Brighton Volleyball Has High Expectations

A strong relationship among the girls on and off the court is the strength of the Brighton High School volleyball team this season, members say.

Seniors Samantha Siddall and Stephanie Gibson are serving as captains, along with sophomore Brittany Jandasek.

“We’ve got a lot of talent,” Siddall said. “And we’ve got really good team chemistry. That combination is really going to help us. We’ve all clicked really well. We’ve done a lot of team bonding already.”

The girls have had team sleepovers and team breakfasts, and they plan to carry on a tradition of eating at Panera Bread before games.

“We won the West (Division) last year and were district champs,” Brighton coach Shelley Fix said. “We lost in regionals. We graduated five girls from last year’s team. We have so many new, fresh faces, but they’re contributing.”

The Bulldogs are off to a 13-6 start overall. They took first place, going 6-0, at a tournament featuring 12 teams, hosted by Walled Lake Central. Brighton has started the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West Division season at 2-0. This includes Tuesday night's 25-12, 25-16, 25-15 win over Pinckney.

“Brittany made (varsity) as a freshman and she’s our starting setter,” Fix said. “She comes from a long line of volleyball players and she’s been groomed.”

Senior Julia Peterson is another key figure for the Bulldogs. She’s left-handed and is a solid hitter.

“She’s really come into her own from last year to this year,” Fix said.

Of the 12 girls on the team, four are seniors, seven are juniors and Jandasek is the only sophomore.

“We’re looking to repeat all the things we did last year and get past regionals,” Fix said. “I’ve told them they’re capable, it’s just about them being confident.”

Gibson and Jandasek echoed their coach's comments about the state tournament.

“We’re looking to go as far as we can,” Jandasek said.

The solid start at the Walled Lake Central tournament helped the team immensely.

“That was awesome,” Gibson said. “We just need to keep our confidence up and work as a team on the court.”