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Though it did not pick up a win in the opening weekend tournament in Rockford, Illinois, the Montcalm Community College Centurions women’s volleyball team earned experience that hopefully will help when conference play begins. 

The Centurions, in their fourth year since the program was created, went 0-4 in the tournament, losing to Rochester Community and Technical College, 3-0, Highland Community College, 3-0, Northeast Community College, 3-0, and McHenry County College, 3-1, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-23.  

It was a rough start for head coach Kara Youngs’ team; however, she said the experience of playing on the road in another state is never easy, especially with it being the opening weekend of college volleyball. 

“It’s always tricky because you can’t really gameplan,” Youngs said. “You might be able to get to the tournament soon enough to watch a game before, but you can’t look at stats to help the team get prepared. As the season goes on, you have those resources. In this tournament, we played an opponent not knowing anything about them and you have to make adjustments as you go.” 

While MCC could not pick up a win, Youngs said her team got a lot of exposure and experience to other teams and situations that will eventually help the team in the long run. 

“I explained to my players that this is for preparation for our conference play,” Youngs said. “We need to take those losses and the experience we just had into our conference play. The focus is on that because that is what determines our postseason.”  

MCC finished short of its goal of making the postseason last year, finishing 6-19 overall and 1-11 in the MCCAA Northern Conference. Injury and constant game plan adjustments played a big part in holding last year’s team back. This year, Youngs is using the long stretch of road games that the team is facing early in the season to make adjustments before conference play begins. 

The Centurions travel to Schoolcraft College on Aug. 27 — game time is 5 p.m. — which will be MCC’s first game against a Michigan Community College Athletics Association opponent. Schoolcraft is in the Eastern Division while MCC is in the Northern Division. 

Their next game will be one of four road matchups scheduled for MCC until it finally has a home game, which will be Friday, Sept. 18 against Owens Community College. Youngs said this will be the longest stretch of road games to start a season for MCC since the program was introduced four years ago. 

“It can get a little exhausting mentally because you’re traveling and having to get off a bus and compete,” Youngs said. “So in order to focus in on a gameplan, we’re getting there early enough to really get moving and get into volleyball mindset.” 

Youngs said despite not winning a game, the Centurions progressively made improvements and were quite competitive by the end of the last game. The Centurions’ defense, she said, was most impressive. 

“I saw some really great things. Our defensive play was really strong and consistent in every match,” she said. “We got better and better with each match. They played lights out defense against our last opponent.” 

Sophomore outside hitter and defensive specialist Erin Borek (Grand Rapids, Mich.) agreed. 

“After our tournament in Illinois, we’ve climbed to No. 1 in the state for digs per set and No. 3 for blocks per set,” Borek said. “While our defense is strong, to secure more wins, we need to improve our offense. Great defense alone won’t win points unless we can finish them.” 

This week, the team focused on its offense, working on efficiency and its hitting connections and being better playing out of system, something that needed to be better in the Illinois tournament, Youngs said. 

Currently, Borek is ranked No. 2 in the state for digs per set, according to Youngs. Freshman Irelynn Pachulski (Saranac, Mich.) also performed well, and is ranked 14th in the state in digs, currently.  

“We had that expectation there for Erin,” Youngs said. “She’s in her second year and is a team captain, so we have high standards for her, which she set for herself. Irelynn did really well, defensively. I thought, with her being new to the team, she did really well.” 

The comfortability Borek has established with her team already helped her to do well in the Illinois tournament, she said. 

“The support from my teammates motivates me to give 100% effort on every point,” Borek said. “My coaches have always seen me as a utility player, placing me where the team needs me most. It’s truly an honor to step into the libero role for this upcoming season.” 

Youngs also credited freshman Aubrie Uebele (Greenville, Mich.) and Rylee Mooney (Belding, Mich.) who teamed up for impressive kills throughout the tournament and led the team in attacks. Freshman Ava Flynn (Belding, Mich.) also impressed Youngs with great blocking out of the middle. She is currently ranked 19th in the state for blocks per set.  

Youngs’ Centurions team has nine freshmen this year with seven returning players who are now sophomores. She said the team so far is meshing well. 

“The sophomores are doing well with leadership, and the freshmen are very receptive to the system and the expectations and things we’ve been doing to get ready for the season,” Youngs said.  

UP NEXT: The Centurions will be on the road to Lansing Tuesday, Sept. 8 to play against Great Lakes Christian College. Game time is 6 p.m. 

OPENING WEEKEND TOURNAMENT RESULTS 

Rochester CTC: 14-25, 14-25, 10-25 

Top MCC player: Erin Borek, 13 digs 

Highland CC: 17-25, 17-25, 19-25 

Top MCC player: Erin Borek, 15 digs 

Northeast CC: 9-25, 11-25, 21-25 

Top MCC player: Erin Borek, 20 digs 

McHenry CC: 16-25, 26-24, 26-28, 19-25 

Top MCC players: Jocee Pleune and Erin Borek, 17 digs each; Aubrie Uebele, 7 kills