Digging Kills Can Turn a Volleyball Match's Momentum 180 Degrees

If they had personalized license plates on their vehicles, the plates would probably read something like this: WE DIG KILLZ.

They are the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park volleyball teams' defensive specialists, the players who may not receive as many props as the outside hitters, but their ability to change the momentum of a match at the drop of a fist is invaluable.

The importance of a dependable dig was never more obvious than in the fifth and deciding game of the Oct. 21 cross-campus match between Canton and Plymouth.

With the Chiefs clinging to a 10-9 lead in the first-team-to-15 encounter, Plymouth's Kayla Bridge sent a well-struck hit toward the unoccupied -- temporarily, at least --  back-right corner of the Canton side of the court.

Less than a split second before the scoreboard operator could ring up a game-tying 10th point for the Wildcats, Canton's Maggie Deloy went horizontal across the Plymouth gymnasium floor and slid her fist under the sizzling sphere inches before it touched the hardwood.

The ball popped straight up to a waiting teammate who pushed the ball over the net.

Canton went on to win the point and the match.

"I tell my team all the time how a huge dig can turn the momentum of a match completely around," said Plymouth head volleyball coach Kelly McCausland. "We don't have the huge killers up front, so we have to take other teams out of their offense with our defense.

"One of the keys to being a good defensive player is anticipation. You need to read the hitter before she strikes the ball. You also need to read the set before the hit so you can almost predict where the ball is going to go. Once you read it, you need to be able to make quick, lateral movements."

One of the area's best defensive players is Salem's libero-turned-setter Kerry MacDonald, who helped lead the Rocks to a three-game sweep of Northville in Monday night's district tournament-opening match.

"A good dig can change an entire match around so fast," said MacDonald. "Even if you don't end up getting the point, it gives you hope that you can get anything."

Even the most athletic volleyball players won't be able to notch those point-saving digs without proper positioning.

"The key to making the big digs is to stay low and to always be on your toes," said Canton's Erica den Boer. "And you can never give up on a point. Be ready for everything."

Canton coach Mary Kryska used Deloy as an example of a textbook digger.

"She stays on her toes and is going forward all the time," said Kryska. "She doesn't go straight down, she goes down and forward, and she gets her hands low so she can get underneath the ball."

Kryska said one reason Livonia Churchill has enjoyed a recent dominant run in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association is because of the Chargers' exquisite defense.

"Churchill plays some of the best defense I've ever seen from a high school team," she said. "They always use two arms, they're going to the ground no matter what. It's so frustrating for hitters when they take away kill after kill."

Plymouth libero Mariah Tesarz has stolen hundreds of kills from big hitters during her notable varsity career with the Wildcats.

"It gives your team an adrenaline rush when you can go down and get a nice dig," she said.

Although some of the would-be kills are traveling faster than a Joel Zumaya fastball, Tesarz said the digs don't hurt as much as it may appear.

"I think you get immune to the pain after a while," she said, smiling. "My arms don't even get red any more. I'll get bruises on my hips and legs, but they're from hitting the floor, not from the ball."

Ed Wright is the owner/operator of PlymouthCantonSports.com, a local sports website that thoroughly covers all levels of athletics in Plymouth and Canton.