Huron overwhelms Willard in Bay sweep

HURON — Huron expected a tough match from Willard, and the Crimson Flashes had reason to believe they could challenge the Tigers. Didn't happen. Huron got off to a strong start thanks to some Crimson Flashes errors and cruised to a 25-18, 25-11, 25-13 sweep in an early-season SBC Bay Division matchup. "We just really didn't even show up today," Willard coach Ashley Bond said. "It was like a whole different team. I literally have no words. I don't even know how to describe what we did. We didn't show up, and I guess we'll learn from it." Huron improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Bay win the sweep on a warm night in the gym. Willard, which has played a challenging schedule to date, fell to 7-3, 1-1. "I know they're a lot better," Huron coach Don Wood said. "Everybody's gonna have rough night. I thought our kids did a good job staying steady. We took good swings when we needed to and kept it in play other times. "It's definitely a solid win for us. Willard was off to a great start and they're a good team." Willard pushed Huron last year, dropping a pair of 25-20 sets in a sweep, and had some firepower returning. But Huron countered with depth (seven different Tigers had kills) and ball control to extend points when kills didn't present themselves early. "It can frustrate other teams once in awhile," Wood said of Huron's penchant for playing the long game. "I preach to my kids to be patient when you don't have the big swing. That pays off because I have confidence in our back row." Huron jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set, scoring eight points on Willard errors. Willard fought back and got to within three points at 16-13, but the Tigers pulled away. Kaylee Parker's left-side kill ended the first set. In Set 2, Huron led 9-8 before dominating. A Lanee Orzech ace doubled up Willard at 20-10 and Huron won nine of the last 10 points. "We had looks on our faces like we were beat before we stepped on the court," Bond said. "Part of it probably is we don't practice in heat and it's very hot in here. They're used to that, but we're not going to use that as an excuse. "We're so much better than we showed tonight. The good news for us is they think we're awful. We showed them nothing." Kelsey Lykins led the Flashes with seven kills. Makinley Schaffer added five. Huron led 10-3 and 15-5 on a Parker kill to take control in the final set. Cami Adams' kill ended the match. Willard's challenging schedule only gets tougher. On Saturday, the Flashes visit unbeaten Mohawk (6-0), then host Galion (9-1) on Monday. The Warriors were 23-2 in 2022 and fell in a district title match. The Tigers played for a regional championship last season and returned all but one starter.