As a brand new varsity team, the Fruitport boys volleyball squad has unsurprisingly lost quite a few matches this spring.
But the players have still been working hard, and it paid off on Friday when the Trojans rose up and gained their second victory of the season, 25-22, 25-16 over Grandville at a tournament at Calvin University.
Fruitport also had two losses at the event, to Gull Lake (17-25, 19-25) and Zeeland (9-25, 12-25), which left its record at 2-12 on the season.
But the win was exciting and very welcome.
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“It feels awesome when everything comes together for the win,” said Fruitport head coach Sam Moore. “I wish we could keep that going, but that’s the nature of this game. Mistakes happen and sometimes the other team is better. We learn something new with every match, win or lose.
“We are a young team, with only two seniors. The competitiveness is more apparent from the upperclassmen, but the younger guys bring more of the experience with the game. Most of these guys just started playing last year, some this year.
“We keep working hard to improve.”
The Trojans had some lineup changes for the tournament that worked out well.
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“Tate Marshall stepped into a setter role,” Moore said. “He was our libero last year and the start of this year. With some roster changes, we needed him to step out of his comfort zone and play front row. He has stepped up and I think will be a true asset for our team this year and for future seasons.”
Offensively, David Johnson-Jimenez had 14 kills for Fruitport while Gavin Wilson added 12.
Landon McMillin served up six aces and Marshall and Ed Bouchard both had 17 assists.
Defensively, Wilson had 21 digs, Johnson-Jimenez and Bouchard each had 15, Tanner Cappema added 14 and Marshall totaled nine.
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