Mark Meyer
Sports Scene
Haslett started the volleyball season with a brand-new starting lineup and finished with a young, experienced corps that has established the Vikings as a team to watch in the coming years. Sophomores Heather Holton, Maria Kronner, and Sarah Trosko, along with freshman Makenna Ott, form the nucleus of what looks to be one of mid-Michigan’s top teams for the next couple of seasons. Haslett reached the Class B regional semifinals this fall, and 10th-year coach Wendy McCann has even bigger plans for 2012 and beyond.
“This team really bought into the team philosophy and the concept of helping to make each other better,” McCann said. “They worked for each other, invested in each other, up and down the lineup.”
Haslett won the CAAC Red regular season with a 10-0 record and finished the year at 32-10-2. McCann credited seniors Breyanna Otlewski, Jess Tyrer, and Lexy Mitchell with the kind of steady play that allowed the younger players time to develop.
“Jess was one of the better setters in the state, in my opinion,” McCann said. “Her stats didn’t tell the whole story about what she did for the team. Great set of hands and a knowledge of where their blockers weren’t.
“Lexy Mitchell, our left-side hitter, was our best serve-receive passer. Bree [Otlewski], who didn’t play at all last year, stepped in and gave us some great play at libero.”
The 5-feet-9-inch Ott led the Vikings with 284 kills while Holton and Kronner – both 6 feet tall – had 251 and 224, respectively.
“Freshmen and sophomores need time to adapt to the varsity level,” McCann said, “but this group was able to make the transition quickly and successfully.”