Tuesday's volleyball roundup

Dearborn Edsel Ford wins Class A volleyball opener

Ryan Remstad / Special to The Detroit News

Dearborn -- Dearborn-Edsel Ford defended its homecourt Tuesday night, going four games to beat Allen Park in a Class A district opener.

Ford won 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18 to advance to play Lincoln Park at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"I think its totally different playing at home," said coach Donna Schleif, whose team hosted districts for the first time in five years. "You know, we have our fans and we're used to this court."

Added senior Abatesam Elmathil: "When the crowd is filled with Edsel residents it's awesome because you don't want to disappoint."

And disappoint, they didn't.

Edsel-Ford (20-14-3) won the first two games convincingly, behind strong play from the seniors, before dropping the third game.

"I think we just kind of got relaxed a little bit," Schleif said. "You know we're just planning on winning, and all of a sudden they got close and they were like, 'Oh man,' and they had to kind of pick up the pace."

One senior making plays all over the place was Danielle Cowart, the setter.

"She's been on varsity for three years, and she's obviously a key part of our team," she said. "Being a setter, you have to be part of our offense, too -- be an attacker and play defense -- you kind of have a big part on the team, and she does a great job out there."

When asked about her strong play in the match, Cowart was quick to defer to her teammates.

"I think we did pretty good as a team," she said. "We finished well, and we've gotta get to the next game and just kill it again."

Class B

Roscommon def. Houghton Lake 25-9, 25-15, 25-13

Class D

Franklin Road Christian School def. Auburn Hills Christian, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 15-11: Michelle Angel had 22 kills, nine digs and four blocks, and Jessica Dornfried added 21 assists, six digs and two blocks for Franklin Road.

Oakland Christian def. Our Lady of the Lakes 25-13, 17-25, 25-18, 25-18

Ryan Remstad is a freelance writer; Detroit News staff contributed