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The Citizen-Journal



Sports

PUBLISHED: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Passing, mental focus keys for Boyne in regionals



BOYNE CITY - Only 15 girls volleyball teams in the state are ranked by the coaches' association.

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Three of them are playing in the Class C regional tournament at Kingsley this Saturday. Two of them square off in the second semifinal around 11:30 a.m. when Boyne City faces Kingsley.

Kingsley won its fifth straight district championship last Saturday, overcoming Kalkaska's home court advantage for a 3-1 decision. Kalkaska finished the season 48-10-3.

Suttons Bay also carries an impressive streak into the first semifinal at 10 a.m. against McBain. The Lady Norsemen have won four consecutive district titles.

"Yes, the competition will be awfully good,"Boyne City coach Casie Parker said Monday morning. "To have three ranked teams in the same regional is pretty impressive.

"It makes the job that much harder for us, but I think the girls came together (last Saturday) to win the district. We're playing some of our best volleyball of the season right now.

"We ironed out some differences between coach and players, and it's made us stronger, I think. I'm real proud of the girls for what they accomplished."

Suttons Bay defeated Charlevoix, whom the Lady Ramblers play in the Lake Michigan Conference, in four games for the title 25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 25-22. Charlevoix downed East Jordan 25-14, 25-14, 25-20 in the semifinals.

Kingsley also went four games against Kalkaska in the finals on the Lady Blazers' court. The two teams split the first two games, with the Lady Stags winning the final two.

Boyne City defeated Kingsley twice during the regular season. But, the third one is always the most difficult to get. Especially when it's in the postseason.

Anna Pryor will be key for the Norse. She finished the day 14-of-14 serving with 2 aces, 78 assists, 5 kills and 8 blocks.

Maggie Walter is another player to watch for Kingsley. She was 27-of-28 serving with 6 aces, 7 blocks, 48 kills and 17 digs. Charlotte Stowe is also another top player.

The Ramblers need to stay mentally focused, and be sharp passing the ball.

"It's be our struggle all season,"coach Parker said. "If we can stay mentally focused, we should do well. Sometimes we lose focus, and when we lose focus we can't pass.

"Passing is the key to everything. If we can pass, we have some very good hitters. As long as we get that first pass, we can usually put the ball away."

Jessica Knysz and Amber Kotalik are the Ramblers' two middle hitters. Boyne's top server receivers are Trisha Tomkins, Stacey Spaniak and Kotalik. They also lead in all of the defensive passing.

Serving has been somewhat inconsistent for the Ramblers all season, and coach Parker plans to work on that area of the game hard this week.

"We missed a lot of serves against Rogers City (in the district finals),"coach Parker said. "More than we wanted to, but we still pulled off the win.

"That can be a downer, when someone misses a serve. The whole team gets down. It is important not to give the other team a point ... a free point."





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