Girls volleyball: Lakes looms large against Grant

Anatomy of an unbeaten squad?

Tall players, for one - tall players who can hit volleyballs with mighty force.

But did anyone have Lakes in the preseason volleyball poll? Were the Eagles even favored to win the Northern Lake County Conference title?

"We work really well together," said one of the tall Eagles, Paule Ceneac. "We all love playing volleyball. This an intense sport and it's fun to play. We also have great coaching."

On Tuesday night at Lakes, Grant was in the building. And there was some interesting information floating out there. Grant coach Michele Keenan has done some coaching at Lakes and has worked with a number of their players.

In set one, a Megan Mitchell kill brought the Bulldogs within 16-14. Set two was tied at 17-17. But Lakes held serve again and won 25-18, 25-188 to improve to 14-0 and 3-0 in the NLCC.

"We had a lot of experienced players (coming into the season)," Eagles first-year coach Jenni Floren said. "The kids have stepped up into leadership roles."

Keenan felt good to see her underdog Bulldogs play well against the top dog in the conference.

"We were very good tonight," Keenan said. "We were very motivated."

With setter Rachel Orpano at the serving line, the Eagles soared to a 14-7 lead in set one. Keelan Bell delivered a hard kill for Lakes, but Grant took advantage of some miscues from the Eagles to pull closer.

And then freshman Devinn Bell put together a pair of serving aces from the line and the Eagles had some breathing room.

"We had some lulls tonight," Ceneac said. "But we usually get it back. Yes, it helps that we are a tall team."

It's true that the Eagles brought back some impressive players, such as Erica Grant. She led her team with 8 kills and 5 digs.

"Erica gives us awesome blocks," Orpano said. "We still need to work hard. We didn't play our best game tonight."

Set two looked to be a breeze for the home team. A soft shot from Keelan Bell and Lakes was up 9-5. Still, the Bulldogs did not go away quietly. Aces from veterans Emily Bringer and Katy Fisherkeller pulled Grant back into the set. The Bulldogs did get some offense on this night from Bringer.

"She gives us great senior leadership," Keenan said.

Opano was the serving line when the Eagles took control of this match. Kelli Rettig (3 kills) put one down and suddenly it was 22-18. Down the stretch, the Bulldogs notched only an ace from Emma Olszowka. In the meantime, Lakes' Katie Billetdeaux notched a pair of kills.

Billetdeaux had 6 kills, while Ceneac led the Eagles in blocks (3). Orpano had 13 assists and Devin Bell added 9 assists.