D4 semifinal recap: St. Philip and Oakland Christian advance
The Division 4 state finals presents an interesting storyline. One team will be competing for their first state championship. The other has already won 20. In Friday’s semifinals, Oakland Christian and Battle Creek St. Philip advanced to Saturday’s championship with…
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Continue ReadingThe Division 4 state finals presents an interesting storyline.
One team will be competing for their first state championship. The other has already won 20.
In Friday’s semifinals, Oakland Christian and Battle Creek St. Philip advanced to Saturday’s championship with wins over Carney-Nadeau and Mesick, respectively.
The two will face off at 10 a.m. from Kellogg Arena.
Here’s a look at how they got there:
St. Philip shows its old form against Mesick
St. Philip is playing for its first state championship since 2014 after defeating Mesick in three sets, 25-13, 25-20, 25-19.
“We’re in the state finals. After the unbelievable year that we’ve been through since August, to be playing in the last possible day in your long volleyball season is awesome. I am excited for my kids. I am excited for my program,” St. Philip coach Vicky Groat said.
Mesick put up an inspired effort, but St. Philip just had too many athletes for the Bulldogs.
Mesick consistently found ways to stay in points with its defense, outlasting the Tigers in a number of rallies. However, Mesick’s inability to finish points opened the door for St. Philip to get a lot of aggressive swings throughout the match.
A number of those aggressive swings came from junior Brooke Dzwik Brooke Dzwik 5'10" | OH Battle Creek St. Phil | 2022 State MI , who is as good as advertised. She glides in the air and is very explosive with her attacks. She also moves very efficiently in the back row and has great passing skills. She’s a complete player that will be a problem for anyone in D4 for the next year.
Dzwik finished with 30 kills in the match while hitting .292. Mesick held the Tigers to just .132 hitting as a team.
Dzwik also added a team-high 19 digs with two aces. Rachel Myers served up three aces and had 45 assists with 11 digs. Baily Fancher added 16 digs while Harleen Deol had nine kills and eight digs.
Mesick was led by its libero, Kaylee O’Neill, who had 19 digs and consistently made big plays to keep the Bulldogs in a point. Trinity Harris and Kelsey Quiggin each added eight digs. Harris and Grace Quiggin led the team with four kills each while Lexy Abraham had 13 assists.
Oakland Christian grinds out a win over Carney-Nadeau
Oakland Christian took the floor with just eight players on Friday, but the Lancers still found a way to get past Carney-Nadeau in four sets, winning 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20.
The first set proved to be pretty big, as the Wolves held a 19-11 lead before Oakland Christian stormed back. With the score at 23-17, the Lancers scored the final eight points of the set to win 25-23. Six of the eight points were awarded on errors by the Wolves.
Carney-Nadeau would bounce back in the second set, but Oakland Christian found its groove over the final two frames.
The Lancers got a balanced effort offensively. Senior Kaylee Page led the way with 21 kills, but a combined 18 kills from Anna Frazee and Kylie Morga may have been the difference in the contest.
Katie Hopkins did a great job of mixing things up, leading her to 40 assists. She also added 14 digs. Hailee Ide had 21 digs to lead the defense while Page and Olivia Colletti each had 18. Freshman Abigail Franey also stepped up with 14 digs and four aces.
Liana Blahnik led Carney-Nadeau with 18 kills while hitting .304. She also added 17 digs. Taylor Kedsch had 14 kills and 15 digs, while Haley Ernest recorded 34 assists and 25 digs. Mackenzie Walcher added 22 digs.
The Lancers now turn their focus to St. Philip and the finals. Oakland Christian had a team of just freshmen and sophomores in 2018, and has been building toward a state title run for the last three years.
“When we restarted I decided I was going to stop looking at other teams and I am just going to control what I can control on my side,” Oakland Christian coach Brian Theut said of playing St. Philip. “What these girls are doing is unreal. We are going to go out, and this is our deck of cards. This is the hand we were dealt. Hopefully we prevail. Our big motto has been all year that it’s not ‘me, me, me,’ it’s ‘us.’”