Hurons win quarterfinal; off to Kalamazoo for Friday semifinal
Tensions were high at St. Ignace Middle School Tuesday night as the Huron volleyball team squared off with the Houghton Gremlins. And just as their namesake hinted, they were no easy match, as the Rogers City girls clawed their way through two grueling games for the win and the green light for the Class C semifinals in Kalamazoo. The Hurons, (38-18-4), will face North Muskegon (28-16-1) Friday at Western Michigan University at 3 p.m. The winner squares off for the state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday.
In St. Ignace, the Hurons waited until six services, 0-5, before entering the run for the championship. It was six more services before the score was tied 6-6 and then it was tit-for-tat scoring for the next nail-biting 18 services with a 10-9 Huron lead. But nine points was all the Gremlins could muster for that first game, as the Hurons inched their way forward on services by Becky Bruning, Lindsey Fleming, and finally Megan Grulke.
The game ended on a happy note after a Lauren Fairbanks tip and a splendid Grulke ace for the win, 15-9. Both sets of fans relaxed for the few minutes it took to change courts, then began what seemed might be a rout, when Grulke put the Hurons on the board 5-0 including four consecutive aces. But the Gremlins, the mischievous rascals they are, began chipping away a point here and there until the Huron lead was cut to 6-4.
THAT WAS when Melissa Grego took the Houghton service and added five points; one on a Gremlin kill, two on slams that resulted in the ball going to the ceiling, one on a Houghton tip, and the last on a dump into the Huron hole. Fairbanks managed to put a stop to the momentum with a slam dunk kill, but the Gremlins now held the lead, 9-6.
Fairbanks set things right on her service by adding three points which included an ace, 9-9. Bruning took the initiative when her first serve got belted out by the opposition, the second return was met with a wall-like block from Ashley Fleming at the net, and the third was mishandled by the Gremlins, for a 12-10 Huron lead. Needing only three more points for the win, they didn?t come easily, as Ashley Fleming scored one on sister Lindsey?s service off a Grulke set; and the final two came in the nick of time as the score was now tied at 13-13. Grulke took the service and the Hurons managed the first point with good teamwork, and claimed the victory when Fairbanks went up like a brick wall for the block and the 15-13 win. The team, and Huron fans went wild. All that was missing was some confetti.
?I WAS worried a little during the second game,? said a happy and relieved Huron coach Kristy Smolinski. ?They started doing that ?playing down thing? again, but I knew they could beat them!?
Excited players were high-fiving, jumping, and screaming with joy.
?I?m really excited,? said number 34, Ashley Fleming. ?I had good sets, so it worked out!?
Fairbanks stopped whooping it up long enough to say, ?I?m really, really excited, and everyone worked really hard together. This was good teamwork and team effort,? as she went back to celebratin
Ashley Fleming contributed 11 kills, three blocks, four digs, and three aces, while Fairbanks had 11 kills, seven assists, three digs, and two aces.
Megan Hanson had 16 set assists and six digs, and Grulke added nine digs, two kills, and four aces. Bruning added two kills and five digs, while Lindsey Fleming had six digs and two aces.
The Hurons will take one step at a time, but are only two matches away from becoming state champions.
Should they defeat North Muskegon Friday, they would face the winner of the other Class C semifinal, Niles Brandywine vs. Monroe St. Mary Catholic, Saturday at 2 p.m.