Hurons advance to semifinals of home tournament
A volleyball tournament is not a sprint. It is a marathon. In a day that began before 6 a.m. when buses left their schools and ended after 11 p.m. when some made it home, a long day of volleyball was played out on the courts at RCHS. Play began at 8:30 a.m. and ended after 8 p.m. as 12 teams combined for a very competitive tournament with highly skilled and evenly matched teams. Volleyball fans were treated to some very entertaining games. The Hurons finished first in their pool with a record of 7-1, but lost in the semifinals to Engadine. Rogers City started the day with a 25-21, 25-19 win over Sault Ste. Marie and followed that with a split with Forest Area, 22-25, 25-22.
The third match for coach Mary Fairbanks? team came against high-flying Engadine, ranked number nine in Class D. In a preview of the semifinals, the Hurons handled the Eagles power game with relative ease, winning both games, 26-24, 25-18. After an emotional close first game, the Hurons came from behind in the second game. Trailing early, RC roared to a 10-4 lead after Dana Fairbanks? serve hit the net and dropped to the floor. Moni Cercone nailed a kill from the left hitter position to stretch the lead to 13-6.
Engadine cut the lead to 21-16, but the Hurons held off the charge to win. The last match of pool play came against the Big Rapids Cardinals, coached by former RCHS all-stater Karla Fairbanks, daughter of the RC coach. The mother?s team denied her daughter?s squad the chance to advance into pool play by sweeping the two-game match, 25-17, 25-21.
THAT SENT the Hurons into bracket play, where they drew a bye in the first round. Engadine, whose only losses came to the Hurons in pool play to finish 6-2, were on deck. Engadine defeated Inland Lakes to make the semifinals. This time, the Eagles? big hitters were on the top of their game, making for a tough time for the Huron diggers. In the first game of a best-of-three match, RC fell down 8-3, coming back on Dana Fairbanks? ace. With Simone Kapala serving, the Hurons cut the lead to 10-8 before the Eagles ran off eight straight points before winning 25-12. Game two of the semifinals started off poorly for the Hurons. Kapala?s tip winner down the left sideline gave the Hurons what would be their only lead at 6-5. Elly Plath and Jenny Fleming teamed for a block to make the score 16-9, Engadine, but, the Eagles rallied again, behind the kills of junior left hitter Rose Paquin, who repeatedly rocketed shots to the floor as Engadine led 20-11.
ROGERS CITY wasn?t done, as the Hurons closed the gap to 20-16, then 21-19, on the strength of a Dana Fairbanks kill and an ace from Chelsie Brege. But Engadine would prevail, winning 25-20, ending the tournament for Rogers City. ?I was very pleased with how the girls played all day; they just didn’t finish well and that is something we really need to do at this time of year with the conference tournament coming up and especially with the post season tournament,? Mary Fairbanks said. ?It would be a shame to get to the final round this year and not be able to finish. Our district is going to be very tough.? Forest Area defeated Boyne City in the quarterfinals, and lost to Harbor Light in the semifinals.
Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian, ranked number five in Class D, and Engadine squared off in the finals, with Harbor Light prevailing to win the title. ?I think the tournament went well although I don’t think we will host 12 teams on two courts again. There is just too much down time between matches and that really wears on the players,? coach Fairbanks said. ?It wouldn’t be bad but the teams we have are so evenly matched that the games for the most part finished with both teams in the 20’s and that makes things last longer. I donR
On the day, Dana Fairbanks had 23 kills, 8 blocks, 7 aces, and 32 digs. Fleming had 14 kills, 3 blocks, 5 aces, and 24 digs while Kapala had 8 kills, 5 blocks, 3 aces, and 27 digs. Chelsie Brege added 14 kills, 2 blocks, 10 aces, 15 digs, and 29 set assists.
LAST THURSDAY, the Hurons took all three Straits Area Conference games from Alcona, 25-11, 26-24, and 25-22. Dana Fairbanks led the team in kills with 14 while Brege added 8 assists.
MONDAY NIGHT saw the visiting Cheboygan Chiefs go to 4-0 in the Straits Area Conference by taking all three games from the Hurons, 25-15, 25-18, 25-23. In the first game the Hurons scored the first point of the game and tied the score attain at 9-9. But the Hurons saw Cheboygan steadily add to its lead. The Hurons tied the score at 4-4 in the second game, and then Cheboygan pulled away steadily. In the third game the score was tied nine ties before the Chiefs pulled away in the end. Rogers City (14-15-3) plays in Petoskey Monday.