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The NJCAA volleyball season is almost two months old and the Montcalm Community College Centurions have yet to host a home game. 

The Centurions (0-1 MCCAA Northern, 1-7 overall) are taking on one more road game — Sept. 16 at Delta College — before they will finally enjoy hosting a home game, which will be Friday, Sept. 18, against Owens Community College. MCC has played eight consecutive games on the road, three of them in the opening season tournament in Rockford, Illinois. 

Centurions head coach Kara Youngs said she has never experienced a schedule with such a long stretch of road games, especially right at the beginning of the season. However, her team has learned a lot from it.

“It’s always hard to travel with consecutive games, especially as much as we have been halfway through the season without a home game yet. It’s been different,” she said. “But traveling comes with a lot of bonding opportunities, and our players have enjoyed that very much, going out to dinners and establishing togetherness on and off the court. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused but they’ve been showing great team chemistry.”

Despite starting 0-6, the Centurions have never shown signs of frustration, according to Youngs. Instead, Youngs has seen her team improve in many areas, including system setups on the offense, which helped the Centurions earn their first win of the season, beating Andrews University, 3-2, Sept. 11. 

The Centurions came out strong, winning the first set with an impressive 25-17 win. The teams then traded wins the next three sets, setting up a tie-breaking fifth set, which MCC won, 15-12.

“We had some disconnect in that second set where we weren’t all on the same wave,” Youngs said. “But in the third set, they got it back. I was impressed with how we were able to make adjustments in our lineup and they responded with a win in that fifth set.”

Youngs said the team bonding over the last six road games paid off against Andrews.

“They showed the ability to stay together as a team as far as figuring things out with the adjustments and changes we made,” she said.

Ayanna Sanders (Caledonia, Mich.) set a new school record for kills in a game with 17, and Erin Borek (Grand Rapids, Mich.) had an impressive 27 digs and nine scoring aces. Borek continues to be one of the leaders in digs per set in the state, currently ranked second. 

MCC opened up conference play on Sept. 14 against host Muskegon Community College, which has proven to be a perennial powerhouse in the league. Despite a 3-2 loss, Youngs said this matchup was her favorite so far this season.

“When you go into each match, as the season progresses, you see a shift in your team. In this match, this was a big shift for us,” Youngs said. “We’ve never had a five-set match against Muskegon. Falling short of a win was tough, but each match we lost was only by two or three points.”

Youngs said the Centurions showed their best team chemistry of the season against the Jayhawks, going toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the conference. Despite losing, she called this match a win for her team.

“You could see the confidence in them. It was growing within themselves and among each other,” Youngs said. “It’s starting to progress and it showed here.”

Youngs said the Centurions did well with adjusting mid-set and with players filling in for others when it mattered most. 

MCC took the first set, 25-20, lost the next two, each time by only two points, then won the fourth set, 25-22, before losing 15-12 in the decisive fifth set.

Both Sanders and Aubrie Uebele (Greenville, Mich.) surpassed the recently established new school record for kills in a game, with Sanders finishing with 20 and Uebele finishing with 17. Borek once again stepped up, leading the team in digs with 23. Edy Davidson (Carson City, Mich.) finished with four blocks. 

“We stayed efficient and limited errors and were more selective with our sets against Muskegon,” Youngs said. “Our hitters were smart with what they were going to do and had a plan, and you see that translate with our numbers. Credit goes to our defense, too, which got us into so many in-system setups.”

UP NEXT: The Centurions will face the Delta College Pioneers (1-1 MCCAA Northern, 4-7 overall) in Saginaw Sept. 16, starting at 6:30 p.m. 

MCC’s first home game of the season will be this Friday, Sept. 18, against Owens Community College. Game time is at 6:30 p.m.