Kate Ryan and Carmen Marshall came together to lead JV volleyball to a 2-1 record in the East Kentwood invitational.

The Rangers took the first two pool games against East Kentwood and Kenowa Hills, sweeping both sets in each match. As the Rangers took the floor against a hot Byron Center team in the finals, the Bulldogs of Byron Center proved to be too much.

A quick lead for the Rangers dissipated quickly, as the Bulldogs ran out to a 10-5 lead. The Rangers, however, held strong and slowly came all the way back pulling within one. Sophomore Carmen Marshall then came through with a major kill to throw momentum in favor of the Rangers. Sophomore Kate Ryan then served the Rangers to an early game win.

Game two held a different story. Byron Center jumped out early and kept the lead, holding the Rangers to minimal scoring. A late push amounted to nothing, as the Bulldogs pulled through comfortably with a 25-21 win.

Byron Center, using their size in the front, pulled away with game three 15-7 in the finals of the Invitational.

“I think if we had less unforced errors on our side of the net, we probably would’ve had a different outcome,” head coach Natalie Roelfzema said.

As much as a win would’ve been optimal, the Rangers are happy they improved from a 1-2 showing a week ago.

“I think it’s great. I’ve seen improvement with the girls already this season,”coach Roelfzema said. “I don’t feel like we’ve quite hit our peak just yet.”

Carmen Marshall led this team and continued to show that improvement. Down five to Kenowa Hills in pool play, Carmen stepped up to serve as the Rangers struggled to find a spark. Ten straight points from the leadership of Carmen flipped the game upside down.

“My serves really helped us get the point in the end,” Carmen said. “We have a really high tempo and we always work really fast.”

Captain Kate Ryan also played a major role in managing the floor and working at the net to help the Rangers throughout the night. Three great touches in the first game against East Kentwood led to an early win. All day her leadership was a great help to the performance of the Rangers.