Local Sports: Ulery serves Whiteford volleyball out of deep hole

OTTAWA LAKE – Whiteford’s volleyball team was in a deep hole.

The Bobcats were down 23-13 to Morenci in the second set Thursday night.

Then, Alyssa Ulery stepped to the serving line.

She delivered 12 straight points to wipe out the deficit to win that set and Whiteford took the match 25-13, 25-23, 25-15.

“She is one of our most consistent servers,” Whiteford coach Janie Bunge said. “She gets those floats in there. She was a good one to come up at that time.”

Ulery had a couple of aces near the start of the string. That fired up her teammates.

“At the beginning, she started getting some aces,” Bunge explained. “After that, we got some momentum. It started with Alyssa, then we flew.”

Alaina Andrews was credited with 5 aces and 19 assist, Allison Spradling rang up 13 digs and 5 kills and Mackenzie Ulery added 6 kills.

Whiteford improved to 4-5 overall and 2-1 in the Tri-County Conference.

“We’re starting to get some confidence and playing a lot better overall,” Bunge said. “Last year’s team could not have made that comeback. We have more confidence now. That comeback was really, really exciting."

PREP VOLLEYBALL

Dundee tops Summerfield

DUNDEE − Dundee swept Summerfield in a Teal Attack match Thursday, winning 26-24, 25-19, 25-22.

Kennedy Irwin led Dundee with 9 kills and 6 digs, Keira Woodzell had 17 assists and 13 digs, Briley Bordine recorded 14 digs and 5 assists, and Macy Salenbien added 6 kills, 4 aces and 2 digs.

Addison Ciacelli directed a good effort for Summerfield with 21 assists and 7 service points. Sophia LaRocca (11 points, 6 digs, 4 aces), Julia Fietz (10 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks), and Marissa Eastman (10 digs, 7 kills) also played well.

Dundee won the junior varsity game 25-16, 25-18, 15-10. Addie Spoering and Mia Samples led the Bulldogs.

Zaranka leads sweep

GIBRALTAR − Skylar Zaranka had 12 kills, 9 digs, and 4 aces to lead Gibraltar Carlson to a three-set sweep of Taylor on Thursday. The Marauders won 25-11, 25-22, 25-7.

Emma Ferguson recorded 30 assists, 4 digs, 4 kills and an ace, Abby Schenavar added 11 kills, 3 blocks and 3 aces, and Ava Romej had 5 kills and 2 aces. Molly Crews and Glorida Llakmani also played well.

"The team played under control with aggression," Carlson coach Bill Henneman said. "We have been talking about working to get better every day. Today we looked better than the last time we were on the court. If we can continue that, we will be where to want to be by season's end."

Carlson improved to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the Downriver League.

Mason record evens

ERIE − Erie Mason fell to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Tri-County Conference as Adrian Madison won in four sets Thursday 23-25, 25-11, 25-17, 25-16.

Cami Zaleski shined defensively with 24 digs and added 5 kills, and Jayanna Willets added 12 digs. Beth Sweeney (7 kills, 3 blocks), Audrey Trainor (12 points, 3 aces), and Jenna Wright (3 blocks) also played well.

Adrian Madison also won the JV game.

PREP SOCCER

Schmidtz rallies Ida

MANCHESTER – Evan Schmidtz scored two second-half goals as Ida recovered from a slow start to beat Manchester 4-3 Thursday.

Those two goals completed a hat trick for Schmidtz. He also assisted on a goal by Jaxon Bolster.

Bolster and Titus Benson had assists for the 8-0 Blue Streaks.

“All in all, it was a tight game with Manchester applying a lot of pressure to our midfield,” Ida coach Tim Allen said. “Our team was able to move the ball okay but highlighted some areas where we need to improve on.”

Carlson blanked

GIBRALTAR – Gibraltar Carlson dipped to 7-4-1 with an 8-0 loss to Riverview Thursday.

PREP SWIMMING

Dundee has qualifiers

DUNDEE – Emma Schramm qualified for state diving Regionals and the 400-yard freestyle relay of Emma O’Connell, Joslyn Ball, Lia Parry and Sara Carter qualified for the MISCA state meet during Dundee’s 119-59 win over Tecumseh Thursday.

The Vikings improved to 5-0.

PREP TENNIS

Milan whips Pirates

MILAN – Milan swept the doubles with Gunnar Kruise-Gavin Kruise, Tyler Denham-Nathan Bowman, Tyler Hatfield-Matthew Fink and Grant Segrist-Luke Morse in an 7-1 win over Riverview Thursday.

The Big Reds (7-4-3 overall, 2-0 in Huron League) also won the first three singles flights with Matthew Bowman, Zach Fink and Peter Pena.

The Kruise brothers and Denham-Bowman earned points for Milan Wednesday in a 6-2 loss to Williamston.

Big win for Kaplan

ANN ARBOR – Noah Kaplan earned a straight-set win at No. 1 singles for Bedford Thursday, but the Mules fell 6-2 to Ann Arbor Pioneer.

Jaxon Nejedlik recorded Bedford’s other win.

“Today was the first time Bedford has taken 2 points off perennial powerhouse Ann Arbor Pioneer in boys tennis,” Bedford coach Eric Cukierski said.

Monroe scores two

Azariah Duran and Jack Drougel won for Monroe in a 6-2 loss to Saline Thursday.

PREP GOLF

Noland shoots best

PETERSBURG – Ellie Noland shot a personal-best round of 41 to lead Summerfield to a 199-225 win over Milan Thursday.

Deland Hoffman added a 51 for the Bulldogs and Cameron Taylor had a personal-best 53. Jules Meads led Milan with 52.

Bedford drops dual

ANN ARBOR − Grace Lump carded a team-best 47 for Bedford but it was not enough as Ann Arbor Skyline won 191-204 Thursday.

Ashlen Trimmer scored 51 for the Mules, while Elaina Smith, Elyse Czarnik, and Lauren Werbiansky added 53s.

PREP SWIMMING

Kidd wins breaststroke

ADRIAN – Mackenzie Kidd won the breaststroke for St. Mary Catholic Central in a 118-60 loss to Adrian.

Other standouts for the Kestrels were Monika Burkardt, Maya Zaleski, Mary Claire Wright, Katelyn Rutkowski, Catherine Ambs, Isabelle Niedermeyer, Sunny Duran, Joyce Dietrich and Brigeta Yakoo.

Monroe battles No. 1

ANN ARBOR – Monroe logged a number of personal bests Thursday in a 153-29 loss to Ann Arbor Pioneer, the No. 1 ranked team in the state.

Nicole Rykse, Natalie Synowiec, Olivia Synowiec and Delani Willey performed well.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Local Sports: Ulery serves Whiteford volleyball out of deep hole