The Varsity Volleyball team took on Portland tonight in front of a loud and proud crowd for their Purple Game to support Community Awareness. The Lady Dawgs fought to the end to beat the Red Raiders in 3 straight sets. After an even start, Portland pulled ahead in the first set. With a few well timed kills by the Bulldogs and two strong service runs by Paige Castillo and Londyn Brown, the Bulldogs took the first set 25-23. Set two was a back and forth battle again with a strong defensive effort putting the Bulldogs in a position to go on the attack, and Ionia was able to close out the set 25-23. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in the 3rd behind another service run by Castillo that was maintained with a strong offensive and defensive effort across the court. Although Portland went on a run of their own, Ionia was able to close out the set 25-20 for the win!

It was a well balanced effort on the court for the defense and offense tonight. The front row had the crowd on their feet tonight led by Danika Fyan with 15 kills on 31 attempts and 7 total blocks. Tess Griffith added 7 kills and 4 total blocks. Kassidy Casillas was a key factor in keeping the offense on pace tonight, tallying 32 assists. Defense put on a show in the back row, making some spectacular plays to give the Bulldogs the opportunities they needed to score. Paige Castillo led with 15 digs, while Londyn Brown and Kassidy Casillas both kept 9 in play. Castillo had a stellar night on the service line racking up 22 points and 3 aces, with Drew Wachowski chipping in 3 aces also. Coach Wenzel was extremely proud of the hard work and consistent effort that the team put in tonight. Their determination propelled them to consistently rally and finish strong for the ones they were playing in honor and memory of!

Ionia Varsity Volleyball is now 3-0 in the CAAC and 11-1 overall.

Join us again for our next home match against Saranac on Thursday, September 16th.