CEDARVILLE – In a battle of area rivals, the Pellston Hornets captured a 3-1 victory over Mackinaw City (23-25, 26-24, 25-10, 25-8) in an MHSAA Division 4 volleyball first-round district match on Monday.
While they got off to a great start with a first-set win, the Comets (17-17-4) were narrowly beaten in the second. From there, they couldn’t overcome the loss to the Hornets (17-16-6), who took control in the final two sets to keep their season alive.
Pellston stats and reaction from coach Brooke Groff will be available later today.
“Congrats to Pellston, they are a very solid team, well coached, and they are playing very good volleyball right now,” Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said. “Lanie Irwin was a load, and she dominated the net in the deciding third and fourth sets.”
Kerry-Ann Ming led the Comets with 10 kills and seven digs, while Alaina Brown recorded six kills and 10 digs, Rian Esper added four kills, six digs, four aces and two blocks, and Ella Kruczynski had 18 assists and seven digs. Other contributors included Emily Kruczynski (12 digs), Alaia Mendez (two kills, four digs), Poppy Wallace (two kills, three digs), Elizabeth Kruczynski (five digs), and Julia Short (two kills, two digs).
“I am very proud of my girls for the season they put together and the success they had over the course of the season,” Huffman said. “We are really going to miss our three seniors, Elizabeth Kruczynski, Alaina Brown, and Kerry-Ann Ming. All three of them are phenomenal young ladies and volleyball players that will be difficult to replace next year. I am going to miss coaching all three of them and couldn’t have asked for more out of them from what they gave to the program the last two years.”
Pellston faces Cedarville-DeTour in a 7 p.m. district semifinal in Cedarville on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Bulldogs overcome first-set loss, beat Harbor Springs
EAST JORDAN – After losing the first set, the Inland Lakes volleyball team responded by winning the next three and capturing a 3-1 victory over Harbor Springs (23-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-20) in an MHSAA Division 3 first-round district volleyball clash at East Jordan on Monday.
“We started really slow in the first set and missed six serves,” Inland Lakes coach Nicole Moore said. “It really made it hard to get any momentum or energy going. We were able to reset and showed success in sets two, three and four.”
Chloe Robinson’s 13 kills and 19 digs lifted the Bulldogs (18-14-1), who received 29 assists, seven kills, 12 digs and three aces from Addison Byrne, seven kills and five digs from Ava Belford, six kills, four digs and two blocks from Myla Thompson, and 11 digs and six assists from Kaylee Taglauer.
Inland Lakes faces Boyne City in a 7 p.m. district semifinal at East Jordan on Wednesday.
Wednesday District Semifinal Matchups
Division 2 (at Cheboygan)
Sault Ste. Marie vs. Ogemaw Heights, 5:30 p.m.
Cheboygan vs. Grayling, 7 p.m.
Division 3 (at East Jordan)
Johannesburg-Lewiston vs. East Jordan, 5:30 p.m.
Inland Lakes vs. Boyne City, 7 p.m.
Division 4 (at Cedarville)
St. Ignace vs. Mackinac Island, 5:30 p.m.
Pellston vs. Cedarville-DeTour, 7 p.m.
Division 4 (at Atlanta)
Atlanta vs. Rogers City, 6 p.m.
Onaway vs. Hillman, 7:30 p.m.
Division 4 (at Harbor Light)
Burt Lake NMCA vs. Wolverine, 5:30 p.m.
Gaylord St. Mary vs. Harbor Springs, 7 p.m.
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: Pellston, Inland Lakes volleyball advance to district semifinals with first-round wins
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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