“Our serving was on point tonight. That’s been a strong point of ours throughout the year. But what I am most proud of is how the girls played with so much energy and also finally believed in themselves,” said Florence head coach Teresa Chrisman.

The young LadyCats played with determination and enthusiasm throughout the match, being the underdog both on paper and in the seeding. It was a large and loud crowd — both in volume and in attire as the student sections of both schools were decked out in neon clothing.

“Our serve receive was our downfall tonight,” said veteran Niagara head coach Carol St. Arnauld. “We gave up way too many service points up and were tentative at the net. Florence out-hustled us. Hats off to them, they came on our home court and took control.”

In the opening set, the Lady Badgers got out to their customary early lead off the serving of Erin Lukowicz and well-placed hitting. With Niagara leading 6-1, Florence’s Tylie Fyvie took the ball to serve, and before anyone could blink a half dozen times, the LadyCats jumped out to a 7-6 lead.

Niagara’s Morgan Borchardt (13) leaps to hit the ball in a Division 4 volleyball regional game Thursday at Niagara High School. Niagara's Mallory Sanicki (23) and Florence's Maddy Johnson (23) and Tylie Fyvie (24) look on.

The score and lead of the first set see-sawed back and forth to 11-11. The Badgers took a 15-11 lead, with the home team diving for and digging up some impressive balls, to go along with a sideline save.

Florence broke the brief momentum Niagara had as Leah Young took her turn serving for the LadyCats. Young’s well-placed serves clawed Florence back to tie the score at 15-15 and eventually taking the lead, 18-16.

Sophomore Isabella Millan’s serving in the latter stages of the match was a key, as Florence took a seven-point win in the opening set.

Set two was the most competitive of the three sets, with more back and forth play. Florence did take a 9-6 lead in the early stages of play, with more strong serves from Millan and Young. However, the Badgers clawed their way back in the set again, with a spike kill by Badgers senior Bailey Pearson tying the score at 11-11.

Niagara picked up their intensity and play at that point, and the score swung to a 16-11 Niagara lead. As Florence broke the Badgers’ momentum, the LadyCats got the ball back and in the hands of their strongest hitter, junior Morgan Tomczak. She served Florence back into the set and once again the scoreboard showed a tie, 18-18.

There were a pair of long rallies in the second set, as well as consistently strong communication by both teams. The Badgers took control of the set again, taking a 24-21 lead.

A Badgers miscue gave Florence the serve with freshman Kamden Johnson getting the ball. Her powerful serving, paired with the relentless play of her LadyCats teammates, lifted Florence to a 26-24 win to go ahead two sets to none.

“With one more point to get, that’s a set we needed to win,” St. Arnauld said. “We gave them the ball back and they came back and won it, but we had our chances. Plus, our passing was off tonight, which hurt how we set up our offense and that was a factor to why we lost tonight as well.”

With the experienced Badgers reeling, Florence kept playing in the same manner. Florence got out to an 8-2 lead, as St. Arnauld called a Niagara timeout.

Behind more strong serving from Young, and a poised Johnson at the net, Florence got out to a 20-6 lead in the final set. Niagara did get a seven-point surge behind the serving of junior libero Abigail Wells and the strong hitting of Pearson.

However. the late Niagara scoring surge was to no avail, as Florence dominated the final set with an 11-point win to sweep their long time rivals, at the best time of year to do so — tournament time.

“Kamden (Johnson) blossomed into what I knew she could be, tonight. Her confidence was off the charts tonight,” Chrisman added. “Our hitting was so strong tonight, and everyone served so well. I am so happy to get this win. But much respect to Niagara and their program, no question about it.”

The Bobcats will advance to play a familiar foe in the Division 4 regional championship on Saturday, fellow Northern Lakes Conference member Laona-Wabeno. The match will be played at Laona High School at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to Thursday’s sectional semifinal versus the winner of Saturday’s Gresham at Three Lakes regional final.

L-W defeated Marinette-Oconto conference member Suring, 3-0 (25-6, 25-17, 25-7) Thursday night at Laona.

With the loss, St. Arnauld and the Badgers say goodbye to five seniors: Pearson, Isabel Jacobs, Stephanie Maes, Lillian Loukus and Beauden Anderson.

St. Arnauld was complementary about all five of them: “Bailey was a four-year starter for us, came so far in four years; Isabel who played libero all last season, became our defensive specialist this season and did a great job of it; Beau, she is so funny and a great girl to have around for team moral and worked hard in practice. She kept us all laughing when things went bad; Steph Maes, the ultimate team player, who didn’t mind her roll changing whenever we needed it to and was such a smart player; and Lily, such a hard worker and improved so much as a varsity player.”