Howell Highlander’s Varsity Girls’ Volleyball team faced off against the Fordson Tractors on Friday. With their masks on, Howell looked to bounce back from a tough loss on Tuesday against Northville with a win against their division rivals. On paper it appeared to be a matchup that Howell would win, but they knew that they still had to come out with energy from the start.

“We [felt confident] that we would beat them going in. We’ve played them before and beaten them every time, so we know what we’re capable of,” said senior Alaina Schrock.

During the first set, Fordson got out to a 6-3 lead before Howell made its first run. Howell first took the lead at 7-6 and didn’t look back, as Fordson never led again. The run forced the Tractors to call a timeout at  20-10, before Howell took the set at 25-13. With a noticeable height advantage over their opponents, Howell continued their hot streak into the second set. Fordson was again forced to call a timeout down 12-4, and were once again rolled by Howell, this time 25-12.

“We didn’t expect them to be as defensively prepared as they were, so that caught us off guard, but we brought it back. I think we played very well considering how we played earlier this week, I think we played a lot stronger,” said Schrock.

If there was any doubt that the Highlanders would finish things off in the first set, that doubt was gone once Howell got out to a quick 7-1 lead. Behind strong performances from Courtney Christman and Ruby Earl, Howell coasted to the finish line, winning the third set 25-10. 

“We definitely needed this [win]. For a young team I think we’re really strong, so I’m really proud of us this season. This is just the beginning for us, [we’re trying to] just keep this high that we’re on right now, and keep improving,” said Scrock.

An all around dominant game by the Highlanders has them feeling great moving forward. With their season beginning to wind down Howell has only ramped up its level of play. With a matchup with Livonia Stevenson on Thursday, this game serves as an indicator that they’ll end the year on a high note.