|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
March 17, 2002Worth the waitLeland tops in Class DBy MARK URBANRecord-Eagle staff writer KALAMAZOO - Full circle. Every time Leland wins a state championship, a board with all the playoff scores and names of the players is put on the wall of the school's gymnasium. Better call the painters. Leland won the Class D volleyball title Saturday, downing Battle Creek St. Philip 15-12, 15-10. "I'm so excited," senior setter Liza Davenport said. "I'm so pumped about getting a board. We wanted this for so long. I can't even believe it." "It's such a great ending," Leland senior middle hitter Ashley Bouckaert added. "Nobody likes an ending, but if we have to do it, this is a good way to go out. "We just worked so hard to get here and it finally paid off." The state volleyball title was the first since 1980 for the Comets, who finished the season 58-10-1. Leland also wore the state crown in 1978, when coach Laurie Glass was a junior. "We finally get a board," Glass said. "I'm a player on the first board and now I'm the coach on this one." "It was definitely worth the wait,"Leland senior middle hitter EllenPrice added. "It was so much fun." Leland trailed 9-8 in the first game against St. Philip (42-20-11) and held off a late rally in the second. "One thing about this team is we never folded," Price said. "We always stepped it up. Even when we're down or the other team is coming back, we never give up. We never folded. We just kept pushing through to the end." "The thing I love about this team is when we make mistakes, they smile, look each other in the face and you know they're going to get the job done on the next point," Glass said. "I can coach them all I want and I can tell them what to do. But enough said - get it done." Those were the same traits the Comets showed in their 17-15, 16-14 semifinal victory. Leland held off four game-points and rallied from a 10-2 deficit in the second game of the semifinals. That victory might have paid some extra dividends on Saturday for the Comets. Having six seniors on the floor didn't hurt either. "With that game, it was tough and we kept smiling," Bouckaert said. "Today it came naturally. We didn't have to force ourselves to smile. "Everybody was so happy to be playing in this game and playing with each other." "We had fun out there," added Davenport. "It was our last game ever, no matter what. We just laid it all out. I've never had so much fun playing volleyball. I love all the senior girls so much." Davenport finished the championship match with 41 assists. Most of those went to Bouckaert and Price. Bouckaert finished with 18 kills and Price 14. Bouckaert - who started and finished the game with a kill - also added two solo blocks. "Leland's tough," St. Philip coach Vicky Groat said. "They have a lot of senior leadership and they were the No. 1 team. They have a lot of weapons." The Comets also got six kills from Annie Sutter, three from Sarah Wright and two from Megan Grant. "The balanced attack was in our favor and Liza did just an exemplary job running the team," Glass said. Wright added a team-high 11 digs while Sutter and Price chipped in with seven. Wright also had two of Leland's six aces. "Everyone played well," Price said. "Everybody stepped up and that was great." The first game was back-and-forth early. With the two teams tied 5-5, Leland was able to get a three-point run from Price - which featured a block and a kill by Bouckaert - to take an 8-5 advantage. St. Philip erased that with four single points to go up 9-8. Leland got an ace from Wright to tie the score then eventually crept out to a 13-9 lead. The Tigers got as close as 13-10 and 14-12 before Wright served out the match. Leland jumped out quick in game two, scoring the first three points of the game and eight of the first nine. Price and Sutter each had three-point runs as the Comets took an 8-1 lead. Leland would go up 12-4 and 13-5 before St. Philip got five straight points on Alana Cracolici's serve to make things interesting at 13-10. The Comets got their 14th point as Price slid behind Davenport and hammered one home. St. Philip held off one game point before Price served, Bouckaert delivered a kill and Leland had its state championship. While the title is the first for Glass as a coach, she still trails her father, Larry. Larry Glass guided the Comets to three straight girls basketball titles from 1980 to 1982. "My dad has had great success as a coach," Laurie Glass said. "I always tried to pattern my programs after his. This state championship had to come for me to be like him. "But I'm not in his class; I might be in his league." |
|
