What Happened: On Tuesday, the Buccaneers varsity volleyball team faced yet another tough road test in the O-K Red conference: the Rockford Rams. Coming out hot in the first set winning 25-22, the Bucs dropped the next three sets 25-17, 25-21 and 25-18 against a dominant Rockford team.

What It Means: The ability to hang with elite competition and battle with the best was evident, as the Rams are ranked fourth in the state.

Key Moment: The first set was a great one for the Bucs, and was filled with intensity; the desire to win was front and center. Grabbing a set against such a high ranked foe, as well as fighting the rest of the game, proves that the team can compete with anyone.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Junior Ashley Slater. Slater was dominant on the night with 11 kills and seven aces. Her attacking presence and serving has been key for the Bucs as of late.
• Second Star: Senior Ashlyn Hall. The upperclassman set up her teammates nicely with 33 assists in total against the Rams
• Third Star: Senior Avolyn Lepo. Lepo contributed to the attack with nine kills, the second highest on the team across the match.

They Said It: “I’m really happy with the growth that we’ve shown from last week,” head coach Aaron Smaka said. “We saw how we have to play every single game, the energy we have to give and the things we have to do to be successful.”

Up Next: This saturday at the Buccaneers participate in their last tournament of the year in the Mona Shores Invite. They will face the likes of Zeeland East and Reeths Puffer in pool play starting at 9 a.m. Grand Haven will look to square off against elite teams like Hudsonville later in the tournament.