RISE & SHINE: Cohesive Canton bumps Plymouth in district opener
Canton senior Ava Churnesky crushes a back-row kill Monday night against Plymouth.
Canton’s volleyball team saved possibly its most-complete performance of 2024 for its season-extending match against Plymouth Monday night.
Playing in a win-or-turn-in-your-uniform-the-next-day MHSAA District 21 tournament at Novi High School, the Cobras were brilliant, dispatching the Wildcats in four sets to advance to Wednesday’s 5 p.m. district semifinal encounter with South Lyon East, which drew a first-round bye.
The Cougars are ranked 18th in Division 1 with a 32-8-1 record.
Seven weeks earlier, Plymouth upended Canton in four sets in the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park rivals’ only regular-season meeting.
(To watch video highlights from Monday’s match, click here.)
High-energy Cobras
“We came out with a lot of energy tonight,” said senior Ava Churnesky, who led the winners in kills. “Our DS’s (defensive specialists) played great, our setter played great and our libero (Alyssa Jasman) was amazing. We played like we weren’t ready to let our season end.”
Canton Head Coach Ayanna Buckley was happy to see the Cobras bounce back from their early-season setback to the Wildcats.
“We didn’t play with a lot of confidence and we made a lot of self-inflicted errors the first time we played Plymouth,” said Buckley. “It was a big rivalry match, so many nerves had something to do with it. Tonight, we stayed focused on our side of the net and minimized the errors.
“We have nine seniors — many of whom are three-year varsity players — so it was nice to see them come out and put it all together in a big district match.”
The match was the high school farewell for Plymouth standout Tara Creekmore, a four-year varsity player who amassed over 1,000 career kills.
Aces were wild
The Cobras piled up seven service aces in the opening set, which they won 25-17. Sophomore Lily Swan strung together back-to-back aces that helped turn a slim 9-7 lead into a 13-7 advantage mid-way through the opening stanza.
The second set was a classic. Plymouth appeared well on its way to evening the matching as it earned a 21-15 lead on a Creekmore ace. However, Canton seized a slice of much-needed momentum, winning the next two points on a Veronica Loboda kill followed by an ace from Kate Ryan.
Plymouth stretched its lead to 24-19 thanks to Leah McCully’s emphatic kill; however, Canton rebounded with five straight points — two the result of Churnesky kills — to grab a 25-24 advantage.
Consecutive kills by Creekmore gave the Wildcats a 27-26 lead, but the Cobras regrouped to win 30-28 with the final two points coming on services aces.
McCully leads Plymouth’s late charge
With visions of a sweep swirling in their minds, the Cobras bolted to a 4-0 third-set lead. Playing with poise and precision, Plymouth regrouped to win 25-23 thanks in part to a stellar effort from McCully, who strung together a kill and three straight aces at one point. The set ended on Loboda’s ace.
Canton never trailed in the fourth set, winning 25-19 thanks to across-the-roster efforts from Churnesky, Abigail Valenzuela, freshman Alexis Steward and Jasman, who was clutch throughout the night.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
