'You have to play with the hype': SC4 volleyball is rolling with momentum

Minutes after an emotional, come-from-behind victory, the St. Clair County Community College women's volleyball team began to look ahead.

But the Skippers' sights weren't set on the next game. Instead, their focus was directed to the following morning's practice. Because what happens there is the root of their success.

"It's our training," SC4 coach Michelle McCulloch said. "We show up to practice every day and we really are trying to put the work in. There are some things that we've taught the girls, like in order to win a game we've got to do this, this and this. They take those goals and work on them."

"It's really about practicing how you play and putting in the work at practice," middle blocker Samantha Kent said. "But playing against (the best) teams will definitely help us build and become better."

And beating those teams is an added plus.

The Skippers rallied to topple Mott Community College in five sets (25-15, 19-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-8) at SC4 Fieldhouse on Wednesday. They improved to 16-4 overall and have won seven straight.

"At this point, we've figured out as a team what works for us," outside hitter Christina Bohm said. "So when we come into games like this, we just try to continue to do what we know will work."

"Part of it is leaning in on our teammates and trusting that if you make a mistake, they'll be right behind you to pick you up," opposite hitter Heather Broski said. "And when they make a mistake, you're right there to pick them up as well."

The Skippers pulled themselves out of a 1-3 hole to begin the season and are 15-1 since. During a five-game stretch between Sept. 14 and Oct. 3, they didn't drop a single set. SC4 is also 6-0 at home this year.

"We love playing at home," McCulloch said. "I think that when the crowd comes in for a big game like (Wednesday), you really do learn from it. You have to play with the hype. You have to play with a good team. So I feel like it just makes you stronger no matter what."

But SC4 played from behind for most of the night against Mott. After winning the first set, the Skippers stumbled in the next two as the Bears plugged away. SC4 had already lost to Mott once this season — its most recent defeat — back on Sept. 12.

"There were a couple points where we were playing a little scared and a little timid," Broski said. "But we did change our mindset right away to fix that."

"We knew we had to bring that energy," Bohm said. "Because, in volleyball, energy can tell so much. Whichever team has the most energy is going to take the game. So we wanted to go in there with a focused mindset and come back."

A new mentality and a few lineup changes did the trick, as the Skippers led wire-to-wire in the fourth set.

"Volleyball is such a game of momentum," McCulloch said. "I felt like we had to put the momentum back on our side. It was a lot less about skill and more about mental toughness. I thought (our players) did a good job of making the adjustments right away on the court, but they also responded well with their energy."

The home crowd fed into that passion in the decisive fifth set. SC4 gradually pulled away as Mott buckled under pressure.

"I think we all had that feeling once we switched sides (on the court) during the fifth set," Kent said of the shift in momentum. "We knew that we had the best players out there to get the job done."

Another job down, but so many more to go. The Skippers have aspirations of making a deep run in their conference tournament and beyond.

For now though, it's on to the next practice and next set of adjustments.

"We want to continue our level of play but cut down on a lot of the errors," McCulloch said. "We have a lot of work to do. Even though that was a really good win, there were some things that we don't feel we did very well.

"So, we really just go back to work tomorrow. That's it."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.