The 2021 season for the Forest Park volleyball team included a second-place finish in the Skyline Central Conference and a district title. Unfortunately, the Lady Trojans couldn’t topple Superior Central in a regional semifinal clash to keep a highly successful season alive.

CRYSTAL FALLS — Coming off the disjointed COVID-19 season of 2020 in which they finished below .500, the prospects for the Forest Park Lady Trojans for 2021 were a mystery.

Coach Bobbie Anderson’s squad did have three seniors in tow — middle hitter Gracie Peterson, setter Rayven Jacobson and defensive specialist Maddie Divine.

But the Lady Trojans were going to have to depend heavily on four sophomores and one freshman, along with some inexperienced juniors.

Turns out, those who took Forest Park lightly heading into the season were in for a surprise.

The Lady Trojans began the campaign with a five-set victory over five-time district champion Carney-Nadeau. Forest Park went on to win 15 of 18 dual matches, finish runner-up in the Skyline Central Conference in a race that went down the final match and obtain the biggest prize of all for the squad, a district championship.

Funny thing happened on the way to those achievements. The Lady Trojans were as mystified as those on the outside about their chances.

“Starting off, I wasn’t quite sure,” said Jacobson, who also played outside hitter in FP’s 6-2 alignment. “I was really unsure how we would all work together because of how many people we had to pull up. And none of us had really played together before.

“But after we were running practice for a little while, I felt like the dynamic between all of us was really good. We all just had a good time playing volleyball together.”

Divine agreed that her team was an unknown, but her view changed quickly.

“I mean, I really had no idea what we were going to be like in the beginning and then we played Carney in the first match of the season and we came out in five, when (our group of players) never beat Carney ever,” Divine said. “So it just set the tone for the rest of the season.”

Forest Park went on to win 11 of its first 12 dual matches before a pair of late-season losses to two of the toughest teams on its schedule — Kingsford and Bark River-Harris.

The Broncos edged the Lady Trojans in the last match of the regular season to win the Skyline Central Conference.

Then it was on to the districts, where Forest Park swept North Central, came back to defeat Stephenson in five sets and then took out the queens of the hill, the Carney-Nadeau Wolves.

That four-set victory in front of their exuberant home fans will be a memory to last a lifetime for the players.

“Like we had hoped the entire season, we wanted to win districts so bad and then we did and it was awesome,” Divine said of Forest Park’s first district championship in six years. “I’ve never seen that while I’ve been in high school.”

With Peterson anchoring the middle, the Lady Trojans figured to have a formidable front line. But Peterson would need assistance and in stepped sophomore middle hitter Leah Feldhausen and sophomore outside hitters Lauren Kudwa and Ema Stepien. Anderson also promoted freshman Audrey Franz to the varsity squad and the rookie became a fixture as left outside hitter.

Anderson changed her formation to a two-setter system because of the emergence and steady play of sophomore Charlie Larson. Additionally, junior Ashylnn Kannich grew into one of the top liberos in the region.

Most underclassmen struggle with inconsistency and the Forest Park newcomers certainly did, but their growth along the way was eye-catching. By the end of the season, they were often playing like seasoned veterans.

“Throughout the season, I saw them grow and learn from their mistakes and mature as varsity players,” Divine said.

While the Lady Trojans’ final performance in a three-set loss to Superior Central in the regional semifinals was a disappointment, both the senior players and their coach said their final campaign together was the stuff of dreams.

“We got that district trophy that we haven’t had in four years,” Peterson said. “It is great to leave the school knowing that we got the district back, and we hope that we’ve (taught) the underclassmen that they can.”

“It’s definitely the most memorable season I’ve ever had in my four years of volleyball, to go out and, maybe not exactly how we hoped, but to at least have that district championship back at our school was a really great finish to the season,” Jacobson added.

For Anderson, the season produced the best of both worlds — a district championship and a team of underclassmen who are capable of keeping that trophy in Crystal Falls.

“I’m super proud of them,” Anderson said of her players. “We have three amazing seniors that we’re losing this year (that) I’ve actually coached for four years because I had them as freshman on the JV and then moved to varsity with them. They were great leaders for our team, they motivated our players, so they’re going to be hard to replace.

“The younger players, they got better, they built their confidence and I’m looking forward to the next few years with these girls.”

Jerry DeRoche can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 229, or jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.