Lady Pilgrims blast to another NLC win
PLYMOUTH — Having just played - and defeated - Mishawaka three days prior during a tournament, Plymouth head volleyball coach Jon Hutton may have been a little worried that his team might take the Lady Cavemen lightly tuesday night.
Nothing to worry about coach.
Led by the hitting of Maddy Figg and the blocking of taylor Delp, the Lady Pilgrims defeated Mishawaka in three straight sets, this time counting as a Northern Lakes Conference victory at Plymouth High School.
Figg led the Plymouth hit parade with 11 kills, as the Lady Pilgrims gave Mishawaka a heavy dose of heavy hitting all night long.
“there isn’t anybody who hits it harder than Maddie Figg,” said Hutton of the junior outside hitter. “She’s very coachable and she has developed so much this year. Her serve is fantastic. She’s so high and makes such good contact that she puts so much topspin on it. We’re really pleased. She’s a wonderful athlete.”
Figg joined Chloe Holten and Miranda German with three kills apiece in Set 1, as the team pounded 11 total to win 25-14. the Lady Pilgrims jumped out to a 19-5 lead so when Mishawaka scored seven straight late in the set, it didn’t matter. Clare Sheedy also contributed two aces.
Mishawaka took an early 7-3 lead in Set 2, but Plymouth chipped away at the gap, catching the Lady Cavemen at 9-all. the set had eight ties, the last at 21-21, before PHS pulled away by scoring four of the final five points. taylor Delp and German each had a pair of aces and Figg blasted four more kills.
“Ironically, we had more kills the second set when the score was tighter,” continued Hutton. “We had a lot of blocks, a lot of aces. We kind of spread out our expertise. It’s keeping kids playing at that high level that is the challenge, not letting off the gas. that has been our problem at times, but we’re getting better at keeping our focus.”
Set 3 was close early and the score was tied at 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-all before Plymouth doubled up Mishawaka the rest of the way to win 25-16. Delp was part of four blocks that helped PHS take control.
“She’s really coming on,” Hutton said of the sophomore. “We’re doing swim blocking this year, which is a new pattern, and we work on blocking a lot. there is a lot of learning going on, just the timing of it. taylor’s really coming along. She’s a competitive kid and really wants to touch the ball. She did a nice job for us. It’s exciting for the future.”
Figg added another four kills in the final set and German three to finish with eight overall.
German, the lone senior on the roster, was recognized before the match for going over the 1,000 mark for offensive plays (kills and digs combined) in her career. (She’s actually closer to 1,500 with over 750 kills and 600 digs.) Sheedy, a junior, was also recognized beforehand in honor of her reaching the 1,000 assist mark in Monday’s match against Knox.
“It’s exciting to see kids recognized for the things that are going on,” concluded Hutton. “Miranda has been so efficient and effective and is a competitor all the time. Clare has done a great job as well.”
Plymouth is off now until it hosts Glenn next Monday night. the JV start time is 6 p.m. followed by the varsity.