The Sun and News, Saturday, October 30, 2021/ Page 11Scots open postseason at TK Monday
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Scots are ready for a
state tournament run.
The Caledonia varsity
volleyball team will open the
MHSAA Division 1 state
tournament with a contest
against Thornapple Kellogg
in Middleville Monday eve-
ning. The winner of that
match takes on Kalamazoo
Central in the district semifi-
nals Wednesday at Byron
Center High School after the
opening semifinal betweenthe host Bulldogs and Gull
Lake Blue Devils.
The district final is
planned for 6 p.m. Thursday,
Nov. 4, back in Byron Center.
Caledonia has wins over
Gull Lake and Byron Center
on the season. Byron Center
is the only team in the district
getting any kind of recogni-
tion at the moment in the
Division 1 state rankings,
listed among the honorable
mention teams.
The Caledonia girls have
reason to like their chances
of hoisting a district champi-
onship trophy in 2021.
“I feel really good about
it,” Fighting Scot head coach
Val Lurye said of where her
team stands heading into the
state tournament. “Our fresh-
men are playing really well.
They finally have clicked.
Ella [Moorlag], our senior
kind of took a little bit of a
dip there in the middle of the
season, but she is back to
playing where she was at the
beginning of the year. Avery
[Palmateer] is playing the
best she has ever played. I
feel like everything is com-
ing together really well.”
“[Avery] is starting to
understand who to set when
and she is making way more
athletic plays at the net. She
is far more aware of the other
side and is putting our attack-
ers in better positions.
[Freshman middle] Josie
[Noble] can hit on the left,
right and middle and
[Palmateer] can look at the
blockers and put Josie in the
best possible position she
can. She has gotten much
better at that.”
The Fighting Scot coach
has also seen improvements
in Palamateer’s defensive
play of late. Her three-year
varsity setter is trusting her
teammates more to pass the
ball should the offense be
forced out of system and
sticking in position to dig
balls longer before rushing to
get in position to set.
Coach Lurye and the
Scots were also pleased to
welcome back junior defen-
sive specialist Erin Asper,
who returned to practice
Wednesday after being out
for nearly four weeks. Her
return helps complete the
Scots’ defensive alignment
in the back row.
Caledonia closed the reg-
ular season Thursday by win-
ning two out of three, best-
of-three set matches, at its
home Caledonia Quad. The
Scots knocked off Harper
Creek 25-11, 25-14 and
Stevensville Lakeshore
25-10, 25-15. Lakewood, a
team ranked second in the
state in Division 2 and com-
ing off back-to-back state
runner-up finishes, scored a
25-13, 25-18 win over the
Scots in the final match of
the evening.
“I feel like we finally
didn’t play down to the level
we were playing against,”
Lurye said of the first two
wins. “We just stuck to theplan and competed all the
way through. It was good to
just finish a game, start to
finish.”
Caledonia led the second
set with Lakewood 13-
before the Vikings took
charge. Moorlag and fresh-
man outside hitter Cambria
Gaier led the Scots’ offense
in the early portion of thatsecond set.
Lakewood freshman set-
ter Abby Pickard fired a sec-
ond ball deep for a kill to get
her team within a point and
then the Vikings’ all-state
outside hitter, the Michigan
State University bound
Maradith O’Gorman,
smacked three consecutive
kills to move their team infront 16-13. The lead went to
17-13 when an attack by
Noble flew wide of the court.
Noble’s swing seemed to
glance off a Viking block,
but it wasn’t something that
any of the officials noticed.
O’Gorman smacked five
more kills for the Vikings as
they pulled away to close out
the match.We are Looking to add
HOURLY MANAGERS
to our McDonald’s teamIf you are interested in:- Flexible Schedules
- Opportunities for Advancement
- Tuition Assistance of $12,
- Health and Dental Insurance
- A 401K Plan
Starting Wage up to $17 an hour
We Want to Talk to you!Committed to the best and start your
career today!
Ask for an application today or
Text “MI218” to 38000 – Caledonia McDonald’s
Waterproofing in the 21st Century
Give us a call at 269-758-
Over 29 Years Of Basement Construction & WaterproofingCONCRETE STOP LEAK
AFFORDABLE Epoxy Pressure Injection
Stop Leaking Basements from the INSIDE
No Digging • No Excavating • Lifetime Guarantee
Over 15 Years Epoxy Experience • Residential & Commercial
Licensed • References Available
Smartphone friendly web page: concretestopleak.comCaledonia’s Josie Noble (6) and Georgia Pennington (10 in white) rise up to try
and thwart an attack by Lakewood all-state senior hitter Maradith O’Gorman in
the final match of the Caledonia Quad Thursday evening. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Caledonia senior outside hitter Ella Moorlag looks
to fire an attack by the block of Lakewood junior Ellie
Possehn during their match at the Caledonia Quad
Thursday evening. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Caledonia junior setter Avery Palmateer puts a
pass up as Lakewood’s Maradith O’Gorman looks on
from the other side of the net during their match at
the Caledonia Quad Thursday evening. The Scots
were 2-1 on the day, falling to Lakewood after scoring
wins over Harper Creek and Stevensville Lakeshore.
(Photo by Brett Bremer)