Ogemaw Heights varsity volleyball opened the 2023 season with a game against Gaylord Aug. 16.
We lost in five sets: scores were 16-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-19 and lost the last one 4-15. I was really proud of the girls. We went down two sets to none, but they didn’t give up and came back to force a fifth set but came up short.
We only had a couple practices before our first game, so we were a little out of shape and it showed in the last set. It was hot in the gym. They played hard all night, but it finally caught up to us. We weren’t moving our feet and were reaching for everything. I have to give Gaylord a lot of credit. They were scrappy during the last match, digging and diving for everything; not one ball hit the floor.
Offensively, the team was led by senior Kirsten Neubecker with 17 kills, Alivia Whisman with 22 assists and Lucy Luptowski with three aces on the night. Our defense was great and kept us in the game all night. Leading in digs was Lucy Luptowski with 12; Harper Munson and Alivia Whisman each had 10. We finished the night with 60 digs. The back row was pretty solid all night. We had five blocks, led by Kirsten Neubecker with two, to help out the defense.
This group of ladies showed their fight and grit; I’m excited about the rest of the season.
OHHS Volleyball played a home game Aug. 22 and an away game against Beaverton Aug. 23 after press time. The team plays at home Saturday, Aug. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
