By Michael Rupp
The MMCRU Royals volleyball team improved to 2-0 last Thursday. The Royals headed to Kingsley-Pierson High School to face the 0-1 Panthers. It was a strong start for MMCRU, who took the first set 25-7. ¨Going into the game, the plan was to stop McKenzie Goodwin, ¨ said Senior Ellie Hilbrands. ¨We also tried to run as many combinations as possible to keep them off balanced. ¨ The Royals kept rolling through the second set, winning it 25-16, but the third set got interesting. ¨We kinda just fell apart all together, ¨ said Hilbrands. ¨We didn’t receive serves very well so that hurt us. If we don’t receive serves, then we can’t set it up, so we have do that. ¨ The Royals ended up losing the 3rd set 31-29, but the Royals cleaned things up in the 4th, winning it 25-16. They went home happy with a 3 sets to 1 victory.
Hilbrands added, ¨We really just have to trust each other more. Trust that our teammates will do their jobs and not try to do everyone else’s job. Let the hitters hit, let the setters set. Most importantly, we have to pass better. We can’t run any offense if we do not pass well. ¨
Hilbrands had a strong night, totaling 22 kills and 21 digs. Senior Taylor Harpenau also had a nice performance, scoring 24 assists and 12 digs.