Volleyball roundup: Marlatt breaks J-L kill record, Gaylord hosts senior night
BOYNE CITY ― The name Marlatt was already engrained into the Johannesburg-Lewiston record books before this week.
It just got added to another spot.
Jayden Marlatt, a junior volleyball, basketball and softball player for the Cardinals, has followed in her brother Preston's footsteps, taking center stage every time she steps on a court or a field in a J-L uniform.
And this week, she further cemented herself as not only one of the top players on this year's J-L volleyball squad, but as one of the best in program history, breaking the record for career kills in just her third season.
The week started with a trip to Bellaire, where the Cardinals completed a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-14, 25-16) in their final conference game. Marlatt had 11 kills and 16 digs in the victory, helping the Cardinals finish with 7-1 record in the Ski Valley and place second overall behind Inland Lakes (8-0).
The Cardinals concluded the week with matches with Boyne City and Mackinaw City on Thursday, and that's where Marlatt had her record-breaking performance. J-L split their matches on the day, defeating Mackinaw (25-23, 25-22) before falling to Boyne (27-25, 19-25, 16-18), but Marlatt's team-leading 28 kills put her at 1,149 for her career, breaking Tara Madej's record of 1,120 kills from 2017-20.
She now owns both the single-season kills record (493 kills) and the career record, adding to her J-L legacy as she goes.
J-L is now 38-6 overall, wrapping up the regular season this week with Lincoln Alcona and Inland Lakes on Tuesday and Forest Area and Central Lake on Thursday.
Gaylord volleyball
GAYLORD ― The Gaylord Blue Devils wrapped their regular season at Jim Mongeau Gymnasium last week as they welcomed Cadillac on Wednesday, October 19.
The match did not go the way the Blue Devils planned, going down in a three-set sweep to Cadillac (25-23, 25-17, 25-18), but it was still a night filled with wonderful moments as the program honored the Class of 2023.
It started as all six seniors (Maddie Gohl, Meghan Keen, Alexis Kozlowski, Abby Radulski, Hannah Fisher and Maddi Dipzinski) and their families were honored pregame, meeting head coach Brittany Cornish with an embrace before taking the court one final time.
Then, the team went out of their way to honor one member of their team the best they could.
The season has not gone the way senior Maddie Gohl had hoped as a knee injury has kept her out of the lineup all year. In her final home game, however, her head coach made sure to get her one last bit of playing time.
Gohl, knee brace and all, got the start as she took her place in the back row of the defense. It was clearly meant to be one play, and possibly a play where she wouldn't even have to move much. However, regardless of the sport, the ball has a funny way of finding the right person.
Cadillac's first serve went right to Gohl, and she was ready, receiving the serve with a nice pass to her teammates. It set up a picture-perfect first play for Gaylord, resulting in a quick kill for a one-point lead. Then, the emotions started to flow.
Gohl would get back with a serve to start the second set as well before subbing back out one final time.
Statistically, seniors Abby Radulski and Alexis Kozlowski led the way, with Radulski finishing with 13 kills and Kozlowski adding 11. Sophomore Ava Wells chipped in with 11 digs, while senior Maddi Dipzinski led with 14 assists.
Gaylord also wraps the regular season this week, heading to Alpena on Wednesday before wrapping with a tournament at Boyne City on Saturday. Then, the Blue Devils will host the first two rounds of Districts, starting with a first-round matchup with Alpena on Tuesday, November 1.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Volleyball roundup: Jayden Marlatt breaks J-L kill record, Gaylord hosts senior night
