PELLSTON – The Cheboygan volleyball team continued its excellent start to the season by earning first place at the Pellston Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 25.
The Chiefs (6-0-1) capped off a momentous day by topping Boyne City (25-21, 24-26, 15-10) in the final.
“To beat Boyne City, which was something I wasn’t sure we were going to do right away, was huge,” Cheboygan coach Jordan Barrette said. “I knew they were capable of it, but it was that positive thing of, ‘Hey, we did it. Now we know where we’re at.’”
Cheboygan captured victories over Manistique (25-20, 25-19), Central Lake (25-16, 25-11), Onaway (25-17, 25-21), and Bellaire (25-9, 25-16) in the semifinals. They also split with Bellaire (22-25, 25-15) in pool play.
Leading the Chiefs was senior Makaela Steiner, who reached 2,000 career assists during Cheboygan’s opening pool-play match against Manistique. Steiner tallied 102 assists, 50 digs and 10 aces, while Tessa Lake recorded 32 kills and five aces, Diem Schley had 15 kills and 19 digs, and Presley Chamberlain recorded 44 digs and three kills.
During a victory over Gaylord earlier in the week, Chamberlain hit 1,000 assists for her career.
Barrette praised both Steiner and Chamberlain for their milestones.
“It was a great start for them to be able to reach those milestones,” Barrette said the seniors. “I know that that’s been a long time coming for them, I know it’s something they’ve wanted. I know they were in the range last year, but they didn’t quite make it, so they wanted it bad at the beginning. I think it’s cool to see how far they might go this year.”
Cheboygan also received solid contributions from Olivia Patrick (20 kills, 21 digs, 10 aces), Kyleigh Burt (11 kills, nine digs), Mackenzie Stockman (26 digs, seven aces), Maddie Long (eight kills) and Emmie Ross (three aces, two kills).
Cheboygan travels to Alpena for a quad match on Thursday, Aug. 28.
Hornets pick up win, split twice in home event
Competing in their home tournament, Pellston finished with a 1-1-2 record on Saturday.
The Hornets defeated East Jordan (25-17, 25-15), split with Harbor Light (25-17, 23-25) and Manistique (25-17, 16-25), and lost to Boyne City (26-27, 17-25).
Breanna Willis led the Hornets (2-2-5) with 53 assists, 32 digs, 11 kills and five aces, while Lanie Irwin tallied 41 kills, 23 digs and nine aces, Ella Klungle had five kills, 23 digs and four aces, and Makenna Cooley added six kills and two digs. Allie Cameron (three kills, 10 digs, four aces), Adalynn Hendershot (nine digs, three kills), Mackenzie Jutson (nine digs), Ella Bohn (12 digs, two aces), and Alivia Pelaccio (five digs) also chipped in for Pellston.
Pellston plays in a quad match at Frankfort on Tuesday.
Cardinals pick up two wins
The Onaway Cardinals also competed in the tournament, finishing with a 2-1-1 record with wins over Harbor Light (25-9, 25-19) and Harbor Springs (25-10, 25-21). They also split with Bellaire (25-22, 15-25). However, the Cardinals suffered a loss to Cheboygan (17-25, 22-25) in their final match of the day.
“We had a solid day Saturday,” Onaway coach Steve Watson said. “I’ve been concerned that we were going to struggle with attack efficiency, but overall, the team did well in that regard. Unfortunately, that second set with Cheboygan was when we made the most errors and we really needed that one to send us into brackets. If we play cleaner like we did the whole day, we might make brackets.”
Ella Lintz led the Cardinals with 26 kills, 21 digs and three aces, while Amya Janusky had 16 kills and 16 digs, Jerzie Garms recorded 14 kills, 14 digs, three aces and two blocks, and Brooklyn Boughner finished with 52 assists, 26 digs, 13 kills and two aces. Rounding out Onaway were Layla Box (25 digs, six kills, four aces), and Carley Karsten (six kills, 10 aces, 24 digs).
Bulldogs open season at Reed City tournament
REED CITY – The Inland Lakes volleyball team opened its season by competing in the Reed City tournament on Saturday, Aug. 23.
The Bulldogs picked up a victory over Buckley (25-19, 25-22, 18-25), but dropped matches to Reed City (23-25, 21-25, 25-22) and Lake City (13-25, 18-25).
Chloe Robinson finished with 25 kills, 20 digs and two aces for Inland Lakes, which received 23 kills, 16 digs, five aces and three blocks from Ava Belford, 18 kills, 16 digs, three blocks and two aces from Jenna Stubbs, and 53 assists and 22 digs from Addison Byrne. Byrne served 91 percent on the day.
Inland Lakes hosts Mackinaw City on Tuesday.
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: Cheboygan volleyball continues red-hot start, wins Pellston Invitational championship
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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