Huron volleyball team bows out at district semifinals
by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
A tall, hard-hitting Boyne City volleyball squad defended its home court Saturday to oust Rogers City (16-20-9) from the MHSAA Class C tournament. Rogers City went down in four games in the best of five match by scores of 13-25, 14-25, 25-18, 19-25. ?I thought our passing was good in the first two games, we just gave away some points,? said Huron coach Mary Fairbanks after the match. Playing before the home fans, the Ramblers battled the Hurons through ties up to 6-6 before they took the lead for good with a 4-0 run. A kill by senior left hitter Moni Cercone and an ace by senior setter Elly Plath were the last points the Hurons notched before Boyne went on an 8-0 run. Five of the points came on kills from three different Boyne hitters. Cercone?s kill stopped the run to make the score 20-11, but there would be no Huron rally in game one.
THE TEAMS switched ends for game two but that did not reverse the Hurons? fortunes as Boyne City rambled for the first six points of the game before Cercone?s kill, off a set from Plath, made the score 6-1. Boyne City then led 10-3 when Fairbanks called time out. Rogers City responded as middle hitter Jenny Fleming blocked a shot for a point, then aced Boyne to make the score 10-5. The Rambler margin increased to 19-10 before Fairbanks called her second time out of the contest. Boyne could spike from anywhere on the net, causing havoc for Huron blockers. Seniors Jessica Knysz and Caitlyn Wonski teamed with junior Amber Kotalik to keep the Huron blockers on alert by sending spikes to all corners of the Huron defense. Rogers City got its last four points of the game off errors by Boyne, as the Ramblers won 25-14 in game two. That put the Hurons one game away from elimination in the tournament.
The team answered the bell with a marvelous run to win game three 25-18. With the score tied 6-6, Kotalik?s kill attempt went wide, sending Fleming to the server?s box. She slugged two aces, and the Hurons took advantage of several missed Boyne spike attempts to reel off an 8-0 run to lead 14-6. Kaitlin Klingshirn tipped a winner over the outstretched arms of a Boyne defender and a Boyne miss-hit brought the Hurons? lead to 16-8. Logan Schuiteman?s ace serve, and a kill shot that went long, increased the Huron lead to 21-13. The enthusiastic team cheered and congratulated each other after each point, keeping spirits high as they sensed a win. Fleming provided the next three points with three kills down the middle of the court to bring the score to 24-14. But the win would not be that easy to achieve. A 4-0 Boyne run caused Fairbanks to call timeout. Cercone came out of the timeout swinging as Ashley Basel set her up for the winning kill in the 25-18 win.
GAME FOUR would not go as well for Rogers City. A 3-3 tie quickly became a 14-3 lead as Boyne?s hitters got hot. Rogers City managed a short run with Klingshirn serving up two aces and Cercone smashing a kill to make the score 19-9. After surrendering a point, the Hurons came alive again. With Schuiteman at the server?s line, a 5-0 run cut the lead to 19-14. Schuiteman had an ace serve and Fleming notched two more kills in the rally. Two kills from Cercone and a clean block from Basel drew the Hurons closer at 22-17. But the rally came too late and Boyne outlasted the Hurons in the 25-19 win. ?I thought we played well in the fourth game. You just can?t get that far behind. It is difficult to come back,? Fa
CERCONE LED the team with 14 kills and added five digs in the match. Fleming had six kills, four blocks, eight digs and three aces. Klingshirn registered six kills and added six digs while Basel had three blocks. Plath had 15 set assists while Lauren Hanson had seven digs. All six players are seniors, leaving room for a lot of new varsity players to fill next year?s squad. Other players on the varsity tournament roster and at Boyne City were Carly Claus, who was out with an injury, sophomores Brogan Brege, Logan Schuiteman and Katelyn Tulgestke, and freshmen Rebecca Peacock and Tiffiny Schaedig.
Boyne City defeated Hale in the district finals and now play Kingsley at Kingsley Saturday at 11:30. The winner will play the winner of the 10 a.m. match pitting McBain against Suttons Bay.