Huron volleyball team loses in semifinal round

The highly-anticipated moment was at hand Friday afternoon in Kalamazoo on the courts at Western Michigan University at the MHSAA volleyball state finals. The Rogers City Huron girls had put in their sweat equity and played magnificent volleyball at the Boyne City regionals, then again at the quarterfinals in St. Ignace, to remain one of only four teams going to the semifinals.

The Hurons were only two matches away from a chance to repeat the 1988 state championship victory that coach Kristy Smolinski was involved with as a player that year. Having a crack at bringing her own team loomed large in the small hometown crowd of parents and friends. But it was kind of like ?Casey at the Bat,? with all the hopes being dashed, as the North Muskegon Norsemen put Rogers City dreams to rest in two short bouts, 15-8 and 15-5.

The Hurons came from behind in the first 20-service game, as Muskegon opened the match 2-0. Megan Grulke served up a point when Lauren Fairbanks slammed a kill in the Norsemen gap.

THE NORSEMEN gained another two points on muffed returns, leaving the Hurons in the lurch, 1-4. Megan Hanson brightened the picture with an ace followed by two more points on a Fairbanks kill and a unison block by Becky Bruning and Fairbanks, bringing the Hurons within one, 3-4. The Norsemens? Kelly Picard served up three more, but Bruning took the service with a Huron answer, as Rogers City looked good for four consecutive points and an 8-8 tie game. Lindsey Fleming and Fairbanks both had kills, while the fourth point was made on an Ashley Fleming block at the net.

Unfortunately, that was the last hurrah for the Hurons, as North Muskegon continued to stack the deck on a Chelsea Buck five-point run, leaving the Hurons in an 8-14 deficit. To their credit, the Rogers City girls held on for eight services before Anita Buckner landed an ace for the final Norsemen game point, 15-8.

IN GAME TWO, the lethal serving of Chelsea Buck proved too much for the Hurons, when eight consecutive points went unstopped until Fairbanks slammed a kill over the net. But by then the score was 1-8, and the Norsemen continued to pile on points and make it very difficult for the Orange and Black.

The Hurons just could not seem to put it all together at that point, when another five-point run went virtually unanswered on an Anita Buckner service, (3-14). One of those serves slammed into Grulke?s face, and another point was scored on a Norsemen kill, a tip, a missed Huron dig, and a play into the net. With only one more point being needed, the Hurons rallied when they climbed to 5-14 on a Bruning service, but before any more comebacks could be attempted, Buck put the game away 15-5 two services later. The letdown was a powerful blow to Huron pride, as the girls and coaches gathered for postgame press interviews.

?WE JUST weren?t at the top of our game,? Fairbanks spoke up for the team, all with tears in their eyes. With the girls being so upset, attention was turned to the coach. ?I don?t really know where it all began not to work, they were all relaxed…I have a young team with a lot of sophomores out on the floor,? Smolinski offered. ?They didn?t play at the top of their game. I think if we could have got past that second game we would have been fine with the third game.

?They just started out a little bit weak ? they have nothing to be ashamed of ? they had a great season,? Smolinski added.

The scenario was one of bravery, softened by tears, as parents comforted the girls and they hugged one another trying to ease the hurt. Ashley Fleming said she thought they could have played a little better, an

d Fairbanks added, ?I did react with more caution (after several kills had gone out). I was trying to hit over the block too much, but they were all pretty close…we just weren?t there today.? Anytime a team makes it to the final four in the state, they certainly were doing things right all during the season.

This team, made up of three seniors, Angie Asam, Fairbanks, and Grulke; junior, Megan Brietzke, and the remainder all sophomores, Carrie Haselhuhn, Sara Dove, Hanson, Jenna Vogelheim, Lindsey Fleming, Ashley Fleming, and Bruning, all worked together as a team to fight their way into the semifinal game.

All in all it was a job well done by a very talented Huron volleyball team.

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