BUCKLEY — McBain Northern Michigan Christian earned a shot at No. 3-ranked Traverse City Christian with a sweep of Mesick.
The Comets won 25-17, 25-6, 25-20 in Monday’s Division 4 volleyball district at Buckley.
“They’ve got some strong outside hitters,” NMC coach Janelle Winkle said of TC Christian. “They’re smart with the volleyball. They find the holes, so we’re just going to have to play smart and be on our toes, get a good big block up on those strong hitters.”
McBain NMC (21-10-3) has won seven of its last nine matches going into Wednesday’s 5:30 p.m. district semifinal against the Sabres (37-8-0). Buckley (30-9-0) faces Forest Area (3-17-3) in the other semi at 7 p.m.
Comets 5-foot-10 senior Melanie Bennett — one of numerous NMC players around that height — is friends with TC Christian’s Lauren Johns and Zion Willis through travel volleyball.
“It was working when we were having good communication, and we get those nice free balls or roll shots over when we get (sets) nice and high,” Bennett said of Monday’s win. “That works for us, so that we could give our setters time to get in system, and we could get a good setup to get a good kill.”
Mesick (14-13-2) finished just above .500 this season with a young lineup that featured only one senior (Kierra Bailey).
“It’s like David and Goliath,” Mesick coach Stacy Quiggin said of the height difference between the Comets and Bulldogs. “It’s rough when they have the taller girls that can hit hard down and the they move. It’s a little rough, but our team is scrappy. They don’t give up.”
Bennett led the team with six aces, 12 kills and six digs, while Tossey added three aces and 14 kills.
McBain NMC has seven seniors to Mesick’s one.
“We’ve had a lot of experience all playing together, so it’s nice,” Bennett said. “We kind of had that team chemistry that’s been able to grow since we were pretty much in seventh grade. We just have a good communication with each other, so we can have those open and honest conversations. On and off the court, we know what each other are thinking.”
Mesick led 5-2 early in the first set, before the Comets rallied to take the lead for good at 12-11 on a Bennett kill. Harper Tossey scored four of NMC’s final seven points to lock up the 25-17 win, including three kills and an ace.
NMC convincingly won the second set, starting on an 11-1 run as Bennett had three early aces and Lauren Isanhart added a couple more. The Comets would cruise to a 19-2 lead and win 25-6.
Mesick came out more determined in the third, leading as late as 20-19. Bailey had multiple blocks, Sofia Ham had an ace and kills came from Madi Putney, Eleri Vranish and Ham. The Comets ultimately took the lead and closed on a 6-0 run to take the third 25-20 as Bennett had the game’s final three kills.
“In the end, it kind of got tight,” Bennett said. “We were slacking on our communication. Once we picked up our communication and we’re working together as a team, it makes things a lot easier. Volleyball is not a one-person sport. You need your whole team, and we really talked about that and brought that to light. It really showed when we all came together. People can’t touch the ball two times in a row, so you need everyone on that floor to be working together. Once we picked it up in the end, that really showed.”
Other top contributors for McBain NMC were Myra Yount (two kills, ace), Julia Sprague (10 assists, two aces), Ady Haskin (11 assists) and Emalynn Winkle, Willa DeZeeuw, Addy Powel and Lia Pluger all with a kill each.
“When we had good passes and played our game, we had some great swings, and we’ve got some strong swingers, too,” Janelle Winkle said. “When they got the ball in their hands, they put it on the floor and took care of it.”
Mesick was led by Putney (ace, four assists, two kills, eight digs), Bailey (three blocks, two kills, six digs), Zophya Buss (two assists, two kills, three digs), Ham (two assists, one kill, 10 digs), Vranish (two kills, four digs), Taylor McNalley (one assist, nine digs) and Lily Stagg (two digs).