Onaway volleyball team wins Pellston Invitational title
PELLSTON – It’s been a long time since Onaway Volleyball won the season-opening tournament in Pellston.
On Saturday, the Cardinals ended a long drought by winning their first Hornet Invitational title in 11 years.
“We’ve been to the finals a few times and always missed out because someone played a little better than us, so it’s pretty cool to start the season with a win,” Onaway coach Steve Watson said. “I was happy with our consistency. I told the girls several times throughout the day that we seemed fluid. In volleyball, good play seems like a machine, the way it moves from front to back, so I felt like we were solid.”
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In group play, the Cardinals beat Harbor Springs (25-13, 25-13), Central Lake (25-14, 25-17) and Pickford (25-14, 25-7) and pulled away from Charlevoix (23-25, 25-12). After defeating East Jordan (25-10, 27-25) in the semifinals, Onaway secured his title with a win over Bellaire (25-22, 25-22) in the final.
The Cardinals (5-0-1) had several standout performances, including 19 kills, 89 assists, 30 digs and 13 aces from Grace Watson, 37 kills, 24 digs and seven aces from Sadie Decker, 14 kills, 35 digs, nine aces and four blocks from Amya Janusky, 23 kills, 23 digs and five aces from Ema DeMaestri and 23 kills, 20 digs and seven aces from Ella Lintz. Carley Karsten (11 kills, 33 digs, nine aces) and Marley Szymoniak (25 digs, three kills, three aces) rounded out Onaway.
“At the end of the day, I thought we were really solid in passing the ball on serve,” Watson said. “Our attack rate was a lot better than I thought it would be. I didn’t expect us to hit the ball that well. We looked like we knew what we were doing. I coached them for two weeks and that’s what I was hoping for.”
“It helped to have a lot of experience on this court.”
Onaway hosts Rogers City and Charlevoix in a three-game series on Tuesday.
Irwin and Hornets reach 3-1-2 at home tournament
It was also a solid day for the Hornets, who finished with an overall record of 3-1-2.
The Hornets beat Pickford (25-18, 25-23) and Harbor Light (25-15, 27-26) and split bracket play with Bellaire (23-25, 25-21) and Harbor Springs (21-25, 25-18). After defeating Charlevoix (25-20, 25-16) in the first round of bracket play, Pellston ended its day with a loss to Bellaire (17-25, 23-25) in the semifinals.
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Lanie Irwin’s 46 kills, 43 digs, nine aces and one block led the Hornets, who got 55 assists, 18 kills, 15 digs and 12 aces from Breanna Willis, 11 kills, 41 digs and 13 aces from Allie Cameron and 46 digs, six aces and one kill from Haleigh Bohn. Erin Kewaygeshik (eight kills, two digs, one block), Dana Ross (two kills, four digs, five aces, two blocks), Alivia Pelaccio (12 digs, one kill), Aubrey Kewaygeshik (10 digs, one kill) and Sophia Nicholls (five digs, four aces) also contributed.
Pellston (4-2-4) travels to Onaway for a three-game series on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
