Indians powwow to find success

A one, two, three punch sent visiting Ida packing on Thursday, Sept. 10 as the hosting Indians’ varsity volleyball team controlled the court for three straight wins of 25-18, 25-15 and 25-20.The Indians jumped out to an early lead in the first set before Ida woke up and pulled within four points (15-11). Tecumseh’s seniors stepped up and the Indians went on to secure a seven-point win.“I am very impressed with my senior leadership. Morgan Skelton, Taylor Mareches and Tyff Bryan really stepped up. When we needed a point they called for the ball, we gave it to them and they got a kill, so that was nice,”  Tecumseh coach Kim Foley said after the win.Ida took a 3-2 lead at the start of the second match but the Bluestreaks’ lead was short lived as the Indians went on to tie the match 9-9 and finish with a 10-point victory.Ida fought for a two-point lead in the third match, leading 7-5 before the Indians came back and tied the match 13-13. Ida then took one point, 14-13 and 15-14 leads before Tecumseh tied the game and took the lead for good.“We struggled last week so something that we’ve been focusing on is playing as a team, talking. Our communication was real poor last week so we’ve been working on that a lot,” said Foley. “We have the players. They are doing their job most of the time but when we don’t communicate we break down fast. So, that’s been my focus, to not let that break down. We play much better when we communicate.”Skelton led the Indians with 10 kills. She also had 10 digs and served for 11 points out of 16 attempts with no errors.Mareches had five kills and two and a half blocks for Tecumseh; Bryan had three kills, two aces, and one and a half blocks; junior Claire Wilt had seven kills and seven digs; junior Megan Freitas had 21 assists and junior Emily Phelan had 11 digs.On Saturday, Sept. 12, the Indians went undefeated at 7-0 winning Jackson Lumen Christi’s Invitational.In pool play, Tecumseh defeated Detroit Martin Luther King 25-10 and 25-22 and Stockbridge 26-24 and 25-3.In power pool play the Indians defeated Homer 25-20 and 25-12 and Jackson 25-16 and 25-14.Tecumseh beat Homer 25-22 and 25-19 in the quarterfinals and Jackson Lumen Christi 25-22 and 25-17 in the semifinals.In the finals, Tecumseh defeated Three Rivers 25-22 and 25-17.Skelton totaled 48 kills, six aces, two and a half blocks and 51 digs; Mareches, 28 kills, two aces and five blocks; Bryan, 27 kills, five aces and one and a half blocks; Phelan, 46 digs; Karmyn Wilford, seven aces and 16 digs and Freitas, 83 assists, 12 kills and 25 digs.