The first-place battle in the OK Black was as good as expected with five sets deciding first place.
HOLLAND - Sometimes when power isn't working on the volleyball court, a hitter has to get crafty.
Holland Christian was faced with that in an OK Black Conference first-place showdown with Zeeland East.
The Chix won the first two sets, using their power and limiting the Maroons' big swings.
So the Maroons, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, got crafty and turned around a 23-25, 21-25, 25-13, 25-16, 15-6 over the Chix win on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at home.
"This gives us a lot of motivation. It was really fun. The third set, I tried to amp everyone up and we brought a lot of energy. We were able to turn it around," Holland Christian's Brooklyn Phelps said. "I am an undersized hitter and try to use that to my advantage. Not every hit has to be straight down. I go deep corner or wherever the holes weak spots are."
Phelps led the Maroons (18-4, 5-0 OK Black) with 17 kills and 16 digs.
"She is so crafty. She prides herself in that. She is so athletic and her court IQ is so high. She knows she is undersized, but she makes up for that by being crafty. She is one of the smartest players I have ever coaches," Holland Christian's Kylie Leeuw said.
Holland Christian, which lost to Zeeland East in a tournament two weeks ago, picked up its blocking in the fourth set, which helped change the course of the match.
"We focused on the little things. We had to do those perfectly. We focused in the last three sets and didn't loose our way," Leeuw said. "Our block really worked hard. We knew their outsides were really fast and we practiced getting to the pins faster. A lot of times we just got a hand on it and it slowed things up."
Kate Van Appledorn, a Calvin commit, had 14 kills and seven blocks.
Addi Meiste had nine kills, Tessa Leeuw had seven kills and seven blocks. Allison Lamer had six kills and seven blocks. Sophia Terpstra tallied 49 assists and 11 digs. Lauryn Slenk had 14 digs.
The Chix (16-3, 4-1 OK Black) looked sharp in the first two sets despite trailing in each of them.
While the Maroons were focused on trying to slow down Division I commit Lizzie Risdon, the Chix got contributions from all over the court, specifically Gracyn Huizenga and Savannah Byker.
Byker had a huge solo block during the first-set comeback and Huizenga put the second set away with a kill. She had five in the match.
"Gracyn and Savannah were big momentum pushers for us in those first couple sets. When we have multiple players clicking, we are unstoppable," Zeeland East coach Grace Steenwyk said. "Then we got caught off guard. When we face them again, we need everyone to be ready."
Risdon finished with 21 kills, 16 digs and two blocks. Elyse Smith had 33 assists and two aces. Byker had four blocks. Jordan Inocensio had 22 digs.
"We were just playing free in the first two sets and were able to get into our flow. We proved we were capable of coming back. We just lost our momentum and stopped believing a little bit and dug ourselves in deep holes," Steenwyk said. "Five-set matches are a test on everyone's mental toughness. We had some big moments and dug ourselves in tough moments. Holland Christian came back and challenged us, setting their block up better, closing a lot of holes we had opened earlier and got in our heads."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland Christian volleyball beats Zeeland East in five sets
Category: General Sports
