The Ionia volleyball team took down Belding on the road Thursday. Pictured is Ionia senior Michaela Castle diving next to her teammate to convert the dig. Both teams were required to wear face coverings during the match per Executive Order 180. — Jamie McNinch Photography

Sports roundup

BOYS SOCCER

MASON 8, IONIA 0: The Bulldogs lost Tuesday’s home-opener against Mason. Ionia goalkeeper Kyle Jones finished the game with 27 saves. COACH’S QUOTE: “This was more of a game for us to learn about what we’ve got and what we need to work on as a team. I think we definitely learned a lot. Mason is a vastly more experienced team and showed Ionia that we have some more work to do on our new system of play … With the kind of players we have, this team is going to grow stronger and get better as we move forward.” — Scott Sarka. RECORD: 0-1. NEXT: home against Lakewood at noon today.

BELDING 5, HOPKINS 0: The Black Knights won their season-opening game at home against Hopkins in shutout fashion on Tuesday. Carter Houghton led the team with two goals while Eliot Ward, Logan Balis and Pablo Ferrer each scored one goal. Goalkeeper Logan Insley ended the game with a clean sheet. COACH’S QUOTE: “Black Knights played well, possessed the ball and played a good team game.” — Paul Hulford. RECORD: 1-0.

BOYS TENNIS

IONIA 6, EATON RAPIDS 2: The Bulldogs took six flights to win their league victory over Eaton Rapids on Wednesday on the road. No. 3 doubles Elijah Hatfield and Lucas Wandell had the most lopsided victory, winning their match without dropping a game, 6-0, 6-0. No. 3 singles Brett Longanbach also won his match with ease, 6-1, 6-0. RECORD: 4-2. NEXT: home against Eaton Rapids at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

FOREST HILLS NORTHERN 8, GREENVILLE 0: The Yellow Jackets were swept on the road Wednesday. No individual stats were submitted. COACH’S QUOTE: “This was a tough match for Greenville but the boys played hard and should be proud of themselves.” — Joe Conley. NEXT: at Lakewood quad at 9 a.m. today.

GIRLS GOLF

IONIA FOURTH AT CHARLOTTE: The Bulldogs placed fourth out of five teams at Wednesday’s second CSAA White jamboree of the season with a team score of 207. Lansing Catholic finished first with a score of 184, followed by Charlotte with 187, Portland with 197 and Eaton Rapids placed fifth with a score of 247. No individual stats were submitted. NEXT: at Eaton Rapids CSAA White jamboree at 1 p.m. Monday.

GREENVILLE THIRD AT LOWELL: The Yellow Jackets placed third out of eight teams at Wednesday’s O-K White jamboree at Lowell with a team score of 189. Top scorers for the Yellow Jackets were Serena Schroeder, Rylie Gorby and Danielle Bursach (no scores submitted). COACH’S QUOTE: “Tough conditions on the course and the first time having to wear masks as we played.” — Marty Schultz. NEXT: at Byron Center at 3:45 p.m. Monday.

VOLLEYBALL

CENTRAL MONTCALM 3, NEWAYGO 0: The Green Hornets opened their season on Wednesday at Newaygo and came away with the sweep, winning in straight sets, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18. London Eldridge led the team in kills with eight and added eight digs. Grace Flanigan and Bailey Vissman each had 11 digs and Brooklynn Phenix led the team in assists with 18. RECORD: 1-0 overall, 1-0 CSAA-Gold. NEXT: home against Fremont at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

IONIA 3, BELDING 0: IONIA: The Bulldogs defeated Belding in a sweep on the road Thursday, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22. Jessa Swinehart and Danika Fyan led the team with eight kills each. Kassidy Casillas led the offense with 26 assists and Paige Castillo tallied up 16 digs. COACH’S QUOTE: “This was a great start to the season. We only had one inside practice before tonight’s game and there was some miscommunication errors tonight but they were able to pull it off.” — Lisa Gettys. RECORD: 1-0. NEXT: at Lansing Catholic at 7 p.m. Tuesday. BELDING: No individual stats were submitted.

CROSS COUNTRY

LAKEVIEW BOYS COMPETE AT MOUNT PLEASANT INVITE: The Wildcats boys team sent three runners to the Mount Pleasant Oiler Invite on Sept. 4 but did not have the five required runners to accumulate a team score. Ian Clemence led the Wildcats with a 21st place finish in 21 minutes, 1 second, followed by Ethan Outman (22:44, 37th) and Dakota Kielholtz (23:07, 38th). The Wildcats had no girls representing the team at the race. NEXT: at Evart invite Sept. 19.