Oct 16, 2015 By Adam Brewer for The 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – Trailing 5-1 in the early stages of the opening set, the Carmichaels volleyball team rallied around all of the emotions of Senior Night and rebounded with a 23-4 spree, en route to a 3-0 sweep of Mapletown Thursday night.

The Lady Mikes (8-4, 7-3) are currently in third place in Section 5-A and has already clinched a playoff spot with two section games remaining.

Carmichaels won in straight sets 25-14, 25-9 and 25-14.

“We are jelling at the right time and the kids trust each other on the court,” Carmichaels coach Ashley Shoemaker said. “We are a pretty deep team and we have a lot of athleticism and versatility on the court. Most of the girls play year-round and they practice so hard. You can see their passion for the sport on the court.”

The Lady Mikes honored their seven seniors and several of them were notable scorers in the victory. Katelyn Schooley led the offense with 21 assists, while Abby Cutwright had a steady game at the back line with 16 service points and seven digs.

Brenna Sadlek collected 11 service points and Lauren Walker tallied seven digs, while Elaine Kerr (8), Emily Lewis (7) and Emma Lowry (5) led Carmichaels in kills.

After starting the season 0-6, the Lady Maples (6-9, 3-8) have regrouped and had won six of their last eight matches entering the match-up with Carmichaels.

“We have all the talent in the world, but sometimes we lack the mental toughness,” Mapletown coach Christy Menear said. “The environment got into our heads and we put our heads down when we made mistakes. We have improved tremendously from the start of the season and the girls are hard workers. It’s all about fundamentals for us.”

Mapletown was led by Madison Bogden (5 kills), Amelia Foreman (4 kills) and Lauren Sanetrik (12 assists).

The visitors claimed an early 5-1 advantage on the strength of two kills from Bogden and an ace from Adrian Thomas, but Carmichaels turned the momentum around with a kill from Kerr and an ace by Lowry to knot the first set up at 5-5.

The Lady Mikes then tallied a 10-3 spurt that caused the Lady Maples to call a timeout. After the timeout, Carmichaels continued to roll and ended the set on a 10-5 rally. Kerr had three kills in the final run for the home team.

“We had some jitters to start the night,” Shoemaker said. “Senior Night is like a rollercoaster of emotions and we battled around it. We got into the right groove and we rolled from there. I was glad we could get a win for our seniors because they have left a lasting legacy on the program. Their dedication shines throughout the rest of the team.”

In the second set, Carmichaels jumped out to an 8-2 lead, courtesy of three aces from Cutwright. Carmichaels built leads of 13-6, 20-7 and 22-9 before closing out the set with a 16-point victory.

The action was more even in the third set, as both squads exchanged points. After the Lady Maples tied the game at 9-9 with a kill from Foreman, the Lady Mikes countered with a 16-3 spree that was highlighted by four aces from Cutwright.

Mapletown got as close as 23-14 before Carmichaels closed it out with the final two points for the sweep.