The Ionia Varsity Volleyball team made their first appearance on their home court for the season hosting NorthPointe Christian and Cedar Springs for a tri. The Bulldogs opened the night against NorthPointe, quickly getting out to a strong start and finishing the first set on a roll. The 2nd set saw Ionia get off to a slower start before banding together as a team and finishing the match in 2. The Bulldogs faced off against Cedar Springs in the last match of the night and again came off their break looking strong but a few unforced errors saw Ionia drop the first set after leading the majority of the game. The Bulldogs got down quick to start the 2nd set and even after a few runs couldn't overcome the slow start and dropped the match in 2. 

Aggressive defensive play was key to Ionia's success tonight. Senior Alexias Daugherty led the charge tonight with 27 digs while Grace Droste & Logan Thomas both added 18. At the net defensively, Tessa Lemke had a career high 5 blocks while Droste added 3. The offense worked hard to capitalize on these efforts and was led by Logan Thomas with 15 kills while Ireland put down another 10. Droste covered a lot of court tonight to keep the offense flowing and dished up 27 assists. From behind the service line Daugherty led again with 4 aces while Shaylee Bussell served up 3 more. 

The Bulldogs are now 7-3 on the season and open CAAC White Conference play at Olivet next Tuesday at 6pm. Let's pack the stands and get loud! Good work Bulldogs!