Click the AUDIO buttons to hear interviews with Hope Varoni, Ava Johnson, and Coach Dan Porath.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse women's volleyball team finally played on their home court Saturday, and the home cooking came through as the Norse swept past Bryant and Stratton College and Blackhawk Technical College as part of a four-team round-robin tournament.
Bay defeated the Bryant and Stratton Bobcats in the morning match, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-18), and the Norse took down the Blackhawk Falcons in a very short one-hour long afternoon match, 3-0 (25-6, 25-14, 25-19).
Also in Saturday's tournament, Bryant and Stratton beat North Central Michigan, 3-0, and NCMC defeated Blackhawk, 3-0.
For the Norse, it extended the team's winning streak to five matches. Bay lost its first four matches at a tournament in Illinois to open the season, but bounced back the following week with three victories in the Detroit area. Now, with two wins on Saturday, the Norse have improved their season record to 5-4.
“We're definitely heading in the right direction,” Norse Coach Dan Porath said. “I really like the way this team is coming together. This team plays well together, and it's a complete team effort for us to get the victories.”
Among the team's leaders is sophomore Hope Varoni. The Bark River-Harris High School graduate has embraced her leadership role, and she passed a personal milestone on Saturday by registering her 1,000th career assist.
“Just trying to get the freshmen settled in, and getting them to learn the Way of Dan,” Varoni smiled. “It's been good, though. Everyone's been responding well. We've really been working as a team better. It's been great.”
So, where does Varoni think the improvement has come from the most?
“Those first four games, we were just kind of all around, scrambling, struggling,” she said. “But we've really been locking in in practice. We've been working on our defense, We've been working on our serve-receive, hitting our shots, and it's really been paying off.”
Norse freshman Ava Johnson of Menominee agreed.
“We had a couple of things coming out of the opening week tournament that we wanted to work on,” Johnson said. “A lot of communication. Talking more. Keying in on serve-receive.”
Porath says he does not regret going to that season-opening tournament in Rockford, Ill., where his team was swept in all twelve sets, losing four matches by 3-0 scores.
“I think that tournament is something we're going to do every year, just because it brings to light what Bay College volleyball needs to be,” Porath said. “Every year we go there, we take our lumps. But we come back and we learn how we need to be better, and we respond. And this team really responded this year. We're going to win games by hustle.”
Bay College has a big stretch coming up as the MCCAA North Conference season begins. The Norse will take on Delta College Monday night, and will travel to Petoskey Wednesday night to face North Central Michigan.
“This is where the season really starts for us now, once we get into divisional play here,” Porath said. “The home environment has been great for us. It's not easy for teams to travel here. Our gym is a little bit smaller, and it is loud.”
First serve Monday night between the Norse (5-4) and Pioneers (4-6) is set for 6:30 in Escanaba.
