Blissfield Opens District With Sweep of Bobcats

Blissfield opened post-season play with a convincing sweep of the young Whiteford Bobcats Monday night at Dundee. The Royals held off the Bobcats to win the first game 25-21 and then  cruised to 25-15 and 25-19 victories.

Laura Goetz had nine kills and Ashley LaRoy had eight kills and served two aces, while Celia Coopshaw had five kills and eight blocks as the Royals dominated the Bobcats at the net.  Paige White had six kills for Whiteford, which also got five kills from senior Rebecca Groch and three kills and five blocks from Bethany Wingate.

“This is what we wanted to see. We wanted to come out here and take care of business. The girls really want this,” said Blissfield coach Sandi Porter, who said her team played very well outside of periodic trouble with serve receiving.

Blissfield faces Erie mason in the district semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday.  Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central beat Summerfield three games to one and will face Dundee at 5:30 Wednesday night. The winners will play in the final at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Blissfield opened play Monday in fine form.  A kill from Amy Walker gave Whiteford a 1-0 lead, but Blissfield went on a six point that was fueled by two blocks and a kill from Coopshaw and two kills and a block by Goetz.

Down 9-4, Whiteford went on a four-point run with an ace by Cassi Haugen and a kill by Groch.  A kill and an ace by Goetz helped the Royals to a 9-8 lead. With freshman Courtney Schroyer serving, Whiteford went on a five-point run, mostly due to Blissfield shots that went into the net or out of bounds, and the Royals were down 13-12. Ashley LaRoy had two kills during a Blissfield five-point run as the Royals regained the lead for good. Whiteford twice got within two points of Blissfield, but LaRoy closed out game one with two powerful kills.

Whiteford appeared deflated to start game 2. Groch’s opening serve went into the net. Then Taylor Jacob returned a Whiteford shot with a spike on to the Bobcat floor. LaRoy fired an ace for a 3-1 lead.

With the score 7-4 Blissfield, the Royals took over, scoring 14 of the next 17 points to take a commanding 21-7 lead.

“This has been our problem all year,” said Whiteford coach Kathy Albers. “Some teams make one mistake and then get over it. We’ve had a tendency to make one mistake and then make three or four more. It’s part of being a young team.”

Blissfield took over early in game three, as well. Taylor Jacob had two kills and LaRoy another as Blissfield took a 4-0 lead. After a tip by Miranda Johnson and an out-of-bounds shot by the Royals, Blissfield went on a 6-point run with kills by Coopshaw and Goetz, an ace by LaRoy, and a block that fell for a point by Goetz.

With freshman Kelli Schroyer at the line and firing two aces, Whiteford stormed back from an 11-4 deficit to tie the game. But Whiteford made four unforced errors as Blissfield scored the next five points for a lead they would not relinquish.

“I thought we played well. We played Whiteford at Lenawee Christian and we weren’t at our best. But we had a good weekend of volleyball at Adrian and I thought we were good tonight,” said senior Renee Cantrell.

For the Bobcats, 2010 was a rebuilding season. Whiteford played the season with just one senior, Rebecca Groch.

“She’s meant a lot to the team. She’s a very smart volleyball player who always works hard. She’s only 5’6, but she played the net with the big girls, because we needed her to do that,” said Albers.

Albers said the future of Whiteford volleyball is bright.

“Junior Paige White really turned into a force this year. She’s an excellent hitter and a competitor,” Albers said. “And freshman Miranda Johnson had a big year and showed us a lot as a setter. We had three freshmen playing here tonight and we have a lot of young players who got a lot of experience this year. That’s going to help us next season.”