Edwardsburg sweeps past South Haven

Published 9:28 am Monday, September 30, 2019

EDWARDSBURG — When Edwardsburg seniors Jocelyn Hack and Skyelar Burlingham were on the court receiving sets from junior Emma Strefling, South Haven’s side struggled to compete against the trio.

The Eddies beat the Rams in three sets 25-18, 25-20 and 25-11.

With each game, once the trio was lined up at the net, the kills and blocks started piling up, especially at the beginning of the second set when Edwardsburg was trailing South Haven by a few points until Burlingham had a kill on one play. Hack connected with Strefling for four consecutive blocks that resulted in Edwardsburg points.

The versatile playing style of Burlingham and Hack, the two lone seniors on the team, helped contribute to the team’s multiple rallies of spiking sprees sustained throughout all three games.

“They are our go-to,” Edwardsburg coach Nikki Bush said of Hack and Burlingham. “We have them play six rotations because they understand the game the most. They see the court. They really lead our team.”

In the first set, the Eddies had an early lead after kills by Sophia Overmyer, Paige Miller and Hack. In addition, the Rams made serve receive errors and violations at the net, contributing to Edwardsburg’s early victory.

Bush said the team changed its focus each set. In the second set, Edwardsburg focused on its serve receive.

“Our serve receive wasn’t so good, and that’s where that close game came in,” Bush said referring to the close 25-20 win.

During the set, both Burlingham and Hack each had seven kills against the Rams. Overmyer added three kills and Miller added two. With Hack and Strefling as a blocking duo, they shut down South Haven’s dominant middle hitter.

In the third set, the team focused on shutting down the Rams’ runs, which Bush said the team accomplished.

For years, Hack has been playing with a lot of her teammates on Krush Volleyball, including Strefling.

“We’ve always been really good friends,” Hack said. “We had a couple classes together last year. We just have a really good friendship off the court and so it carries onto the court, with our connection.”