The girl’s varsity volleyball team kicked off their season last night at the Grand Haven Invite at Grand Haven High School. This was a highly competitive invitational, and the Rangers took on five different teams and finished the night off with a solid record of 3-2. 

The first team that the Rangers were set to take on was Mattawan Wildcats. This powerhouse team proved to be too much for the Rangers to handle, as they went on to lose in the first two sets of the game. However, this was the first game of their season, and not to mention against a highly skilled team. 

Next, the team was set to take on the West Ottawa Panthers. With a loss behind them, the Rangers were back for revenge and ended up beating West Ottawa. The first set of the game went to the Rangers; however, as the second set came to a close the Panthers had tied up the game. Despite this slight fall back, the Rangers were able to bounce back in the third set and secure themselves their first win of the night. 

Headed into their third back-to-back game of the night the Rangers got ready to play the mighty Moana Shores Sailors. This was a quick game for Forest Hills, as they went to close out the game in only two sets. With yet another win behind them, the Rangers got ready to play in their final two upcoming games of the night. 

This next game the Rangers were headed into the semi-finals against the hosting, Grand Haven Buccaneers, team. Grand Haven has an extremely string volleyball team, and sadly, the Rangers were not able to defeat them in the end. The Buccaneers defeated FHC in two sets and set the Rangers record for the night at 2-2. 

In the teams final game of the night, they took on the Battle Creek Trojans in the third-place game. They destroyed the Trojans in three sets and were able to secure a third-place finish in this tournament. 

Freshman Sarah Dunn is new to the Ranger volleyball team, but stepped up, and contributed immensely for the team throughout the entire night. 

“Being a freshman on varsity is such a great opportunity, and I am so glad I have the chance to play with so many girls who push me to play my hardest,” Sarah said. “They are all such amazing leaders, and I am so proud to be a part of this team.”

Senior Lauren Schofield had a phenomenal night of play last night as an outside hitter. She was able to get to every ball set up for her and earned the team a big portion of their points throughout all five games. Alongside Lauren, sophomore Julia Bouma had an astounding night in the libero position. Rarely, ever letting the ball touch the ground, Julia proved her how hard she worked with the final outcome of last night. 

After this invite, the Rangers are looking forward to what the rest of the season holds. This year’s team is on the young-side with most of their players coming from the junior class; however, despite this, the leadership and team chemistry are good in every aspect of the game. 

“The team chemistry this year is amazing,” junior Morghan Tilton said. “We are all so close on and off the court which is making things so easy. I cannot wait to see what this season has in store for us.” 

Head Coach Dayle Wood has extreme confidence in the team for this upcoming season. With all of the potential, skill, and leadership on the team, Coach Wood is expecting a solid turnout this season. 

“We have so much potential and talent in this program and as a coaching staff, it is our job to capitalize on our strengths and identify our weaknesses,” Coach Wood said. “Our goal is to mold these athletes into the best teams possible and I have full confidence we will accomplish just that very thing.” 

With a full season ahead of them the Rangers have high hopes; however, they will have to overcome several extremely competitive teams in order to end with the record they hope for. The Lowell Red Arrows pose the biggest threat in the way of the Rangers fight for the OK White Conference title, and the Rangers are preparing accordingly. 

“Lowell is a tough and consistent team, but our girls are hungry to give this rival a run for their money,” Coach Wood said.  “I have full confidence that our team will give 110% against every opponent we face, so win or lose we can say we gave it our all.” 

The Rangers next games will be this upcoming Saturday at the WMVOA Invitational, and these games will be taking place at the Michigan Sports Academy starting at 8:00 am. 

“I have really high hopes for this upcoming season,” Morghan said. “I hope by the end we can look back and say we all worked our hardest, and it was one of the best seasons yet.”