For
Holland Christian to win the tournament they would have to defeat the
Crusaders not once, but twice. UC was the only team to defeat the
Maroons in the conference regular season and then defeated HC in their
own Quad a few days later. In the previous matchups, head coach Kara
Sall thought each member of her team tried to do too much individually
rather than work as a team. Those problems were all worked out when
the two met up Saturday in the finals. The Maroons displayed
tremendous passion and hustle and that got them over the hump as they
swept through Unity 25-17 and 25-15 to win the first game. That
victory set up the championship match with the winner taking all. HC
received great team efforts in the first set with the entire roster
hustling for each and every ball and it paid off in a 25-22 win. The
Maroons completed the great day defeating UC by the same score in the
second set winning the championship. “Our girls were awesome today,”
said Sall. “There was not one player who did extremely well, it was
our entire roster. I am so proud of them as they were focused point by
point and showed tremendous mental focus. They played with great heart
and passion.” The team will wrap up their season, and conference
season, when they host Hamilton on Monday. The Maroons are now 35-10-1
(5-1).
October 22, 2008
Fast Tempo Offense Fuels Sweep
The
home stretch of games has reached the JV volleyball team and it began
Wednesday at Zeeland West. The Maroons took part in the Dux Tri-Meet
with Holland and Zeeland West. This would be the team’s tune-up before
traveling to Hamilton on Saturday morning for the OK-Green postseason
tournament. The team took on the local rival Holland in the first
contest and got things started in absolute dominating fashion. Running
a lot of quicker tempo sets, the ball was shot to the outside and the
hitters successfully put the shots away. Haley Luurtsema (left)
enjoyed a fantastic evening leading the way for the offense. “Haley
was awesome tonight,” said head coach Kara Sall. “She dictated the
pace with her shots and our passing was great.” Feeding off of
Luurtsema’s offensive prowess, the Maroons ran away with the first set
winning 25-8. In a complete flip, the second game took the opposite
feel early. The Dutch came out swinging and it provided the opposition
with a lead midway through the set. Again, the outside hitters were
critical as Laura Hop and Luurtsema continued to pressure Holland.
With the middle hitters in the front row beginning to dominate the net,
the Maroons stormed back into the game and tied the contest up to force
extra points to be played. The teams teetered on the verge of winning
until Holland Christian took the opportunity away from Holland. Back
to back points gave the Maroons the second set victory by a score of
29-27 to
allow the JV to sweep the Dutch. Next up was a rematch against hoist
Zeeland West. Flashback a month and HC was in the same gym facing ZW
in a conference match and were able to sweep the match in two games
(25-18, 25-14). Back to the present, the Dux were hoping to trip up
Holland Christian. That would be big test despite a roster change.
Head Coach Kara Sall slipped Laura Hop into the libero role and she
answered the bell. With Hop controlling the middle of the back row,
and her sister Leah on the left side, the offensive plays began to be
run crisply. Luurtsema pounded shot after shot down the throat of
Zeeland West and it gave HC all the momentum they needed. The JV took
the first set 25-17 and continued to play well throughout the second
set. With the offense running smoothly, the defense did not allow much
to fall and Holland Christian won the set 25-8 in dominating fashion.
“We played great team play tonight,” said Sall. “It was a perfect
example of HC Volleyball and they got it done.” The team will look to
continue their momentum on Saturday at Hamilton High School in the
conference’s postseason tournament. This will help determine the final
standings in the OK-Green. The Maroons enter the tournament one game
out of first place with a conference record of 5-1. Unity Christian
holds a perfect 7-0 conference record. After the tournament, Holland
Christian faces Hamilton in the season finale. Now 29-9-1, the team
will also look to gather their thirtieth victory of the year.
October 14, 2008
Relaxation Pays Off Again
Relaxation is one of the most underrated attributes of great athletes. These athletes are able to relax in the moment of competition and let their abilities play out during the contest. This is always what coaches want their teams to do but it is a difficult formula to consistently achieve. The JV volleyball team found this out Monday when they got themselves too ramped up to play Unity Christian and found themselves worrying their way into errors and not able to make adjustments. After the Unity loss, head coach Kara Sall focused her team on relaxing and doing what they do all the time in practice. The “deep breath” allowed the team to play much better in the final two matches on Monday evening. That continued into Tuesday’s conference game with Wyoming Park. The JV were able to blow up early and win 2-0 (25-15, 25-22). No other details were submitted. The team is now 27-9-1 and 5-1 in conference. They will play again on Wednesday at the Zeeland West Quad.
October 13, 2008
JV Earns 2 Wins in Quad
Two days after their best day of volleyball all season, the JV team was back in action as they took place in a Quad at South Christian. The Maroons squared off against three teams in round robin formatting and matched up with the Sailors of South first.
Even coming in with a tidal wave of momentum, the JV struggled early in the first set and go behind and could not come back. South was able to capitalize and win the first set 25-13 before the team awoke and displayed the same type of play that they showed in the Saturday tournament that they were named champions. The team battled back and behind the hitting on the left side (Laura Hop, Leah Hop and Haley Luurtsema) the Maroons earned a 25-23 victory. In the third set, the Sailors skewed their defense to the left side and Breanna Verkaik (right) killed them from the right side. The ability to attack from both sides gave HC a boost and they won 15-12 to take the match. Their next matchup saw them playing rival Unity Christian. This was their chance to redeem their defeat from last week. That loss loomed large and in head coach Kara Sall’s mind, it loomed too large. “I think our team tried to play the perfect game and there are no perfect games,” said Sall. “We came out timid and just psyched ourselves out.” Despite being timid, the Maroons hung in the first set, until late, and fell 25-18. They girls bounced back behind strong play at the net by MaKenzie Branderhorst and Alli Waterway and they pulled out a close second set by a score of 25-23. Both teams fought hard throughout the third set and found themselves tied late in the set. After a Maroons spike, the score was tied at 15. With the serve, the team could not take advantage of the opportunity and UC earned the point. They followed this up with the winning point to take the game 17-15 and earn the 2-1 match. The team’s third and final matchup was against Kalamazoo Christian and the Maroons took out their aggressions on the Comets. The team was able to work on two of their main offensive plays and showcased strong hitting on the left and right sides and this helped the JV roll to a 25-9, 25-14 victory. Winning two of their matches improved the team’s overall record to 26-9-1. They will now return to conference play traveling to Wyoming Park on Tuesday. PHOTOS
October 11, 2008
Late Surge Crowns JV Champions
Coming off their first conference loss of the season, the Maroons JV volleyball team wanted to get the bitter taste out of their
mouths. The loss to Unity Christian on Wednesday seemed to refocus the group and that showed in two great practices at the end of the week. Off of those practices, the team was able to put their hard work into competitive play early on Saturday morning at Jenison High School. Pool play began with HC taking on North Pointe Christian and it didn’t take long to see the NP was outclassed. The Maroons passing was on point and that gave the outside hitters (Leah Hop, Laura Hop, Haley Luurtsema and Breanna Verkaik) plenty of opportunities to put points away. They did this early and often and this enabled the team to coast to a double digit lead in both sets en route to the two set victory 25-11, 25-13. Off of the hot start, HC was tested in their second pool play game. The Grand Haven Buccaneers had defeated Holland Christian earlier in the season in two sets but they soon found out this was a different team. The first set went back and forth until Emily Eilers (left) came up big for the team. Eilers, on the back row, stepped up digging two shots that were poised to hit the ground. This turned momentum quickly and the offense capitalized on both points to gain a 25-23 lead. They put the final point away to take the first set 26-24. The second set was a repeat of the first, but GH changed the ending taking the set 25-23. Eilers again stepped up making play after play in the third set enabling the offense to get going. Off of great sets, HC put away five straight points to get an early cushion. That cushion enabled HC to defeat Grand Haven 15-7 in the third set and earn first place honors after pool play. The team then headed into Power Pool play where all of the first place teams met up. Holland Christian locked horns with the host Wildcats in the first match. The home court advantage did not help as HC defeated Jenison 25-17, 22-25, 15-7. The second match was against Hudsonville. The Eagles have been kryptonite for the JV as they have twice defeated the team in three sets. The girls came out fired up knowing this was a different day and they showed that in the first set. Booming shots came off the arm of MaKenzie Branderhorst (below, right), Verkaik and Alli Waterway to give HC some early momentum and a three point lead at 12-9. Hudsonville bounced back to tie the game at 19, and the set would come down to a late surge. Trailing 27-26, Holland Christian again got great back row play from Natalie Sapp and Eilers to propel them on a three point swing that enabled them to take the first set 29-27. They fed off this momentum to take the second set as well and earn their first victory over Hudsonville winning 25-21. The teams split into the tournament with the Maroons seeded in first place and meeting up OK-Green member Zeeland East. The Chix put up a fight in both sets but could not
handle the height at the frontline for the Maroons in the end dropping both sets 25-22. Grand Haven looked for redemption in the semi-finals. Just like their match from earlier in the day, the Bucs put up a fight in each set but again the hot play of Holland Christian continued. They were able to take the first set 25-22 for the third straight set decided by that margin. In search of a sweep, their digging ability saved them late in the second set. With the match tied at 25, Grand Haven boomed three consecutive shots on the backline of the Maroons but each time it was dug out and turned into offense. After the third shot came, the Maroons finally put it away to lead 26-25. Lindsey Bieri finished the game with the winning serve and HC moved into the finals of the tournament. The team laid in wait as Jenison and Hudsonville battled it out in the other semi-final until the Eagles finally won it in three sets. The Maroons hoped to take advantage of their breather before the finals and put it to the tired Hudsonville squad. That was exactly what happened as the rest aided HC’s cause in winning the first set 25-16. After the initial blow, Hudsonville caught their breath and began to execute in the second set. The Eagles played well down the stretch and took the second 25-21. A long day of volleyball came down to the third and final set. The 6-0 day looked to be going down the drain when Hudsonville took a 14-11 lead. Head coach Kara Sall took a timeout and out of the break, the Maroons won the following point and did not drop a point the remainder of the set winning five straight to take the game, and the tournament, winning 16-14. “The girls played so well today,” said Sall. “I am so proud of them because we played so hard all day and they never gave up. Emily was great at libero for us and all of our hitters did excellently.” The tournament title was the second of the year for the JV and they improved their record to 24-8-1. Off the title, the team will take on South Christian on Monday at South starting at 5:00 p.m.
October 8, 2008
Rivals Pull Out 3 Set Win
Last week, the JV team was forced to adapt to some roster changes as key members of the JV were brought up to assist the varsity. The team overcame those changes to sweep Rogers. With the members coming back to JV, the team got a week to get
back into the groove. That week would be critical as one of the larger tests for the Maroons came Wednesday night when rival Unity Christian came to town. HC was looking to improve on their 4-0 OK-Green record and remain in first place but the Crusaders would like nothing more to knock the team off their perch. The visiting UC looked like they were locked in from the start of action as they matched Holland Christian through the first seven points until they pulled off an important eight point swing. That swing gave them enough cushion to cruise to the first set 25-15 victory. With their backs against the wall, the JV came out swinging and battled Unity throughout the second set. On several occasions Lindsey Bieri dug balls inches off the ground diving to save the point and these hustle points earned HC a late 21-20 lead. The Maroons would put away the final four points to take the second set 25-20 and force a third and final set. With HC holding the momentum entering the set, they used this to gather an early lead. Unity came back and tied the game at 9-9. With the serve in hand, the Crusaders won two points and took an 11-9 lead. It was HC’s turn to come back and that they did tying the game on a booming shot from Haley Luurtsema (right) tying it at 12-12. Unity would be able to finish it off with two perfectly placed balls in the corner to win the set 15-13. The loss dropped the JV to 17-8-1 and 4-1 in conference. After a rare Saturday off, the team will head to Jenison for their annual Invitational. The full day of volleyball action begins at 9:00 a.m. PHOTOS
September 30, 2008
JV Doesn't Miss a Beat
Head coach Kara Sall was a bit apprehensive entering Tuesday’s conference match with Rogers. With two of her top players, Allison Brower and Laura Hop, pulled up to the varsity team, Sall would have to shuffle her depth chart to accommodate the move. Fortunately, the team’s talent provided her several pieces to put into play. The depth of the team would allow the JV to continue playing at the level the fans have become accustomed to seeing all season without missing a beat. Several players shuffled around to adjust to the roster moves and they filled in seamlessly. Lindsey Bieri (left) slipped into the role of setter and was able to make crisp passes the majority of the night to fuel the offensive attack. Leah Hop and Haley Luurtsema switched back and forth covering the left side of the next, while Breanna Verkaik handled the right side. Emily Eilers covered the libero spot handling the digging work. All of the rearranging paid off as the Maroons coasted to the two set victory, as Rogers never was able to get within striking distance (25-10, 25-11), improving their record to 17-7-1 (4-0). No other news was reported. With a week off staring them in the face, the Maroons will be forced to keep up their hot play in practice, not allowing the lull in the schedule to cool them off, prior to hosting rival Unity Christian next Tuesday. The Crusaders will be in town on October 7 for the match beginning at 5:00 p.m.
September 23, 2008
Maroons Chain Up Dogs
Round one between the Bulldogs and Maroons was a knockout in HC’s favor. Holland Christian wasted little time in defeating the Bulldogs of Grandville in Monday’s match. Round two for the week saw the Bulldogs again facing the Maroons, this time it was the Byron Center Bulldogs in a conference clash in the Maroons gymnasium. Same mascot, different team, same result. The dominating play at the net for HC overpowered Byron Center as the Maroons cruised to a 2-0 victory. The killing ability was on display with the Maroons jumping out to an 8-0 lead. They never relinquished the hold on the game as they coasted to the 25-9 victory. Byron Center put up a better fight in game two but the result remained. Tied at 9-9, the defense stepped up putting a brick wall not allowing BC to get any shots to fall. The game quickly slipped away from Byron and HC grabbed the 25-18 victory. The 2-0 win enabled the Maroons to sweep both matches with the Bulldogs on the week. After defeating two sets of dogs, the Maroons will get ready to take to the air as they host the Rogers Golden Hawks in a week. The September 30 match will be at HC with the undefeated Maroons looking to stay in first place in the conference.
September 22, 2008
1st Matchup with Bulldogs Goes to HC
Two games in two days started for the Maroons JV volleyball program with Holland Christian traveling to Grandville. The Bulldogs welcomed both the JV and freshmen for a non-conference tilt. The Bulldogs, a Class A school, was the Maroons’ third large school opponent of their four games. While fellow OK-Red schools Hudsonville and Rockford defeated HC this past weekend, the JV got out of the gate early and never looked back in their match with Grandville. A commanding 8-0 lead to start game one dimmed the hopes of Grandville as the killing ability of Laura Hop, Leah Hop and Haley Luurtsema separated Holland Christian. Staked to the large lead, the service game of the maroon and white proved to be too much as they were able to gain three aces to take game one 25-9. The dominating performance in game one was outdone in the second game as the Maroons again leapt all over the host en route to the 25-8 victory. “Our setting was strong and we finished extremely well,” said head coach Kara Sall. The win moved the JV’s overall record to 15-7-1 and they will be back in action on Tuesday in the OK-Green home opener. Byron Center will be at HC on Tuesday with a second consecutive day of a Maroons-Bulldogs matchup. PHOTOS
September 20, 2008
JV Split's on the Day
The JV volleyball team participated in the Byron Center Volleyfest on Saturday. Holland Christian, off of a big win over Zeeland
West, hoped to continue their momentum through the tournament. It turned out to be a long day of volleyball as the entire day’s worth of matches saw HC pulled into three sets. In their first match of pool play, Forest Hills Northern tested the Maroons but fell in three sets 19-25, 25-22, 15-12. The girls then fought hard against Rockford splitting the first two matches. The Rams proved to be too much pulling away in the third set to gain the 25-13, 18-25, 15-7 victory. In need of a win to leave pool play, HC fell in their first set but fought back to win the second set over South Christian. The girls battled all the way back and took the third set over the Sailors to let them advance out of pool play behind a 22-25, 25-19, 15-12 win. They advanced and faced Hudsonville. The two teams met earlier this week at Holland Christian with the Eagles winning in three sets. The same thing occurred on Saturday afternoon with the Eagles pulling out the third set to knock HC out of the tournament by a score of 25-20, 19-25, 15-8. On the day, the Maroons split going 2-2 to make their record 14-7-1 on the season. They will travel to Grandville on Monday for their next match. PHOTOS
September 16, 2008
Maroons Stay in 1st Place
The JV volleyball team enjoyed a strong day in their home tri-meet and hoped to continue their streak on Tuesday when they embarked on conference play once again. Holding an undefeated record in the OK-Green, the Maroons looked to stay in first place after their match with Zeeland West. The Dux came out strong in the first set but HC was able to fend the Dux run off. A scoring rally led by the hitting of the Hop sisters (Laura, right) catapulted Holland Christian into the lead at 8-7 and they did not look back. With the service game on point, HC was able to run a scoring streak off to give themselves a large cushion. They would once again battle off Zeeland West late in the set and complete their victory by a 25-18 margin. The team sense ZW was down and they pounced jumping out to an early lead. Haley Luurtsema crossed a beautiful kill to give the team a double-digit lead. They would coast to the 25-14 win in straight sets. “Our defense was strong tonight,” said head coach Kara Sall. “We are playing strong right now and I am proud of the girls.” The win moves the JV record to 12-5-1 (2-0) as they continue to hold first place down in the OK-Green. Next up for the team will be a trip to Byron Center for the Bulldogs Invitational. PHOTOS
September 15, 2008
Home Opener Sees HC Split
The construction on the high school has forced many teams away from the friendly confines of their home field, or in this case, court advantage. For the first time this fall, the volleyball program hosted a home meet as the JV got things underway. The Maroons welcomed the Eagles of Hudsonville and the Wildcats of Wayland in a tri-meet format. Holland Christian enjoyed success this past weekend at the West Ottawa Invitational and they hoped to continue this streak on their home court. With each team playing one another once, the round robin format opened with HC facing Wayland. The Maroons wasted no time as Allison Brower (right) served her team to a 12 point run. Leading 12-0, Wayland finally got on the scoreboard and began to chip away at the lead. The blocking ability of MaKenzie Branderhorst, Laura Hop, Haley Luurtsema and Alli Waterway did not allow many open shots but Wayland was able to cut into the lead somewhat. A Leah Hop kill gave the Maroons as 23-13 advantage and their serve back. Fitting that Brower got the serve to finish the game as she started it out so well. Again Brower served HC to the final two points and a 25-13 win in game one. Game two saw Wayland respond and jump out to a 3-0 lead. Leah Hop killed a Brower assist from the right side to give the Maroons the serve and their first point. Holland Christian battled back and forth with the Wildcats as each team gained the lead three times before they got o seven points. Tied at seven, HC ran off five points to take a 12-7 lead. That five 
point advantage would hold as each team grabbed seven of the next fourteen points. Leading 19-14, the Maroons finally pulled away to win the final set 25-15. They would be forced to sit and wait for over an hour as Hudsonville aced Wayland with the Eagles victorious in two sets. The Eagles then faced the Maroons. The long layoff did not hurt the team as they embarked upon a very tough matchup. The competitive match began with the teams battling back and forth as the hard hitting of the Hop sisters and Luurtsema (left) kept HC in the game. Tied at 23, Holland Christian went back to Brower and she again came up big winning the final two points to take the back and forth game 1 25-23. Another down to the wire game occurred in game two. Fast forward to the end of the second game, Holland Christian trailed 24-23 and head coach Kara Sall called a timeout. Her team came out and won the next point but were unable to hold serve. The Eagles got the serve back and won their point to take the second set 26-24. The match would come down to the final set. Again the evenly matched teams stayed close to one another. Holland Christian was able to grab a 7-6 lead but Hudsonville was too much in the end pulling away late for the 15-11 victory. “Our girls performed well and we just ran into a hot team,” said Sall. On the day, HC split going 1-1 to move their record to 11-5-1. The conditioning the team embarked upon in the off-season and in practices will be put to the test as Holland Christian travels to Zeeland West for an OK-Green match. This will be the third set of games in the past four days for the JV. PHOTOS
September 13, 2008
JV Tested in West Ottawa Invite
The last time the JV volleyball team took part in a tournament, they emerged victorious hosting the trophy in the St. Joseph Invitational. Coming off an impressive conference victory earlier in the week over Zeeland East, Holland Christian went into the West Ottawa Invite looking to add to their hardware collection. As is accustomed, the Maroons started in pool play, but did not get off to a rousing start. Grand Haven matched up with HC and was able to take both games winning 25-21, 25-14. The first game was close until midway when the Buccaneers used a strong eight point swing to grab the lead and the momentum. After falling in their opener, the team’s play became sharper with crisp passing and accurate kill shots. Two tough sets were what Forest Hills Eastern brought in the second matchup of the day. A close match saw the teams knotted at 15 points apiece before the Maroons took a three-point lead. They were able to extend that lead to five points by the end of the match to take the first game 25-20. Again, the teams went back and forth in the second set but the Maroons play at the net took over the game late enabling them to win 25-18. They would continue to roll in their third, and final, match of pool play competing against Holt. Holt had no answers for Holland Christian as they swept their way to a 25-10, 25-11
victory. With the 2-1 record in pool play, HC went into the elimination round seeded second. Awaiting them in the quarterfinals was their opponent earlier in the week. The Chix fought valiantly against Holland Christian sending it to a third set. The Maroons were able o win the first set 25-14 and then Zeeland East won the second set 25-19. In the third set, HC jumped out early to a three point lead to 4-1, but the Chix would bounce back to tie the game at 7. The teams would battle back and forth in the third set. Playing only to 13, the final two points would decide the game and a great block by Leah Hop (left) got HC the 14-13 lead. Serving for the game, the Maroons won the point to take the set 15-13 and move onto the semi-finals. Lurking in the semi-finals was Class A power Jenison High School. There was no intimidation factor for head coach Kara Sall’s group as they quickly ran out to a twelve-point advantage and won the first set 25-15. The Wildcats took the second set 25-21 and HC was again in a third set elimination game. Down 14-13, late in the third, the Maroons rallied to win the point and tied the game up at 14. Jenison won the next point and finished off Holland Christian’s chances of winning another trophy by taking the final set 16-14. Despite not making the championship, the Maroons performed well improving their record to 10-4-1. For the first time this season, the JV will break in their home court hosting a tri-meet on Monday starting at 5:30 p.m. PHOTOS
September 9, 2008
Maroons Open Conference With Victory
Conference play was on tap for head coach Kara Sall and her team as the Maroons took on the Chix of Zeeland East. A strong start to the season was put on hold for a week and a half as the team had a layover in their schedule that began with two strong tournaments. Hoping to knock the rust off, the team looked to jump out early and that was exactly what happened. With Alli Waterway owning the middle of the court, HC was able to win six straight points to grab an early lead. The lead was in doubt as the Chix battled back but the merit of the team was shown when they rallied to win the first set 25-19. Zeeland East would not be down for long as they roared out and grabbed the early lead in the second set. HC fought back to tie the game at 13 but the host would score twelve of the next nineteen points to win the set 25-20. Tied at one game apiece, the Maroons would be forced to win in a shortened final set. In these final sets, with teams only playing to fifteen, anything can happen. The team put away all doubt as they raced to a double-digit lead and cruised home to their 15-5 third set win. The victory improves the early season record of the Maroons to 7-2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference. “Our middle was incredible tonight,” said Sall. “Ally (Waterway) really led us tonight and I am very proud of the girls for a hard fought win.” Just like the freshmen, the JV will not have to wait much longer to get back into action. HC will take place in the West Ottawa Invitational on Saturday morning. PHOTOS
August 26, 2008
Strong Play Continues for JV
Backing up a championship can be a tough feat for many teams to encounter. That sense of pride can either drive a team to continue to get better or go to a teams head. The JV volleyball team, coming off a tremendous weekend tournament, entered into
the Mattawan Quad and chose to continue what they started this weekend. Playing strong volleyball, the Maroons jumped out early in their first match against West Ottawa and never relinquished. The Panthers fell behind after HC was able to set up shot after shot on net and finish the kill shots. These big shots enabled the Maroons to grasp a big enough cushion to coast to a 25-11 win in the first set. They followed this up with a second set victory 25-16 to win 2-0. The host Mattawan was next in the round robin format and Holland Christian wiped out the home court advantage sweeping them 2-0 (25-18, 25-18). In the third set, head coach Kara Sall’s group came out strong and fought valiantly against a very strong Rockford squad. The Rams fell in the first set 25-22 but bounced back in the second set, behind a strong service game, and took game two 25-17. In the third and final game, HC was unable to account for several unforced errors and fell 15-9. Despite the defeat, Sall was pleased with how the group played. “I thought we played well and we are continuing to get better each and every day” noted Sall. The team will now be able to rest after two long days of volleyball in the past four days as they do not suit up again until September 9 in the OK-Green conference opener at Zeeland East.
August 23, 2008
Championship Earned in Opener
The JV volleyball team had an early wakeup call Saturday morning as they were forced to travel for their season opener. Playing in the annual St. Joseph Invitational, the Maroons started their season off in pool play which would determine the standings for the overall tournament. In their opener in pool play, HC squared off against Allegan and
immediately got their 2008 season off to a great start. They defeated the Tigers in two sets winning 25-17, 25-12. Off of their straight set win, the Maroons moved on in pool play to play Plainwell and were then defeated twice by scores of 25-19 and 25-22. In the finale of pool play,
Lakeshore
High School matched up with Holland Christian and the two teams split with both winning one set 25-16. After going 3-3 in their pool, the Maroons advanced into the elimination rounds and met the Bears of St. Joseph. The host team provided a challenge with the obvious home court and fan advantage but HC showed their toughness ousting St. Joe early in the tournament by sweeping them 25-13, 25-11. The semi-final match saw Holland Christian matching wits once against with Lakeshore and this time prevailing. The match began much like their earlier match with the teams splitting the first two sets (25-12, 18-25). After losing the second set, HC responded pouring on a late surge of points to take the third and final set 15-10 to advance to the championship game. The team then had the opportunity to avenge their only loss of the day as Plainwell also advanced to the finals. The sweep was on, just as it was in their pool play game, but this time the Maroons were the one pushing the brooms as they won both games 25-12 and 25-19 to take the championship. “We played very soundly and I am very proud of the girls” said head coach Kara Sall. “What a strong way to open our season.” The JV will travel again on Tuesday when they head to Mattawan for the Mattawan Quad which begins at 4:30 p.m.
Maroons Crowned Queens of Green
Kara Sall saw her team battle through adversity on Saturday and they emerged victorious winning the OK-Green conference
tournament.
While the freshmen battled for a chance at the conference title on the
court to their left, the JV were also undertaking the same mission. If
Holland Christian defeated the Hawkeyes of Hamilton they would win the
OK-Green conference championship. They would do this around the
strength of their regular season and the first place finish this past
weekend. That task would be no easy mission as Hamilton was able to
give the Maroons their only loss in the tournament. Holland Christian
ran through the loser’s bracket and avenged their earlier loss
defeating the Hawkeyes in three sets. The two squads had played to
three sets in their previous meetings so both knew they were in for a
test. Only one team would be up for the final exam as a MaKenzie
Branderhorst (left) spike for HC on the board early. Hamilton rattled
off four consecutive points before another Branderhorst kill gave HC
the serve. Hot off of the two kills, Branderhorst took the serve and
stayed hot tallying the next four points for Holland Christian as they
gained a 5-4 lead. Hamilton would tie the game before Natalie Sapp
toed the service line. Five points later, the Maroons had doubled
Hamilton’s score and had grabbed momentum. They used this surge of
scoring to mount a nine point lead.
Hamilton would fight back but it was too little too late. With the
score 24-19, Haley Luurtsema took a Lindsey Bieri feed and hammered
home the kill to win the first set 25-21. With their back against the
wall, Hamilton came out of the gate in the second set and notched a 5-0
lead. Not wavering, the Maroons fought back and won the next six
consecutive points to gain a lead they would not relinquish. The team
continued their strong play at the net with Branderhorst, the Hop
sisters (Laura & Leah), Luurtsema and Alli Waterway. Overpowering
Hamilton at the net, the JV pushed to a 17-9 lead before a Hawkeyes
timeout. The timeout could not stop HC as they continued to excel all
the way to match point. Waterway took the serve and feathered a
perfect shot in the middle of Hamilton’s defense. The Hawkeyes got the
ball over the net and Bieri found Leah Hop on the right side. Hop
nailed a shot off a Hamilton defender to clinch the 2-0 victory and the
25-13 second set win. The win also gave the team the OK-Green
championship. “I am so proud of these girls,” said Sall. “They worked
so hard all year and I loved coaching this group.” The team ends a
great 2008 with a record of 36-10-1 and an OK-Green record of 6-1. PHOTOSOctober 25, 2008
Teamwork Leads to Hardware
There was much to be sought after on Saturday morning when the JV volleyball team woke for their final tournament of the season. The Maroons were in search of their thirtieth win, and a chance at the conference championship, when they began play at Hamilton High School. All of the OK-Green schools were competing under the same roof in the conference postseason tournament. Despite having one conference dual meet remaining, the Maroons took part in the tournament hoping to put themselves in place for a conference championship. Things got off to a great start early as HC defeated Wyoming Park with ease. The offense clicked, as all of the hitters were able to find room on the Vikings side of the court. With the offense getting points in bunches, Holland Christian waltzed to a first round victory winning 25-13, 25-10. They moved on to face Hamilton, who was also victorious. The Hawkeyes and Maroons had yet to face one another and will do so Monday at Holland Christian. The unfamiliarity with each other lent itself to the two squads going back and forth in game one. Haley Luurtsema’s spike put HC up 18-17 but they could not pull away. The two remained tied when the game reached 25 and then Hamilton made their move. The Hawkeyes knocked two straight points down and took game one 27-25. HC bounced back in game two, as Alli Waterway (left) owned the middle of the net for a five point swing. That cushion was enough to give the team momentum and they used it to win game two 25-17. In the third and final set, the two evenly matched teams pressured
one
another trying to create miscues. Neither would bend as both defenses
proved capable. With the game tied at 8-8, the service game for HC let
them down. Costly service errors gave Hamilton a lead and they never
gave it back. The Hawkeyes won 15-11 to knock HC into the loser’s
bracket. Off the tough defeat, the girls came out flat against Zeeland
East. This allowed the Chix to remain in the game for much of the
first set. Head coach Kara Sall called a timeout and regrouped her
team. This tactic proved critical as her team came out and with great
kills from Laura and Leah Hop on feeds from Lindsey Bieri. The swing
gave HC a lead and they coasted to a first set victory, 25-20. Still a
little down from their defeat, the team allowed ZE to hang around in
the second set but found a way to dig the game out winning 25-21. A
minor break after the game allowed the team to get their feet under
themselves and they blew through their next match. Emily Eilers and
Natalie Sapp (below, right) played very well on the backline digging
the Bulldogs shots and feeding them to the front line. This is
important in volleyball and the Maroons showcased it in both games
winning 25-11, 25-13. The victory continued their tournament as they
awaited the loser of the Hamilton-Unity Christian game. Unity was able
to win and that forced a rematch between HC
and Hamilton. The Maroons did not waste their second chance, as they
were able to come out and win the first set 25-16. Hamilton took the
second set but Holland Christian fought back and pulled out the third
set 15-8 to move into the finals. There awaited Unity Christian. For
Holland Christian to win the tournament they would have to defeat the
Crusaders not once, but twice. UC was the only team to defeat the
Maroons in the conference regular season and then defeated HC in their
own Quad a few days later. In the previous matchups, head coach Kara
Sall thought each member of her team tried to do too much individually
rather than work as a team. Those problems were all worked out when
the two met up Saturday in the finals. The Maroons displayed
tremendous passion and hustle and that got them over the hump as they
swept through Unity 25-17 and 25-15 to win the first game. That
victory set up the championship match with the winner taking all. HC
received great team efforts in the first set with the entire roster
hustling for each and every ball and it paid off in a 25-22 win. The
Maroons completed the great day defeating UC by the same score in the
second set winning the championship. “Our girls were awesome today,”
said Sall. “There was not one player who did extremely well, it was
our entire roster. I am so proud of them as they were focused point by
point and showed tremendous mental focus. They played with great heart
and passion.” The team will wrap up their season, and conference
season, when they host Hamilton on Monday. The Maroons are now 35-10-1
(5-1).October 22, 2008
Fast Tempo Offense Fuels Sweep
The
home stretch of games has reached the JV volleyball team and it began
Wednesday at Zeeland West. The Maroons took part in the Dux Tri-Meet
with Holland and Zeeland West. This would be the team’s tune-up before
traveling to Hamilton on Saturday morning for the OK-Green postseason
tournament. The team took on the local rival Holland in the first
contest and got things started in absolute dominating fashion. Running
a lot of quicker tempo sets, the ball was shot to the outside and the
hitters successfully put the shots away. Haley Luurtsema (left)
enjoyed a fantastic evening leading the way for the offense. “Haley
was awesome tonight,” said head coach Kara Sall. “She dictated the
pace with her shots and our passing was great.” Feeding off of
Luurtsema’s offensive prowess, the Maroons ran away with the first set
winning 25-8. In a complete flip, the second game took the opposite
feel early. The Dutch came out swinging and it provided the opposition
with a lead midway through the set. Again, the outside hitters were
critical as Laura Hop and Luurtsema continued to pressure Holland.
With the middle hitters in the front row beginning to dominate the net,
the Maroons stormed back into the game and tied the contest up to force
extra points to be played. The teams teetered on the verge of winning
until Holland Christian took the opportunity away from Holland. Back
to back points gave the Maroons the second set victory by a score of
29-27 to
allow the JV to sweep the Dutch. Next up was a rematch against hoist
Zeeland West. Flashback a month and HC was in the same gym facing ZW
in a conference match and were able to sweep the match in two games
(25-18, 25-14). Back to the present, the Dux were hoping to trip up
Holland Christian. That would be big test despite a roster change.
Head Coach Kara Sall slipped Laura Hop into the libero role and she
answered the bell. With Hop controlling the middle of the back row,
and her sister Leah on the left side, the offensive plays began to be
run crisply. Luurtsema pounded shot after shot down the throat of
Zeeland West and it gave HC all the momentum they needed. The JV took
the first set 25-17 and continued to play well throughout the second
set. With the offense running smoothly, the defense did not allow much
to fall and Holland Christian won the set 25-8 in dominating fashion.
“We played great team play tonight,” said Sall. “It was a perfect
example of HC Volleyball and they got it done.” The team will look to
continue their momentum on Saturday at Hamilton High School in the
conference’s postseason tournament. This will help determine the final
standings in the OK-Green. The Maroons enter the tournament one game
out of first place with a conference record of 5-1. Unity Christian
holds a perfect 7-0 conference record. After the tournament, Holland
Christian faces Hamilton in the season finale. Now 29-9-1, the team
will also look to gather their thirtieth victory of the year.October 14, 2008
Relaxation Pays Off Again
Relaxation is one of the most underrated attributes of great athletes. These athletes are able to relax in the moment of competition and let their abilities play out during the contest. This is always what coaches want their teams to do but it is a difficult formula to consistently achieve. The JV volleyball team found this out Monday when they got themselves too ramped up to play Unity Christian and found themselves worrying their way into errors and not able to make adjustments. After the Unity loss, head coach Kara Sall focused her team on relaxing and doing what they do all the time in practice. The “deep breath” allowed the team to play much better in the final two matches on Monday evening. That continued into Tuesday’s conference game with Wyoming Park. The JV were able to blow up early and win 2-0 (25-15, 25-22). No other details were submitted. The team is now 27-9-1 and 5-1 in conference. They will play again on Wednesday at the Zeeland West Quad.
October 13, 2008
JV Earns 2 Wins in Quad
Two days after their best day of volleyball all season, the JV team was back in action as they took place in a Quad at South Christian. The Maroons squared off against three teams in round robin formatting and matched up with the Sailors of South first.
Even coming in with a tidal wave of momentum, the JV struggled early in the first set and go behind and could not come back. South was able to capitalize and win the first set 25-13 before the team awoke and displayed the same type of play that they showed in the Saturday tournament that they were named champions. The team battled back and behind the hitting on the left side (Laura Hop, Leah Hop and Haley Luurtsema) the Maroons earned a 25-23 victory. In the third set, the Sailors skewed their defense to the left side and Breanna Verkaik (right) killed them from the right side. The ability to attack from both sides gave HC a boost and they won 15-12 to take the match. Their next matchup saw them playing rival Unity Christian. This was their chance to redeem their defeat from last week. That loss loomed large and in head coach Kara Sall’s mind, it loomed too large. “I think our team tried to play the perfect game and there are no perfect games,” said Sall. “We came out timid and just psyched ourselves out.” Despite being timid, the Maroons hung in the first set, until late, and fell 25-18. They girls bounced back behind strong play at the net by MaKenzie Branderhorst and Alli Waterway and they pulled out a close second set by a score of 25-23. Both teams fought hard throughout the third set and found themselves tied late in the set. After a Maroons spike, the score was tied at 15. With the serve, the team could not take advantage of the opportunity and UC earned the point. They followed this up with the winning point to take the game 17-15 and earn the 2-1 match. The team’s third and final matchup was against Kalamazoo Christian and the Maroons took out their aggressions on the Comets. The team was able to work on two of their main offensive plays and showcased strong hitting on the left and right sides and this helped the JV roll to a 25-9, 25-14 victory. Winning two of their matches improved the team’s overall record to 26-9-1. They will now return to conference play traveling to Wyoming Park on Tuesday. PHOTOS October 11, 2008
Late Surge Crowns JV Champions
Coming off their first conference loss of the season, the Maroons JV volleyball team wanted to get the bitter taste out of their
mouths. The loss to Unity Christian on Wednesday seemed to refocus the group and that showed in two great practices at the end of the week. Off of those practices, the team was able to put their hard work into competitive play early on Saturday morning at Jenison High School. Pool play began with HC taking on North Pointe Christian and it didn’t take long to see the NP was outclassed. The Maroons passing was on point and that gave the outside hitters (Leah Hop, Laura Hop, Haley Luurtsema and Breanna Verkaik) plenty of opportunities to put points away. They did this early and often and this enabled the team to coast to a double digit lead in both sets en route to the two set victory 25-11, 25-13. Off of the hot start, HC was tested in their second pool play game. The Grand Haven Buccaneers had defeated Holland Christian earlier in the season in two sets but they soon found out this was a different team. The first set went back and forth until Emily Eilers (left) came up big for the team. Eilers, on the back row, stepped up digging two shots that were poised to hit the ground. This turned momentum quickly and the offense capitalized on both points to gain a 25-23 lead. They put the final point away to take the first set 26-24. The second set was a repeat of the first, but GH changed the ending taking the set 25-23. Eilers again stepped up making play after play in the third set enabling the offense to get going. Off of great sets, HC put away five straight points to get an early cushion. That cushion enabled HC to defeat Grand Haven 15-7 in the third set and earn first place honors after pool play. The team then headed into Power Pool play where all of the first place teams met up. Holland Christian locked horns with the host Wildcats in the first match. The home court advantage did not help as HC defeated Jenison 25-17, 22-25, 15-7. The second match was against Hudsonville. The Eagles have been kryptonite for the JV as they have twice defeated the team in three sets. The girls came out fired up knowing this was a different day and they showed that in the first set. Booming shots came off the arm of MaKenzie Branderhorst (below, right), Verkaik and Alli Waterway to give HC some early momentum and a three point lead at 12-9. Hudsonville bounced back to tie the game at 19, and the set would come down to a late surge. Trailing 27-26, Holland Christian again got great back row play from Natalie Sapp and Eilers to propel them on a three point swing that enabled them to take the first set 29-27. They fed off this momentum to take the second set as well and earn their first victory over Hudsonville winning 25-21. The teams split into the tournament with the Maroons seeded in first place and meeting up OK-Green member Zeeland East. The Chix put up a fight in both sets but could not handle the height at the frontline for the Maroons in the end dropping both sets 25-22. Grand Haven looked for redemption in the semi-finals. Just like their match from earlier in the day, the Bucs put up a fight in each set but again the hot play of Holland Christian continued. They were able to take the first set 25-22 for the third straight set decided by that margin. In search of a sweep, their digging ability saved them late in the second set. With the match tied at 25, Grand Haven boomed three consecutive shots on the backline of the Maroons but each time it was dug out and turned into offense. After the third shot came, the Maroons finally put it away to lead 26-25. Lindsey Bieri finished the game with the winning serve and HC moved into the finals of the tournament. The team laid in wait as Jenison and Hudsonville battled it out in the other semi-final until the Eagles finally won it in three sets. The Maroons hoped to take advantage of their breather before the finals and put it to the tired Hudsonville squad. That was exactly what happened as the rest aided HC’s cause in winning the first set 25-16. After the initial blow, Hudsonville caught their breath and began to execute in the second set. The Eagles played well down the stretch and took the second 25-21. A long day of volleyball came down to the third and final set. The 6-0 day looked to be going down the drain when Hudsonville took a 14-11 lead. Head coach Kara Sall took a timeout and out of the break, the Maroons won the following point and did not drop a point the remainder of the set winning five straight to take the game, and the tournament, winning 16-14. “The girls played so well today,” said Sall. “I am so proud of them because we played so hard all day and they never gave up. Emily was great at libero for us and all of our hitters did excellently.” The tournament title was the second of the year for the JV and they improved their record to 24-8-1. Off the title, the team will take on South Christian on Monday at South starting at 5:00 p.m.October 8, 2008
Rivals Pull Out 3 Set Win
Last week, the JV team was forced to adapt to some roster changes as key members of the JV were brought up to assist the varsity. The team overcame those changes to sweep Rogers. With the members coming back to JV, the team got a week to get
back into the groove. That week would be critical as one of the larger tests for the Maroons came Wednesday night when rival Unity Christian came to town. HC was looking to improve on their 4-0 OK-Green record and remain in first place but the Crusaders would like nothing more to knock the team off their perch. The visiting UC looked like they were locked in from the start of action as they matched Holland Christian through the first seven points until they pulled off an important eight point swing. That swing gave them enough cushion to cruise to the first set 25-15 victory. With their backs against the wall, the JV came out swinging and battled Unity throughout the second set. On several occasions Lindsey Bieri dug balls inches off the ground diving to save the point and these hustle points earned HC a late 21-20 lead. The Maroons would put away the final four points to take the second set 25-20 and force a third and final set. With HC holding the momentum entering the set, they used this to gather an early lead. Unity came back and tied the game at 9-9. With the serve in hand, the Crusaders won two points and took an 11-9 lead. It was HC’s turn to come back and that they did tying the game on a booming shot from Haley Luurtsema (right) tying it at 12-12. Unity would be able to finish it off with two perfectly placed balls in the corner to win the set 15-13. The loss dropped the JV to 17-8-1 and 4-1 in conference. After a rare Saturday off, the team will head to Jenison for their annual Invitational. The full day of volleyball action begins at 9:00 a.m. PHOTOSSeptember 30, 2008
JV Doesn't Miss a Beat
Head coach Kara Sall was a bit apprehensive entering Tuesday’s conference match with Rogers. With two of her top players, Allison Brower and Laura Hop, pulled up to the varsity team, Sall would have to shuffle her depth chart to accommodate the move. Fortunately, the team’s talent provided her several pieces to put into play. The depth of the team would allow the JV to continue playing at the level the fans have become accustomed to seeing all season without missing a beat. Several players shuffled around to adjust to the roster moves and they filled in seamlessly. Lindsey Bieri (left) slipped into the role of setter and was able to make crisp passes the majority of the night to fuel the offensive attack. Leah Hop and Haley Luurtsema switched back and forth covering the left side of the next, while Breanna Verkaik handled the right side. Emily Eilers covered the libero spot handling the digging work. All of the rearranging paid off as the Maroons coasted to the two set victory, as Rogers never was able to get within striking distance (25-10, 25-11), improving their record to 17-7-1 (4-0). No other news was reported. With a week off staring them in the face, the Maroons will be forced to keep up their hot play in practice, not allowing the lull in the schedule to cool them off, prior to hosting rival Unity Christian next Tuesday. The Crusaders will be in town on October 7 for the match beginning at 5:00 p.m.September 23, 2008
Maroons Chain Up Dogs
Round one between the Bulldogs and Maroons was a knockout in HC’s favor. Holland Christian wasted little time in defeating the Bulldogs of Grandville in Monday’s match. Round two for the week saw the Bulldogs again facing the Maroons, this time it was the Byron Center Bulldogs in a conference clash in the Maroons gymnasium. Same mascot, different team, same result. The dominating play at the net for HC overpowered Byron Center as the Maroons cruised to a 2-0 victory. The killing ability was on display with the Maroons jumping out to an 8-0 lead. They never relinquished the hold on the game as they coasted to the 25-9 victory. Byron Center put up a better fight in game two but the result remained. Tied at 9-9, the defense stepped up putting a brick wall not allowing BC to get any shots to fall. The game quickly slipped away from Byron and HC grabbed the 25-18 victory. The 2-0 win enabled the Maroons to sweep both matches with the Bulldogs on the week. After defeating two sets of dogs, the Maroons will get ready to take to the air as they host the Rogers Golden Hawks in a week. The September 30 match will be at HC with the undefeated Maroons looking to stay in first place in the conference.
September 22, 2008
1st Matchup with Bulldogs Goes to HC
Two games in two days started for the Maroons JV volleyball program with Holland Christian traveling to Grandville. The Bulldogs welcomed both the JV and freshmen for a non-conference tilt. The Bulldogs, a Class A school, was the Maroons’ third large school opponent of their four games. While fellow OK-Red schools Hudsonville and Rockford defeated HC this past weekend, the JV got out of the gate early and never looked back in their match with Grandville. A commanding 8-0 lead to start game one dimmed the hopes of Grandville as the killing ability of Laura Hop, Leah Hop and Haley Luurtsema separated Holland Christian. Staked to the large lead, the service game of the maroon and white proved to be too much as they were able to gain three aces to take game one 25-9. The dominating performance in game one was outdone in the second game as the Maroons again leapt all over the host en route to the 25-8 victory. “Our setting was strong and we finished extremely well,” said head coach Kara Sall. The win moved the JV’s overall record to 15-7-1 and they will be back in action on Tuesday in the OK-Green home opener. Byron Center will be at HC on Tuesday with a second consecutive day of a Maroons-Bulldogs matchup. PHOTOS
September 20, 2008
JV Split's on the Day
The JV volleyball team participated in the Byron Center Volleyfest on Saturday. Holland Christian, off of a big win over Zeeland
West, hoped to continue their momentum through the tournament. It turned out to be a long day of volleyball as the entire day’s worth of matches saw HC pulled into three sets. In their first match of pool play, Forest Hills Northern tested the Maroons but fell in three sets 19-25, 25-22, 15-12. The girls then fought hard against Rockford splitting the first two matches. The Rams proved to be too much pulling away in the third set to gain the 25-13, 18-25, 15-7 victory. In need of a win to leave pool play, HC fell in their first set but fought back to win the second set over South Christian. The girls battled all the way back and took the third set over the Sailors to let them advance out of pool play behind a 22-25, 25-19, 15-12 win. They advanced and faced Hudsonville. The two teams met earlier this week at Holland Christian with the Eagles winning in three sets. The same thing occurred on Saturday afternoon with the Eagles pulling out the third set to knock HC out of the tournament by a score of 25-20, 19-25, 15-8. On the day, the Maroons split going 2-2 to make their record 14-7-1 on the season. They will travel to Grandville on Monday for their next match. PHOTOS September 16, 2008
Maroons Stay in 1st Place
The JV volleyball team enjoyed a strong day in their home tri-meet and hoped to continue their streak on Tuesday when they embarked on conference play once again. Holding an undefeated record in the OK-Green, the Maroons looked to stay in first place after their match with Zeeland West. The Dux came out strong in the first set but HC was able to fend the Dux run off. A scoring rally led by the hitting of the Hop sisters (Laura, right) catapulted Holland Christian into the lead at 8-7 and they did not look back. With the service game on point, HC was able to run a scoring streak off to give themselves a large cushion. They would once again battle off Zeeland West late in the set and complete their victory by a 25-18 margin. The team sense ZW was down and they pounced jumping out to an early lead. Haley Luurtsema crossed a beautiful kill to give the team a double-digit lead. They would coast to the 25-14 win in straight sets. “Our defense was strong tonight,” said head coach Kara Sall. “We are playing strong right now and I am proud of the girls.” The win moves the JV record to 12-5-1 (2-0) as they continue to hold first place down in the OK-Green. Next up for the team will be a trip to Byron Center for the Bulldogs Invitational. PHOTOS
September 15, 2008
Home Opener Sees HC Split
The construction on the high school has forced many teams away from the friendly confines of their home field, or in this case, court advantage. For the first time this fall, the volleyball program hosted a home meet as the JV got things underway. The Maroons welcomed the Eagles of Hudsonville and the Wildcats of Wayland in a tri-meet format. Holland Christian enjoyed success this past weekend at the West Ottawa Invitational and they hoped to continue this streak on their home court. With each team playing one another once, the round robin format opened with HC facing Wayland. The Maroons wasted no time as Allison Brower (right) served her team to a 12 point run. Leading 12-0, Wayland finally got on the scoreboard and began to chip away at the lead. The blocking ability of MaKenzie Branderhorst, Laura Hop, Haley Luurtsema and Alli Waterway did not allow many open shots but Wayland was able to cut into the lead somewhat. A Leah Hop kill gave the Maroons as 23-13 advantage and their serve back. Fitting that Brower got the serve to finish the game as she started it out so well. Again Brower served HC to the final two points and a 25-13 win in game one. Game two saw Wayland respond and jump out to a 3-0 lead. Leah Hop killed a Brower assist from the right side to give the Maroons the serve and their first point. Holland Christian battled back and forth with the Wildcats as each team gained the lead three times before they got o seven points. Tied at seven, HC ran off five points to take a 12-7 lead. That five point advantage would hold as each team grabbed seven of the next fourteen points. Leading 19-14, the Maroons finally pulled away to win the final set 25-15. They would be forced to sit and wait for over an hour as Hudsonville aced Wayland with the Eagles victorious in two sets. The Eagles then faced the Maroons. The long layoff did not hurt the team as they embarked upon a very tough matchup. The competitive match began with the teams battling back and forth as the hard hitting of the Hop sisters and Luurtsema (left) kept HC in the game. Tied at 23, Holland Christian went back to Brower and she again came up big winning the final two points to take the back and forth game 1 25-23. Another down to the wire game occurred in game two. Fast forward to the end of the second game, Holland Christian trailed 24-23 and head coach Kara Sall called a timeout. Her team came out and won the next point but were unable to hold serve. The Eagles got the serve back and won their point to take the second set 26-24. The match would come down to the final set. Again the evenly matched teams stayed close to one another. Holland Christian was able to grab a 7-6 lead but Hudsonville was too much in the end pulling away late for the 15-11 victory. “Our girls performed well and we just ran into a hot team,” said Sall. On the day, HC split going 1-1 to move their record to 11-5-1. The conditioning the team embarked upon in the off-season and in practices will be put to the test as Holland Christian travels to Zeeland West for an OK-Green match. This will be the third set of games in the past four days for the JV. PHOTOSSeptember 13, 2008
JV Tested in West Ottawa Invite
The last time the JV volleyball team took part in a tournament, they emerged victorious hosting the trophy in the St. Joseph Invitational. Coming off an impressive conference victory earlier in the week over Zeeland East, Holland Christian went into the West Ottawa Invite looking to add to their hardware collection. As is accustomed, the Maroons started in pool play, but did not get off to a rousing start. Grand Haven matched up with HC and was able to take both games winning 25-21, 25-14. The first game was close until midway when the Buccaneers used a strong eight point swing to grab the lead and the momentum. After falling in their opener, the team’s play became sharper with crisp passing and accurate kill shots. Two tough sets were what Forest Hills Eastern brought in the second matchup of the day. A close match saw the teams knotted at 15 points apiece before the Maroons took a three-point lead. They were able to extend that lead to five points by the end of the match to take the first game 25-20. Again, the teams went back and forth in the second set but the Maroons play at the net took over the game late enabling them to win 25-18. They would continue to roll in their third, and final, match of pool play competing against Holt. Holt had no answers for Holland Christian as they swept their way to a 25-10, 25-11
victory. With the 2-1 record in pool play, HC went into the elimination round seeded second. Awaiting them in the quarterfinals was their opponent earlier in the week. The Chix fought valiantly against Holland Christian sending it to a third set. The Maroons were able o win the first set 25-14 and then Zeeland East won the second set 25-19. In the third set, HC jumped out early to a three point lead to 4-1, but the Chix would bounce back to tie the game at 7. The teams would battle back and forth in the third set. Playing only to 13, the final two points would decide the game and a great block by Leah Hop (left) got HC the 14-13 lead. Serving for the game, the Maroons won the point to take the set 15-13 and move onto the semi-finals. Lurking in the semi-finals was Class A power Jenison High School. There was no intimidation factor for head coach Kara Sall’s group as they quickly ran out to a twelve-point advantage and won the first set 25-15. The Wildcats took the second set 25-21 and HC was again in a third set elimination game. Down 14-13, late in the third, the Maroons rallied to win the point and tied the game up at 14. Jenison won the next point and finished off Holland Christian’s chances of winning another trophy by taking the final set 16-14. Despite not making the championship, the Maroons performed well improving their record to 10-4-1. For the first time this season, the JV will break in their home court hosting a tri-meet on Monday starting at 5:30 p.m. PHOTOS September 9, 2008
Maroons Open Conference With Victory
Conference play was on tap for head coach Kara Sall and her team as the Maroons took on the Chix of Zeeland East. A strong start to the season was put on hold for a week and a half as the team had a layover in their schedule that began with two strong tournaments. Hoping to knock the rust off, the team looked to jump out early and that was exactly what happened. With Alli Waterway owning the middle of the court, HC was able to win six straight points to grab an early lead. The lead was in doubt as the Chix battled back but the merit of the team was shown when they rallied to win the first set 25-19. Zeeland East would not be down for long as they roared out and grabbed the early lead in the second set. HC fought back to tie the game at 13 but the host would score twelve of the next nineteen points to win the set 25-20. Tied at one game apiece, the Maroons would be forced to win in a shortened final set. In these final sets, with teams only playing to fifteen, anything can happen. The team put away all doubt as they raced to a double-digit lead and cruised home to their 15-5 third set win. The victory improves the early season record of the Maroons to 7-2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference. “Our middle was incredible tonight,” said Sall. “Ally (Waterway) really led us tonight and I am very proud of the girls for a hard fought win.” Just like the freshmen, the JV will not have to wait much longer to get back into action. HC will take place in the West Ottawa Invitational on Saturday morning. PHOTOSAugust 26, 2008
Strong Play Continues for JV
Backing up a championship can be a tough feat for many teams to encounter. That sense of pride can either drive a team to continue to get better or go to a teams head. The JV volleyball team, coming off a tremendous weekend tournament, entered into
the Mattawan Quad and chose to continue what they started this weekend. Playing strong volleyball, the Maroons jumped out early in their first match against West Ottawa and never relinquished. The Panthers fell behind after HC was able to set up shot after shot on net and finish the kill shots. These big shots enabled the Maroons to grasp a big enough cushion to coast to a 25-11 win in the first set. They followed this up with a second set victory 25-16 to win 2-0. The host Mattawan was next in the round robin format and Holland Christian wiped out the home court advantage sweeping them 2-0 (25-18, 25-18). In the third set, head coach Kara Sall’s group came out strong and fought valiantly against a very strong Rockford squad. The Rams fell in the first set 25-22 but bounced back in the second set, behind a strong service game, and took game two 25-17. In the third and final game, HC was unable to account for several unforced errors and fell 15-9. Despite the defeat, Sall was pleased with how the group played. “I thought we played well and we are continuing to get better each and every day” noted Sall. The team will now be able to rest after two long days of volleyball in the past four days as they do not suit up again until September 9 in the OK-Green conference opener at Zeeland East.August 23, 2008
Championship Earned in Opener
The JV volleyball team had an early wakeup call Saturday morning as they were forced to travel for their season opener. Playing in the annual St. Joseph Invitational, the Maroons started their season off in pool play which would determine the standings for the overall tournament. In their opener in pool play, HC squared off against Allegan and
immediately got their 2008 season off to a great start. They defeated the Tigers in two sets winning 25-17, 25-12. Off of their straight set win, the Maroons moved on in pool play to play Plainwell and were then defeated twice by scores of 25-19 and 25-22. In the finale of pool play,