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It was a long trip, but a historic win made it all worth it for the Montcalm Community College Centurions women’s volleyball team, which traveled six hours to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to take on Bay College in Escanaba, Sept. 28. 

The Centurions delivered one of the most dramatic wins in program history, rallying from a nine‑point deficit in the fourth set and outlasting Bay College (3-2 MCCAA Northern, 8-6 overall) in five sets for a 3‑2 MCCAA Northern Conference victory — the Centurions’ first-ever road win over the Norse. 

MCC won by scores of 29‑27, 19‑25, 19‑25, 25‑23, 15‑12, snapping Bay’s hold on first place and earning what head coach Kara Youngs called a defining moment for her team. 

“Absolutely great,” Youngs said. “We’ve never beaten them on the road.” 

While the fifth set provided the final exclamation point, Youngs said the real turning point came in the fourth. MCC trailed 17-8 before storming back to win 25‑23, flipping the match’s momentum and igniting the bench. 

“That fourth set shows what our team is — full of grit,” Youngs said. “They know when it’s on the line, they give it all. It took one momentum play and they went with it and built off that.” 

The Centurions (1-3 MCCAA Northern, 2-10 overall) carried that surge into the fifth set, where they controlled the pace late and closed out the match with steady serving and improved communication — two areas Youngs said have been focal points in recent practices. 

“We’ve focused on making serves in bigger moments, not being quite as aggressive, just making the other team play,” Youngs said. “Tonight, winning by two or three points, we made big serves. In the past, we weren’t as strong with that.” 

Sophomore setter Abbie Rushmore (Lakeview, Mich.) played a crucial role in MCC’s turnaround, entering off the bench in the fourth and fifth sets to stabilize the offense and help fuel the comeback. 

Rushmore said she was happy to being a part of the team’s historic win. 

“The win felt amazing and so rewarding,” Rushmore said. “This is the first time since the program started that we have beat Bay on their home court, which was so amazing.” 

She said the team’s energy in the final points was unlike anything they had experienced this season. 

“In those last few moments of the game the atmosphere was amazing, feeding off each other’s energy and celebrating every point scored,” Rushmore said. “Not only did we compete under pressure, we had fun doing it.” 

Rushmore added that traveling to Escanaba the day before helped the team stay fresh. 

“The bus ride to Escanaba is definitely difficult,” she said. “Leaving the day before really helped us because we did not sit for hours the day of the game.” 

Despite the nerves that come with entering late in tight sets, Rushmore said she stayed composed. 

“Coming off the bench in tough moments can definitely be nerve-racking, but I do not let the fear of my mistakes overshadow what I know I can do,” she said. “I stayed calm and confident and looked for my best options to put away a ball.” 

Youngs praised her team’s communication — especially during moments when the match started to slip. 

“We talked about how it’s easy to communicate when things are going well, but when things go sideways, communication can break down,” Youngs said. “They stayed communicating whether they were up or down.” 

She highlighted sophomore libero Erin Borek (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and freshman outside hitter Aubrie Uebele (Greenville, Mich.) as key voices. 

“Erin is always in communication in the back row, so that’s been really big on the defensive side,” Youngs said. “Aubrie brings in big energy and communicates well.” 

With starters rotating out at points, Youngs said the team adjusted faster than usual. 

“There were moments energy got a little down, with starters out the rest of the match,” she said. “To reconfigure was an adjustment, but they figured it out quicker than normal.” 

The win, Youngs said, is a major confidence boost. 

“Bay was tied for first,” she said. “To come out and beat a top‑seeded team, five sets on the road, shows the capability that we knew we had. We’ve had many five‑set matches in conference so far. We talked about getting over that last hump and getting that win. It’s a good turning point.” 

Rushmore agreed. 

“Beating Bay definitely gives us some confidence moving forward into the season,” she said. “It drives us to keep competing and claim a spot in postseason.” 

UP NEXT 

MCC travels to Kirtland Community College (1-3 MCCAA Northern, 6-7 overall) Wednesday, Sept. 30. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. The Centurions then return home for six straight matches, beginning Oct. 2 vs. North Central Michigan at 6:30 p.m.