Lions roar in first new-look LVC match at Livonia Stevenson

Once it got over a few early-match jitters, South Lyon’s volleyball team earned a cool, calm and collected three-set victory (25-19, 25-11, 25-18) over host Livonia Stevenson Wednesday night on the Spartans’ home court.

The convincing sweep improved the winners’ overall record to 12-6, according to MHSAA.com.

“We were pretty nervous to start with and, as a result, we made some errors we usually don’t make,” said South Lyon Head Coach Deena Maher. “But we were able to rally and find our rhythm.

“Some things we’ve been working on offensively came together as the match went on. It was nice to see us play at that level.”

Spartans mount gritty comeback

Stevenson (4-10-2) looked solid in spurts Wednesday night, especially during a gritty six-point run in the third set when trailing 24-12.

The resilient rally was ended by South Lyon’s Kennedy Duncan, who smashed a match-ending kill through the heart of the Spartans’ defense.

“Stevenson put together a great rally in the third set,” Maher noted. “Thankfully, we had built a big enough lead that put us in a position to give up some points.”

Stevenson also manufactured a short-lived comeback in the first set. After fighting through three set points to cut its deficit to 24-19 from 24-16, the hosts ultimately lost the opener 25-19.

Lions dominate middle set

The Lions left little doubt about who was going to take the middle set as they exploded out to a 10-0 lead before coasting to a 25-11 win.

Maher mentioned junior Khloe Panza as the Lions’ unsung hero against Stevenson.

“Khloe came in as a sub and really gave us a lift from the service line and the back row,” Maher said.

Julia Kavaliauskas led the Lions with 10 kills. Duncan added seven kills and Abby Dafforn chipped in with six.

Among the standouts for Stevenson were Eva Bartus, Melanie Edwards, Delaney Madigan and Andrea King.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.