MACKINAW CITY – The Mackinaw City volleyball team ended its regular season in excellent fashion, capturing first place in the 2nd annual Peninsula Championship at home on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Playing on their home court, the Comets (17-16-4) sealed a superb day by defeating Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy (16-25, 25-16, 15-11) in the championship match.
Mackinaw City reached the finals by earning a bracket play win over Beaver Island (25-12, 25-15). The Comets also collected victories over Ojibwe Charter (25-16, 25-17) and Beaver Island (25-16, 25-17) in their pool matches.
“I was proud of our play today, and we got stronger as the day went along,” Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said. “Our victory over Northern Lakes Conference regular season and tournament champion Burt Lake NMCA should be a great confidence boost for our team. I am proud of the effort we put together.”
The Comets received standout performances from several players, including Kerry-Ann Ming, who finished with 27 kills, 21 digs, six aces, three blocks and three assists, Rian Esper, who tallied 19 kills, 14 digs, eight aces, three blocks and two assists, Alaina Brown, who added 12 kills, 23 digs, 17 aces and two assists, and Ella Kruczynski, who chipped in with 43 assists, 13 aces and 16 digs.
“It was a great tournament held with schools with enrollments of under 100 students,” Huffman said. “With our new gym completion this coming year, we hope to grow the tournament to 12 teams next year, celebrating volleyball teams from the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula with enrollments of under 100 students.”
Other Mackinaw City contributors included Poppy Wallace (16 kills, five blocks), Alaia Mendez (four aces, three kills, five digs, three assists), Elizabeth Kruczynski (16 digs), Emily Kruczynski (10 digs), Julia Short (10 digs) and Jillian Poumade (one dig).
Mackinaw City faces Pellston in a 7 p.m. MHSAA Division 4 district first-round match at Cedarville on Monday, Nov. 3.
Division 4 Cross Country Finals (Area Finishers)
Boys: 125. Knox Wilson, Mackinaw City, 18:09, 131. Braylon Currie, Mackinaw City, 18:17, 153. Logan Holden, Inland Lakes 18:30, 177. Ben Strittmatter, Mackinaw City, 19:02, 187. Clayton VanOrman, Mackinaw City, 19:14, 193. Kyle Valot, Mackinaw City, 19:25, 235. Tanyon Pierce, Mackinaw City, 21:39.
Girls: 62. Elizabeth Furman, Inland Lakes, 21:12, 90. Josephine Furman, Inland Lakes, 21:46.
Mackinaw City Coach Heather Huffman: “For the first time since 2011, a boys cross country team from Mackinaw City qualified to run at the state finals. This is the sixth time a team from Mackinaw has qualified. I stressed to the team how special this was. The older kids knew the importance of making the big stage. The younger kids didn’t grasp it at first how big this was. Especially since we had to leave early on Halloween, they had to give up a fun day. But I tried to make it extra special for them. A once in a lifetime thing. I’m not saying we can’t qualify ever again, it’s just been a while. Our youngest member on our team wasn’t even born yet when the last Mackinaw team made it.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Mackinaw City volleyball wins Peninsula Championship; area XC runners compete at states
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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