HOLMES TOWNSHIP — On a night when Wynford recognized its three seniors, a number of younger players also stepped into the spotlight as the Lady Royals topped Colonel Crawford Tuesday night in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference match 25-15, 25-21, 25-17.
Wynford (6-6, 2-5) cruised in set 1 after a 6-6 tie. Gretchen Shade, one of those seniors, along with sophomore Brooke Frombaugh rallied Wynford for an 11-8 lead. At that juncture Colonel Crawford’s lone senior Camryn Powers left with a leg injury. She would return early in the second set, but the young Lady Eagles struggled.
“That was definitely a big impact for us. She’s our only senior and a leader and we rely on her for offense. So not getting into the groove on that first set kind of hurt us,” Lady Eagles head coach Jamie Valentine said. “But we also had some young kids kind of step up and that was good.”
Colonel Crawford (2-11, 0-7) kept it close to start the second set, building a 19-10 lead. But Wynford went on a 13-2 run to win, 25-21.
“We got stuck in that one service pattern for like nine points. At some point, you’ve got to put the ball away,” she said.
Lady Royals head coach Tiniel Nickler said her team showed poise during that stretch.
“We came in and got down and I had to call a time out. We told them we have to be able to serve-receive the ball. Our offense is strong when we have a great pass. If we don’t have the perfect set or the perfect position to hit the ball, roll shot it.”
Freshman Kate McGuire stepped up and delivered when it counted.
“Kate went out there and roll shot it to a doughnut, and it got us the side out and the momentum back. We then got points off Brooke, a great server, and got the momentum back. I tell my team to never back down or give up. Even if we’re down 24 points I’m going to call a timeout and say something.”
McGuire and sophomores Madisyn Watkins and Cali Holbrook added points for Wynford in that set.
The third set belonged to the hosts as Frombaugh got a pair of blocks after Alaina Parr registered a point for the Lady Eagles as Wynford pulled out to an 8-1 lead. Powers and Sydney Rayborn each had kills to rally Colonel Crawford to within a point at 11-10. A couple of runs by Wynford ended the uprising.
Nickler praised her three seniors — Shade, Kendall Naufzinger and Mallorie Williams.
“They’ve instilled that leadership role that a senior should fill. Gretchen takes things into her own hands sometimes in the heat of the moment and really does something on the court to get that point. Kendall is leading us with aces right now and is great with our serves.
“Mallorie is our silent leader, but she is deadly. She is fierce and the team really stands behind her. Those three have grown together and the younger girls really look up to them.”
Overall, the league has a wealth of young talent.
“I feel like there’s a couple of teams in our conference that have these young athletes coming up. You’re excited in the moment … but we also look forward to what’s next and what’s coming up. I look at Crawford and other Northern 10 schools and see what’s coming up,” Nickler said.
Valentine, while disappointed, knows the rebuilding is in process.
“We had nine hitting errors in a row in that second set. It happens when you have a young, inexperienced team. Those are all things we are working to overcome. Mental toughness is a big part of this game, and we just don’t have that right now.”
But they have improved from last season’s 2-21 and 0-14 record.
“We’ve made huge strides since last year. We were never scrappy like that. Tonight, I thought we played scrappy. We struggled with serve-receive and we are more consistent now. We have to work on being more fundamentally sound when it comes to offense. I talked to the hitters after the game … we’re not really good about knowing how to mix up our shots. Therefore, it’s too predictable for a defense to read.”
The Lady Eagles, with the likes of juniors Arabella Stratton and a talented sophomore class of Lexi Rankin, who had several kills, along with Rayborn, Xara Fauser and others, form a great nucleus for the future. Freshmen Saylor Holt, Parr, Sophia Gray, and Emmi Powers also are contributing.
“We have four freshmen and five sophomores. We’re a bunch of youngins. For the most part, they listen to what we say and putting things into play. It’s just a matter of when the time comes you’ve got to step up and make a play,” Valentine said.
“That all comes with time and age.”
On Thursday, unbeaten Mohawk visits Colonel Crawford while Wynford travels to Seneca East.
“It’s the second round (of the N10 slate). We have the film and we as coaches need to pick through that film and see what we need to do as a team,” Nickler said.
“Do I think we’re going to come out and do great and win more games than we have in the past? Absolutely. I have confidence. My team continues growing and we’re working on our mental health, especially with young athletes. I think we can come out with a winning season.”
Wynford won the junior varsity match 25-19, 25-23.