Cards win at quarterfinals to move to final four

A three set sweep of Stephenson Tuesday (25-15, 25-17, 25-17) sent Onaway to the Class D final four. The Cards dominated the Stephenson Eagles in the Manistique quarterfinals having control of the match from the outset. Onaway gained confidence by going up 5-0 to start the first set and extended it to 13-5 after an Elise Arkwood kill. Stephenson, who had not lost a set in the MHSAA tournament entering Tuesday’s quarterfinals, cut the lead to 15-12 before the Cards went on a 11-3 run to win set one.

Morganne Badgero soars for an attack on the net in Tuesday's quarterfinal match in Manistique. (Photo by Richard Lamb)
Players swarm the court as Onaway gets the final point in the quarterfinal match with Stephenson. (Photo by Richard Lamb)

“They set this goal back in August,” coach Steve Watson said of his team, which regurns to the final four for the second time in three years.

“We are not the same team offensively we were last year or two years ago,but the defense is still the same. The heart, the effort and the commitment to the sport is as good as ever. That is all you can ask. We have out-played everyone we have gone up against. It is a good win for  the town right now.”

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The set-kill combination of Taylor Ehrke to Lexi Szymoniak made tough sledding for the Eagles. The combo connected for points 20 and 22 in the final run to win set one.

In the second set, the Cards again came out on fire, building a 7-1 lead before the Eagles challenged at 11-8. And in the third, Jade Galor served leadoff for the first 9 points in the win.

Onaway will play at the Kellogg Arena Friday in the Class D semifinals. Gametime is 3:45 p.m. in Battle Creek.

(More details in this week’s Onaway Outlook and Presque Isle County Advance.)