The Ionia Bulldogs 8th grade volleyball team took on the Portland Raiders tonight in what was bound to be a competitive match. The Lady Dawgs played well as a team and had great communication tonight. They set the ball up and worked hard to cover each other. Alissa Castillo, Brooklyn Castillo, Audrey Sprank, Jordyn Cavagnaro, Jersey Howorth, and Lydia Struble all had solid kills! Evalyn Husted put down 3 great aces while Aubreana Velasquez added 1. It was a neck-and-neck match but in the end, Ionia fell just short of the victory losing 24-26. 

Ready for the second set and knowing they had to take the win, the Bulldogs were prepared to fight. Audrey Sprank came out and served 2 great service points while Brooklyn Castillo and Evalyn Husted each added an ace. Aubreana Velasquez and Danica Cummings covered their front-row hitters well. Everyone hustled on the court and the Lady Dawgs pulled off a second set victory winning 25-19 over the Raiders.

It all came down to the final set to 15. Knowing they could not let a large point deficit happen, Ionia worked hard to fight for every point. Despite their hustle on the court, a few serve-receive errors and failure to cover short tips led to the Bulldogs’ defeat. Portland took the final set 9-15. 

The B Team Bulldogs have had an excellent season overall with a final record of 8-2. Both our A team and our B team will travel to Belding this Wednesday, with the possibility of another 1-2 sets being played for the B team. I would like to thank the families and spectators for their support this season and I look forward to watching these athletes succeed in their high school sports careers. Let’s Go Bulldogs!