The Montcalm Community College Centurions finished second at the Schoolcraft Ocelot Tri, in Livonia on Friday night.

The Tri consisted of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) members representing the Northern, Western and Eastern Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).

Coach Kara Youngs was pleased with how the team finished.

“Each time we go out on the court, we come more together,” Youngs said. “We started a little slower against Kellogg and tried to focus on gaining momentum in games and came up short each set. We bounced back in game two against Schoolcraft and were able to reset and find our rhythm. Each set we played, we had a ton of positive things happening on the court and finished the night strong.”

MCC faced Kellogg Community College for their first opponent at the Schoolcraft Ocelot Tri and fell 20-25, 23-25 and 18-25.

Against Kellogg, Freshman Lauren Rowe, of Portland, recorded a team high of 12 kills hitting .333. Setting up the offense was Freshman setter Tiana Whitacre, of Sheridan, who recorded 26 assists.  Leading the defense was Freshman Defensive Specialist McKenna Nash, of Lowell, who picked up 12 digs and Freshman Lauren Rowe, Abbey Pohl and Kelsey Antcliff each recorded one block. 

The Centurions concluded the tri with a sweep over the host school, Schoolcraft Community College with scores of 25-20, 26-24 and 25-18.

Freshman Lauren Rowe recorded a double-double picking up 12 digs in addition to leading the offense with 14 kills, while hitting .407. Tiana Whitacre set up the offense against the Ocelots and picked up a match high of 30 assists. Defensively, Freshman Libero Lily Bohen, of Sheridan, picked up 13 digs and Kelsey Antcliff, Abbey Pohl, and Piper Groesser each recorded a block.

The Centurions served strong behind the service line. In set two, Freshman Defensive Specialist, Alyssa Unger, of Lakeview served for seven straight points while picking up a pair of service aces. In the third and final set, Freshman Defensive Specialist Josie Kenyon, of Cedar Springs, went on a 5-point serving run and picked up a service ace of her own. 

Freshman Alyssa Unger described the tri as a great opportunity to prepare for MCCAA Northern Conference play that begins on Sept. 11. 

“Playing in the tri tonight provided us with the opportunity to see what some teams are like in the MCCAA and showed us what type of team we could potentially become. After the first match against Kellogg, we needed more communication and needed to work together as a team. In the second game against Schoolcraft, we picked each other back up and everything went great,” Unger said. 

The Centurions look to build off of their momentum as they prepare to start MCCAA Northern Conference play. The Centurions will take on North Central Michigan College for the first home match of the 2023 season at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 11 in the gymnasium in the Activities Building on MCC’s Sidney campus.

Visit montcalmcenturions.com for score updates, season schedules and rosters.