Traverse City Record-Eagle

Volleyball

November 19, 2009

Three area teams in state volleyball semis

Pellston's McNitt: 'Our goals are still out there'

BY MIKE ECKERT

PELLSTON -- A year ago, Pellston made the journey to Battle Creek for its first semifinal appearance in five years.

The trip was a short one.

Lutheran Westland swept the Hornets in straight sets in a match that lasted less than an hour.

Pellston is looking for a longer stay this time around.

"On August 12 at midnight, we opened with an hour practice and a 30-minute goal setting meeting," Hornets coach Tim McNitt said. "At 1:30 a.m. we set individual and team goals. We went through those goals on Friday. We checked off the ones we've achieved, circled the ones we fell short of and left blank the ones we still can achieve.

"Our goals are still out there. It was not just getting to Battle Creek. We're there for a reason."

The Hornets (48-7-8) will take on Auburn Hills Oakland Christian (45-12-4) in the second Class D semifinal today at 3:45 p.m. today. Defending state champ Battle Creek St. Phillip (61-7-3) will meet Beal City (50-7) in the first semifinal of the day.

Oakland Christian is making its fourth trip to the state semifinals under coach Priscilla Larned and its first since the winter of 2007.

The Lancers have never made it out of the semifinals.

Experience could prove to be a key for Pellston making a repeat visit to Battle Creek. It certainly helped in Tuesday's quarterfinal win over Hancock.

"That was their first quarterfinal in over 10 years and it was our third in a row," McNitt said. "A big factor was experience."

That came through when the teams entered the third set tied 1-1, Hancock took an 18-5 lead and Pellston fought back to eventually win the set 25-23.

"Our servers got up there, served aggressively and they couldn't get a big swing," McNitt said. "We got control of the ball and that was all it took."

The Hornets have five players back who saw time in last year's semifinal match. That includes senior hitters Katie Dzedzie and Rachel Hutto, MacKenzie Myers, Kristi Lewis and sophomore Tayler Friend.

This year, Pellston has also had contributions from seniors Chelsea Bonter and Maggie Mikus, as well as sophomore Samantha McNitt, among others.

Pellston isn't the only northern Michigan team making the trip to Battle Creek. Both McBain and Cadillac will be in action Friday in their respective classes. All state titles will be on the line on Saturday.

In Class B, the Vikings (56-5-2) will meet North Branch (74-5-2) at 5:30 p.m.

Cadillac was in the semifinals in 2007, but was swept by Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.

The Vikings will look to senior hitters Abby DeWitt and Kat Hutchinson, as well as junior Emily Rice. Janelle Agren is the team's setter.

McBain is in the semifinals for the first time in school history. The Ramblers (51-7-3) will take on Bronson (60-9-1) at 3:45 p.m. in Class C action.

Under the setting of Morgan VanderVlucht, McBain will look to a number of contributors to lead the way.

In Tuesday's quarterfinal win, three Ramblers had 10-plus kills while another three approached double digits.

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