Lost to Hilman in district semis ends volleyball season

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Posen volleyball coach John Dietlin believes the loss to Hillman in the Class D district semifinal at Hale won?t take away from the accomplishments of the regular season where the 2009 Vikings became the first volleyball team to run the table in the league and finish at 14-0. That?s not to say the loss is not going to sting for a while. The defending North Star League champs nipped Hillman in game one (25-20), but could never find their regular season swagger in dropping the next three (25-20, 25-23 and 25-21).

?I?m disappointed that we lost. I couldn?t ask for any more from the girls,? said Dietlin. ?Hillman came out and played a very good game. They took advantage of our weaknesses that they?ve picked up through the season.? The Vikings seemed poised to even the match at two games apiece when they jumped out to a comfortable nine point lead in game four, but a series of breaks opened the door for the Tigers comeback and eventual win. HILLMAN COACH Erin Fleming, a Rogers City High School alumni said her team, ?pulled everything that we learned from the season together and brought it all into tonight?s game.?

Dietlin said the Vikings played ?tight? and got away from one of their strengths: serving. ?That?s what really hurt us,? said Dietlin. ?That?s been our strength all year long. When we started struggling and hitting the ball in the net, that took away one of our dimensions, which is low hard serves, because we were just trying to get the ball over. At that point, Hillman was able to dictate the pace.? Hillman went on to win the Hale District tournament, before bowing out in three straight to perennial Class D volleyball power, Pellston,

Tuesday in the regional tournament. ?What I?m glad about is the way the girls played,? said Dieltin. ?They never gave up and they never gave in. Not every time did the ball go our way, but that didn?t matter. They continued to push, they continued to press, they continued to strive and try to win. That?s all I can ask for.?

LEANNE BUCZKOWSKI led Posen with 12 kills and Janice Ciarkowski added five kills. Lindsay Ponik had 12 assists, while Cheryl Romel served eight aces. Dietlin loses three seniors: Romel and Ciarkowski, along with Julia Lewandowski, who couldn?t play this season because of an injury.

?You don?t go 27-1 during the course of two years and not build a relationship, not build a bond,? said Dietlin. ?The real tragic part of it is that I know these girls on a personal level. I?ve known them since they were kids and now they move on with their lives and that?s the hardest part. Not only did I have players and students, I had friends.?

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