Brandon’s varsity volleyball team had their ups and downs this past week.
The down point for the Blackhawks came when they lost a tough contest Jan. 30 to Lapeer West 16-25, 25-15, 25-27, 15-25. Brandon’s record is now 14-14-6 overall and 3-4 in the Flint Metro League.
Savannah Stedman had 29 kills and six blocks, and was 13-of-14 serving. Andrea Lewis was 13-of-13 serving with 16 digs, while Brittany Kelley was 23-of-24 passing with 13 digs.
‘This was a tough loss for us,? Brandon coach Brian Williams said. ‘We did not come out with the defensive intensity that Lapeer West had. We were not able to bounce back after the game three loss.?
On Saturday, Jan. 28, the Blackhawks made it to the semifinals of the Owosso Invitational before losing to Saginaw Swan Valley 25-23, 21-25, 10-15. Swan Valley then lost to Marysville in the finals of the tournament.
Brandon went 2-1-3 on the day, tying three of their four opponents in pool play ? DeWitt, Owosso and Okemos. The Blackhawks also defeated Gabriel Richard in pool play.
In the medal rounds, the Blackhawks defeated Fowlerville 25-21, 19-25, 16-14 before losing to Swan Valley in the semifinals.
Stedman made the all-tournament team for the second straight year, amassing 70 kills, nine blocks, six aces and 16 digs. Lewis had a career day, going 42-for-44 serving with nine aces and 25 digs, while Kelley (whom Williams said has been ‘very consistent? as of late) was 52-for-57 passing with 11 aces and 30 digs.
‘Overall, I was very proud of our performance at Owosso,? Williams said. ‘This is the second straight week this team has made it to the semifinals of a tournament. We are making a ton of progress. We are becoming a very difficult team to beat. We were just a few points away from playing Marysville in the finals.?
The Blackhawks earned a big victory in Flint Metro play Thursday, Jan. 26 with a 25-19, 15-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-13 win against visiting Oxford. Brandon improved to 3-0 in home matches this season.
Lindsay Moskal had 16 kills for the Blackhawks, while Stedman had 26 kills, four blocks and 19 digs. Oliver added 29 digs, 6 kills and two aces for Brandon.
‘This was one of the biggest wins for the program in recent years,? Williams said. ‘Oxford is a great team. They were very scrappy and dug a lot of our hits. Defensively, this was one of our best games of the year.?