Any coach of a good team with big goals will tell you that tough competition is the best way to improve for the long haul.

Even if that means absorbing a few losses.

The very good Fruitport volleyball team had that sort of experience on Saturday.

The Trojans competed in the Byron Center Invitational against some outstanding competition and came away with a 1-2 record after several very close and competitive matches.

The Trojans had to work really hard to come from behind and beat Kalamazoo Central 23-25, 25-21, 15-13.

Their match against Byron Center – the fourth ranked Division 1 team in the state – didn’t go so well. Fruitport lost the first set 25-11, then put up more of a fight in the second set, falling 25-21.

The Trojans’ match against Mattawan was very close in both sets, with Fruitport losing 23-25, 24-26.

Izzy Hanson-Wilbur led the Trojans on the day offensively with 27 kills and seven aces. Senior setters Emma Fecher and Alexa Sweet each had 16 assists.

Defensively, junior libero Porter Johnson and Hanson-Wilbur each piled up 28 digs.

Fruitport is now 14-4-2 on the season.

“It was really great for us to come out and compete today against some top teams,” said Fruitport head coach Samantha Fehler. “We played tough and competed well, and although our record today doesn’t necessarily reflect the way we played, these girls gave it their all and stayed level-headed throughout the day.

“We learned a lot that will help us continue to grow and improve as a team, and I’m excited to see how we use what we learned moving forward.”