TRAVERSE CITY — The season sweep for Traverse City Central over crosstown rival Traverse City West was completed Thursday in a Division 1 district semifinal between the Trojans and Titans at West Senior High.
The Trojans withstood a Titan charge in the first set to win 25-22 before taking the next two 25-15 and 25-13.
“I am so incredibly impressed and proud of my team,” Central head coach Emily Wilbert said. “We started a little slow, but I honestly had a feeling that’s how the first set would go. I knew they (West) would come out strong in their house with nothing to lose. I was just waiting for us to get going. Once we did, I knew what the next two sets were going to be.”
The win gave the Trojans (36-1-1) a perfect 4-0 record against the Titans (27-8) in 2024 and vaulted them to the district championship finals versus Mount Pleasant (24-13-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Central High. The Oilers knocked out Cadillac (26-15-1), 3-1, in Thursday’s other semifinal.
West held a lead through the first part of the first set before Central grabbed an 8-7 lead after being down 4-1 and 6-3. The Titans went on a run to build a 16-12 advantage, forcing a Trojan timeout.
“We played our little hearts out,” West head coach Emily Baumann said. “We came out guns a-blazin’ and swinging aggressively in that first set. Our block was on defensively, and we were really strong. I’m very proud of our team. We fought hard tonight.”
Central got big back-to-back kills from Elyse Heffner and Macaire Kudary coming out of the timeout before tying the set at 17-17. But West kept its composure and kept the pressure on the Trojans, going up 21-19 and forcing another Central timeout.
The Trojans finished on a 6-1 run to get the first-set win and stamp out any early hopes for a West upset after Central had previously beaten the Titans three times this season.
Wilbert said facing West was a good way to start what the Trojans hope is a long playoff run.
“We really had to prepare for tonight. We knew tonight would be tough,” Wilbert said. “Getting over this hump is a big one for us, bigger than any of the other times we’ve played them this season. This is the one that had everything riding on it. That was a big hurdle to overcome.”
Central built a 5-3 lead early in the second set, but the Titans kept it close and tied the score at 7-7 before the Trojans used an 8-2 run to jump ahead 15-9. Central went up 20-11 before Emily Kelsey rocketed home a kill for West to stop the bleeding.
Kelsey’s kill sparked a small rally, but that wouldn’t be enough to carry the Titans over the Trojans.
West jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the third set, but that didn’t last long as Central scored five straight for a 5-2 lead. The Titans tied the set at 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7, but the Trojans took an 8-7 lead and never looked back en route to the semifinal sweep.
“Their offense was really on, tonight,” Baumann said of Central. “I’ll give it to them. That was the best I have ever, ever seen them play. All of them played great, and I’d definitely rather go down losing to a team like that who’s strong.”
Heffner led the Trojans with 15 kills, 11 digs, one ace and one block. Also contributing in the win were Kudary (12 kills, 15 digs, one ace), Marley Richmond (31 assists, 10 digs, two kills), Erica Heffner (nine kills, 14 digs, one ace), Annika Powis (four kills), Sable Dankers (three kills, two digs, one block) and Sidney Richmond (15 digs, two aces).
The Trojans have already bested Mount Pleasant, beating the Oilers at their home quad, 25-17 and 25-20, on Oct. 24.
“This is when it really matters because it’s single elimination,” Wilbert said. “It’s all about staying focused and not taking anything or any team for granted.”
The loss ends the prep volleyball career of one senior Titan, Madeline Bildeaux.
“She is going to be very hard to replace. She is a great player,” Baumann said of Bildeaux. “She’s got a lot of energy, and she brings so much to the court. When she’s not on the court, there’s definitely a difference. She’s mentored our other middle (hitter), (sophomore) Olivia (Kandow), so we’re excited to see what she’ll be in the future.”
Bildeaux said seeing the season end is “really tough.”
“I’ve made a lot of great memories here and met a lot of amazing people,” Bildeaux said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but everything has to come to an end — and there is a next step for me.”
The next step is to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level while attending the United States Naval Academy.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Bildeaux said. “I just want to thank everyone who’s created an amazing three years here on varsity, all the other coaches who have helped me mature and get better as a player and a person.”
West could return nine juniors — including Kelsey, Emma Flick, Eleanor Kinsey, Abella Gallagher, Sophie Brayton, Keagan Kaberle, Macy Pohlad, Piper Cavanaugh and Judy Steffens — along with two sophomores and a freshman to next season’s squad.
“Once they all mature over the break and playing club season, we’re returning an extraordinarily strong team,” Bildeaux said. “I’m rooting for them all the way.”
Baumann is also excited about the future of the West program.
“We’re young. We’re a very young team, and we’ve got a lot of potential coming up on the JV, so I’m very excited about that,” Baumann said. “We just have to decide when we’re going to play.”
As for the Trojans, Wilbert said one aspect of the game they worked on was creating more energy from the bench and using that to motivate players on the court. Wilbert loved what she saw Thursday night — including players doing “The Worm” dance on the sidelines.
“You’ve never seen that before because we’ve never done it before,” Wilbert said. “Talent-wise, we’ve got it. But we’ve struggled at times to keep our energy up. It’s up when we’re up, but it’s really hard when we get down.”
Wilbert said she doesn’t have any of those “sparkplugs” on the team who can provide energy individually, which means the team as a whole has to step up and fill that role.
“Being loud, being energetic, being cheerful. We spent some time on that, and it really made a difference,” Wilbert said. “That was time well spent this week.”
The excitement continues as the Trojans look to secure a district championship with a home match Saturday.
“Everyone is very excited about playing at home,” Wilbert said. “It’s an advantage for us. We love playing at home. I love our gym. It’s better than any gym I’ve played in, and it’s my favorite place to play. I’m excited to play there and hopefully get a win in front of family and friends.”