News
The Montcalm Community College women’s volleyball team picked up its first home win of the season by sweeping the Great Lakes Christian College Crusaders 3-0, Monday, Oct. 12.
The Centurions won 25‑20, 25‑21, 25‑17 in a strong, controlled performance in all three sets.
The win moves MCC to 2‑5 in the MCCAA Northern Conference and 4‑12 overall, while GLCC drops to 9‑7 overall.
Centurions head coach Kara Youngs said the difference from the teams’ first meeting — a five‑set battle that favored GLCC Sept. 14 — was clear from the opening set.
“Everything we did was just better,” Youngs said. “We forced them out of system more than the first time. It was hard to stop their big hitters last time, but this time we did well. They weren’t able to get the big momentum hits.”
GLCC led 10‑8 early in the first set before MCC took control midway through and held the lead the rest of the way. Sets two and three followed a similar pattern, with MCC trailing at the halfway point before settling in and closing strong.
Youngs said the team’s energy stayed steady throughout the match.
“At times, late in the third set, the energy shifted down,” she said. “That’s when I reminded them to keep talking, because that communication would spark that energy back — and it worked.”
Freshman Ayanna Sanders (Caledonia, Mich.) led MCC with 14 kills, hitting .184 and providing what Youngs called “good momentum plays” that fed the team’s energy. Sophomore Edy Davidson (Carson City, Mich.) added 7 kills and hit .286.
Youngs called Sanders the team’s spark plug when she is on.
“You can tell Ayanna has a certain kind of confidence when she’s on, and she builds that in others,” Youngs said. “Her being on fuels our offense. We’ve moved the ball around and run different plays to provide more kills.”
Youngs said the win reflects the team’s potential, even if the record doesn’t show it.
“I think it shows what our potential has,” she said. “We have such a competitive team — it’s just coming together at the same time. We’ve had great moments, but we need more and better timing. We have it in us to compete with every team. We beat the current No. 1 team (Delta College). We have it — it’s just staying consistent from set to set.”
Program milestones and state rankings
MCC continues to climb statistically within the MCCAA:
Erin Borek ranks No. 2 in the state in service aces per set and No. 3 in digs per set
Amy Anderson ranks No. 21 in assists per set
Ayanna Sanders ranks No. 20 in kills per set
As a team, MCC ranks No. 2 in the state in digs per set
The program also saw two major individual milestones this season:
Sophomore Erin Borek set a new program record with 10 aces in a single match against Delta College
Andie Bennett set the program record for highest hitting percentage in a match (.611) with 11 kills, zero errors on 18 attempts, and added 15 digs for a double‑double vs. North Central Michigan College
Home stretch ahead
The Centurions will have three more home games ahead of them, giving them a great opportunity to make an impact on their conference standing, according to Youngs.
“It gives us a rest period from travel,” she said. “Being able to play at home means more time for rest and less sitting on a bus. We have three big conference matches that are really going to help determine placement for the end of the season. Having that advantage is big for us, and I hope we can capitalize on it.”
UP NEXT
MCC will host the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks (4-3 MCCAA Northern, 9-9 overall) Oct. 14 with the game beginning at 6:30 p.m. The teams last met Sept .14, which the Jayhawks won, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12.