Danbury goes 3-1 on opening day of Spiketacular

SANDUSKY — Danbury has room for improvement. But, the Lakers looked the part Friday. Danbury dropped its opening match to Division I Brunswick before bouncing back with three wins at the third Summer Spiketacular at Cedar Point Sports Center. "Our goal today was to exhibit a lot of toughness," Danbury coach Keith Diebler said. "I thought as the day wore on, that goal was reached because every match was pretty close. The girls rose to the occasion and made plays when they had to." Brunswick got past the Lakers 25-20, 25-22 in the opener. Danbury then beat Carrolton (25-22, 25-21), Edison (25-23, 25-16) and Division I Lorain (25-20, 25-23). Diebler said the Lakers didn't shy away from facing tough competition. With the likes of Tiffin Calvert and Fremont St. Joseph in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, getting on the court with high-level schools now is a good thing for Danbury. "The thing of it is, we wanted that," Diebler said. "When you consider the people in our league, it's a tough league. Going into league, we have to be prepared." The Lakers are in the process of replacing nine seniors that including SBC River Division Most Outstanding Performer Maci Brown. Diebler said Lauren Bergman has stepped into that role and he's often asked if it's still Brown back there due to Bergman's seamless transition. The Lakers lost its top three hitters — Mia McDonald (230 kills last year), Ella McDonald (158 kills) and Kendall Shanteau (157 kills) — from last year. Cali Wunder and Reese Redfern will split time at setter allowing Danbury to run a 6-2 offense. The Lakers face Perkins and Tinora on Saturday before the power pool round begins. "We lost nine seniors last year and it looks like we reloaded," Diebler said. "We didn't rebuild. We keep growing each and every time out. Our big theme is team above self. I'm having the time of my life because we seem so connected." Rested Huron goes 4-0 After playing volleyball eight out of nine days, the Tigers needed a little bit of a break. Veteran coach Don Wood hoped his girls wouldn't do much of anything the last two days. Looking fresh, Huron went 4-0 on Friday without dropping a set. "After they got loosened up and started playing, I thought they played fairly solid," Wood said. The Tigers opened with a 25-17, 25-11 win over McComb before sweeping Lorain. Huron added a 25-18, 25-19 victory over Dekalb (Indiana) and then took care of business against Carrolton. "It was kind of cool to play a team from Indiana for the first time," Wood said. "It's a good experience, plus we rearranged how the teams are for us in this tournament. We got to see some new faces and mix some things into our lineup." The Tigers played the day without senior leader Maggie Orzech, who is the top returning hitter for Huron after 175 kills last year. She was hurt Tuesday in a match against Norwalk. "It was a great opportunity for these kids to know there's an opportunity and they could make themselves seen in a game situation," Wood said. "I feel like we'll have Maggie back, but in this particular tournament, people get to play. We seen a couple good things." Huron has a great chance to improve on its 14-10 record and district semifinal appearance from last year. It starts with moving the ball around with efficiency. "Ball control. That is our focus," Wood said. "We have to have good ball control because we have lots of weapons. If we can be in system a higher percentage of time, we'll be in more matches." Edison gets late win After a three-set loss to start the day, the Chargers dropped contests to Tinora and Danbury. Not wanting to go home 0-fer, Edison got a nice win over Lorain, topping the Titans 25-16, 28-26. "It was nice to win the last one," Chargers coach Sean Hoover said. "It's summer, so you're working on things and you're playing some different lineups. You're looking at some things and see how they work. Maybe you find some things you like. "Maybe you find some stuff you don't like that you thought might work." To open the day, Edison won the first set against Sheridan before the Generals evened the match with a 25-18 second set. The Chargers didn't quite have enough in the third set, falling 15-12. Edison gave Tinora — a Division VI state semifinalist last year — a tough battle. The Rams had just a little more, picking up a win in straight sets. "We might have played our best against Tinora, which is the best team we played," Hoover said. "We played really well against them. You want to come here and learn. Tinora had two big bombers and we blocked and moved really well. We did some good things there, which is encouraging. "At the end of the day, you're here to get better. As long as we're getting better, wins in July don't count for anything." Hoover said the back row combination of seniors Taylor Moore and Stella Brown have been outstanding. Offensively, the Chargers have room for improvement. Jorja Byington led Edison with 155 kills last year, but graduated. Hoover said the offense isn't clicking yet, but it takes reps and time. "At the end of the day, everybody is trying to do the same thing in the summer," Hoover said. "You're trying to find the best combinations and the right way for the team to play so they can be ready to go once the season starts." Perkins goes 2-2 The Pirates picked up valuable experience despite a pair of losses. Perkins topped Dekalb and Central Catholic in straight sets, but had two three-set losses to Waynedale and Sheridan. "It's a lot about still getting to know each other," Perkins coach Brandon Duvall said. "I think we're at a point right now where we're getting comfortable with people in new roles. Sometimes it's not about the best player in each position. It's the right player in each position. That's what we're trying to figure out. "Consistency is still an issue for us." The Pirates dispatched Dekalb first, taking the second set 25-23. From there, Perkins was on the wrong end of a three-set win by Waynedale. Then, Sheridan picked up a 20-25, 25-19, 15-9 victory over the Pirates. "Winning is a skill," Duvall said. "You have to understand what it takes to win and how to push each other. You have to learn how to address each other. Sometimes feelings get hurt in the middle of a game and it's not about feelings. It's about making sure everybody is on the same page." Perkins has the pieces to compete in every match it plays this season. The Pirates return setter Braelyn Davie (543 assists last year as a freshman) and senior hitters Ferrell Coleman (237 kills) and Micah Normington-Slay (164 kills). Duvall has been impressed with freshman Viera Walker, who he said doesn't play like a freshman. She's been a great addition to the team, Duvall said. "Physically, we're fully capable of competing with every team in this tournament," Duvall said. "It's about getting up to the consistency part and mentality part." Vermilion winless on 1st day The Sailors had chances to pick up a win, but came up just short. Vermilion suffered losses to Bellefontaine, Central Catholic, McComb and Tinroa on Friday. "We have to be able to stay consistent and stay disciplined the entire time," Vermilion coach Sawyer Schafer said. "That's our overarching goal right now for the season. We have to work as a cohesive team and be able to play as a team. "We have a lot of great athletes that we're working to mold together into volleyball players and a volleyball team." Central Catholic topped the Sailors 25-21, 25-22 while McComb slipped past Vermilion 25-13, 23-25, 15-11. "It's fun to watch them play and as they're working through more difficult times, getting to see them focus on that team aspect and really digging their heels in, it resolves that issue," Schafer said. "It's better than working separately, for sure." Schafer said the quartet of Sophie Habermehl (outside hitter), Hailey Stepp (libero), Lauren Logsdon (setter) and Elyse Myntti (setter) will be key to the Sailors' success this year. "The next step for the girls is continuing to step outside of their comfort zone and really work on building all of the individual skills that we've been working on," Schafer said. "From there, we'll form a competitive team that knows how to work well together."