Glenville-Emmons head coach Lisa Ziebell knew coming into Monday night’s matchup with Mabel-Canton that her young volleyball team may be in big trouble.

The Wolverines had very few practices leading up to their opening night match. The whole team was available, then to top it off they had to face the fourth-ranked Cougars, who beat them badly in a three game sweep, 5-25, 12-25, 8-25.

In game one G-E looked ill- prepared to start the season as it fell behind to a veteran Cougar team 17-1. Mabel-Canton senior middle hitter Kate Horihan set the tone for the Cougars early in the first game with two kills and a serving ace, one of 12 for Mabel-Canton as a team on the night. Another senior, Lindsay Anderson, put the first game away with a powerful kill and a 25-5 win for the Cougars.

“As the games went on, I think we played better,” Ziebell said. “I can tell you that I know the girl’s were not happy with that first game. I think their pride finally kicked in after that.”

The Wolverine pride was noticeable in game two as Glenville-Emmons was outscored just 12-9 down the stretch after trailing by 10 at 13-3. Jessie Nelson, Kailey Davis, Alayna Hall, Randene Davis, April Davies and Danielle Cooper put on a good show in game two for the Wolverines as they continuously hit the floor trying to keep Glenville-Emmons in the match.

“We had trouble passing the ball to the front of the net tonight,” Ziebell said. “But in that second game I felt we played pretty well against a very talented team. The girls did a nice job hustling after every ball.”

The Wolverines used their success in game two and trailed just 7-5 after a scorching Cooper smash down the line, one of two aces on the night to lead Glenville-Emmons. But once again the Cougars went on a scoring binge and finished the game with an 18-3 burst and a 3-0 win.

“It will get better, it has to. After tonight there is only room to go up,” Ziebell said. “The girls talked about it in huddles and after the match. They know they are better than this, despite of who we faced tonight.”

Nelson and Kailey Davis led the Wolverines with seven and five digs respectively while the Cougars were led by Horihan with 13 kills and Anderson with nine. Kayla O’Bieglo also had an impressive 29 assists for Mabel-Canton.

If the Cougars are the toughest team on the Wolverines schedule then Tuesday’s match won’t be much easier as they go on the road to face a talented Spring Grove team.