FREMONT — Whitehall ended the season playing some of its best volleyball to date Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough to pull off a district upset against top seed Fremont, as the Vikings lost 25-6, 25-21, 25-17.
After a rough first game that ended with 13 straight points by Fremont thanks in large part to Whitehall's struggles on serve receive, coach Claire McGrew said she tried to take the pressure off her team by focusing on the opportunity that was in front if it, rather than the stakes.
"'We're playing an amazing sport. We're playing an amazing game. We get this opportunity, so let's really lean into that,'" McGrew said she told the team. "I think we just had to shake the nerves off a little bit and then get settled back into what we typically do. That was one of the things that we just had to remind them, but they responded well, and that's all I can ask for."
The motivation worked, and the Vikings (7-25-1) entered game two with a new level of intensity. Whitehall's front line of Kailyn Skuse and Clare Westerlund was a factor at the net, and the Vikes matched the West Michigan Conference Lakes co-champion blow for blow throughout game two, maintaining a lead throughout much of the game.
"They were the energy givers in that moment," McGrew said of her middle hitters. "That spark, that momentum, keeping that streak going if we were on a run, or getting us that side-out point to get back on track. The girls understood what needed to be done."
A seven-point run by Whitehall, which included two aces by Kendyl Weiler and two kills by Westerlund, made it 11-6, and that lead extended to 18-11 after another Viking kill, forcing a timeout.
Fremont righted itself during that break and stormed back, going on a 9-1 scoring binge to take a 20-19 lead. Whitehall briefly answered to tie it at 20, but Fremont's Railee Durham got to the service line and scored an ace to help propel her team ahead for good.
Whitehall did not roll over, however, continuing to push the Packers in game three. Unfortunately, the team made a few too many errors - a running storyline this season - to avoid the sweep. The Vikings did have a lead for some time during the game, from the 4-3 mark to the 11-10 mark, but a few key service errors helped push Fremont ahead again.
"Volleyball's a game of mistakes," McGrew said. "What team is making less errors typically does come out on the winning side of it. Overall, I thought the girls were really resilient about the situation, though. They've grown so much throughout the whole season. When I got to say, 'Hey, we're playing Whitehall volleyball,' at the end, I feel like that is a representation of all their tremendous growth throughout the season."
Fremont showed the potent, explosive attack that led to its undefeated WMC Lakes regular season, which was nothing new to the Vikings, having seen it earlier this year.
"They've been playing with a really quick tempo this whole season, so I think that's something that, when you're at the end of the season, that's one of the things that you have fairly perfected, and so that was one of the things that we prepared really well for," McGrew said. "I thought we handled the quick tempo overall. Live and learn on a couple of those kills, you've got to respect that, At the end of the day, we just made a few too many errors."
Whitehall will have to mesh a new group together next year, with the loss of several key seniors. Among them are Skuse and Kramer, who will play college volleyball at Muskegon Community College and Alma College respectively, and Westerlund, who's committed to play basketball at Alma. Regular contributors Aaliyah Jamison and Maggy Michaelson will also depart.
However, McGrew said the team's JV had a good season, and with both setters - Weiler and Peyton Schultz - set to return, that at least provides the offense with a foundation.
"Our underclassmen have been pretty strong, so bringing those girls up and getting them used to the varsity level will be one of the learning challenges, but I think they're going to be ready for it too," McGrew said.
