The first two sets of the Wolverine Conference match between Allegan and Otsego on Thursday, Sept. 19, couldn’t have been any closer. Each was decided by two points, with the Bulldogs taking game one 25-23, and the Tigers taking game two 27-25.
The next two sets weren’t quite as close, as Otsego won both by scores of 25-18 and 25-17 to take the match.
“It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth match,” Allegan coach Hannah Hill said.
Grace Will had a solid overall performance for the Bulldogs, finishing with a team-high 23 assists to go with 12 digs, five kills and four aces. Erikah Brower led Otsego with 11 kills and her 18 digs were one behind Morgan Shearer’s team-best 19.
Otsego coach Danielle Littel was pleased to get a win, but believes the Bulldogs are capable of playing much better.
“We continue to battle ourselves, sometimes more than the opponent across the net,” Littel said. “We talk often about controlling the controlables, and I think we need to do a much better job with that.
“We tend to have a high amount of unforced errors. Some of that is physical, but I believe most of it is mental. We are trying to drive that home with our players. You have to focus, you can’t settle for average.
Olivia Ott paced Allegan in kills with 17 and aces with six. Alison Bishop and Jenna Kutcher combined to lead the defensive effort with 24 digs.
“I thought Allegan came out really strong and scrappy,” Littel said “Give (Hill) credit. She’s doing great things.”
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