Mount Vernon News
 
 
Danville sophomore Melissa Mickley (30) spikes the ball past Mount Gilead senior Caitlyn Everhart while Danville’s Kaelin Clement (7) looks on during Saturday’s match. The Blue Devils won in three sets.
Danville sophomore Melissa Mickley (30) spikes the ball past Mount Gilead senior Caitlyn Everhart while Danville’s Kaelin Clement (7) looks on during Saturday’s match. The Blue Devils won in three sets. (Photo by Bill Davis)

By Mount Vernon News
September 2, 2012 10:03 pm EDT

 

DANVILLE — What a difference a year makes.

Last season, the Danville Blue Devils finished 2-12 in the Mid-Buckeye Conference. Their only conference wins came against a Johnstown squad that went winless in the MBC.

This year, the Blue Devils are already 2-0 in the MBC. On Saturday, they capped off a successful first run in the season with a three-set sweep over nonconference foe Mount Gilead, 25-13, 25-13, 25-17.

Danville (5-0) has seen improvement in every aspect. The most notable improvements are on defense. Megan Bice led the team in digs while Bri Staats, Monica Honabarger and Emily Pew managed several blocks apiece.

“It’s almost like she’s in the other team’s mind,” Danville head coach Ann Henry said of Bice, the team’s libero. “She always knows where the ball’s going to go. When it comes over the net, she does a nice job placing herself.”

The team’s strength, however, is at the net. Whenever Pew, Staats and Melissa Mickley managed a spike, it was rarely returned.

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