High school volleyball
Bremen takes on Goshen
BREMEN — You never know what you are going to get when you play a homeschool team. Sometimes they can be really good and other times really bad. Usually, there is no in-between.
When the Bremen volleyball team faced the Goshen Blue Blazers Monday night at the Lions’ Den, they found out this time, it was the former.
“During warmups I thought, I hope they can’t pass because they can hit the ball,” said Bremen head coach Justin Cochran. “They are a solid team for sure.”
Although they have just nine players on the roster, the Blue Blazers had a couple of strong hitters that led the way to a straight-set win.
The visitors more than doubled the home team the first two games, but to the Lady Lions’ credit, set three was the most competitive of the night.
Behind two kills and an ace from Lydia Stamm, Bremen was within one, 6-5, in the early going. Goshen then took an 11-7 lead, but kills by freshman Isabella Smith and Emilee Taylor helped the Lady Lions knot the score at 14-all.
Later, Taylor pounded an ace, Hannah Deadmond had a wellplaced dink and Smith added another kill, but the Blue Blazers were able to complete the sweep by a 25-19 score.
“One of the things I’m working the hardest on is for them to realize how they will come along,” added Cochran. “You can hit a million balls in practice, but you need to have that deep drive to win. We’re stressing, ‘Stay in the point; just keep digging the ball.’ The other team can’t score if the ball isn’t hitting the floor and sometimes you’ll score just by them screwing up. Good things happen when you keep it in play.
“(Taylor) has bought into the concept of getting to where you can see the hitter and keep digging balls. That is going to spark everyone. Same thing with (Smith). You tell her to do something and she might mess it up a million times, especially being a freshman, but eventually she’ll get it and she knows she did it. It’s tough being a freshman on varsity and against a big, fast team like (Goshen). (Stamm) is a ball of energy and a spark. She never gets too far down and she hits the ball hard.
“This whole team is so willing to learn.”
It’s a quick turnaround for Bremen as they host Triton tonight.
•GOSHEN RED HAWKS DEF. BREMEN 25-12, 25-10, 25-19