If Eastwood wants to earn the school's 25th Suburban Lakes League volleyball championship this season, second-year coach Jeff Beck's Eagles will definitely have to earn it.

“We're not going to surprise anybody this year, so the target is now on our back,” said Beck, whose squad returns

five starters from a team that tied Otsego for the league title a year ago. “I'll be interested to see how these girls go from surprising people last year to everyone in the SLL now saying that they have to beat Eastwood.

“We're predicted to win the league, but Genoa is expected to be there in that big battle,” Beck added. “That will probably be our biggest SLL match.”

After Eastwood, Otsego is far behind with seven championships. Genoa has five, followed by Gibsonburg with four, Lakota and Northwood have two each, and Elmwood has one. Woodmore, Oak Harbor, and Lake have none. Eastwood won 14 straight championships from 1976 to 1989, with Otsego taking the crown in 1990, and then the Eagles returned to take home titles every season from 1991 to 1995.

Genoa has already made the best of it this season, coming back from a two-game deficit to defeat Eastwood 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13 in the two rival’s first go-around Wednesday night. Alyssa Meis had 30 kills and five aces, Jessica Feller had 11 kills and four blocks, Brandi Schimming had 25 digs, and Hannah Morrison had 38 kills for the Comets.