The Forest Park girls varsity volleyball team is surrounded by fans after the Lady Trojans raised the MHSAA Division 4 Regional 25 trophy in celebration of beating visiting Painesdale-Jeffers in an exciting and intense finals matchup at Forest Park High School in Crystal Falls on Thursday night. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

CRYSTAL FALLS — In recent weeks, the Forest Park Lady Trojans just seemed like a team that could make a run in the MHSAA Division 4 volleyball tournament.

Coach Bobbie Jo Anderson’s team always had the talent, but as the season moved along, the Lady Trojans settled into their roles, built their confidence and finished the regular season having won seven of their final nine dual matches.

That success has continued into the postseason. The Lady Trojans rolled through their district without losing a set and now can add a regional title to their program history after defeating Painesdale Jeffers 3-1 (26-24, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20) in the Regional 25 final Thursday in front of a boisterous crowd at Eddie Chambers Gymnasium.

While the sets were all close, Forest Park came up with the goods when things matter the most.

“The girls came out ready to play tonight,” Anderson said after the Lady Trojans captured their first regional championship since 2016. “They dug deep and did enough to win in four. I’m super proud of them and excited to be moving onto quarterfinals.”

Lady Trojan Leah Feldhausen (15) smacks a potential kill past Painsdale Jeffers’ Mia Nordstrom (9) during the regional tournament championship contest Thursday. Feldhausen paced the Forest Park attack with a team-high 12 kills and four blocks. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo

There the Lady Trojans will face Indian River Inland Lakes in a match scheduled for 5 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Marquette High School.

Early on against the Jets, FP’s Leah Feldhausen put some doubt in the minds of P-J’s middle hitters with two blocks. The junior middle finished the match with team highs in kills with 12 and blocks with four.

“Leah Feldhausen has been a leader on our team all year, and again tonight she played with confidence and encouraged her teammates from start to finish,” Anderson said. “She had many key blocks and kills for us tonight. I love her consistency and positive attitude.”

The two teams kept after each other throughout the opening set with Forest Park taking a 15-12 lead before the Jets scored 9 of the next 11 points to go up 21-17. Forest Park’s Lauren Kudwa then fired an ace and Ava Fischer smacked a kill to help the Lady Trojans draw even at 21.

The Jets stood on verge of taking the opener when they crept ahead 24-23, but Forest Park took advantage of a tip by Ema Stepien and two P-J errors to go up a set.

Forest Park coach Bobbie Jo Anderson rallies her team during the regional title clash with Painesdale Jeffers on Thursday. Forest Park split the first two sets with the Jets before winning the final two to claim the regional crown and advance in the state playoffs. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

It was more of the same in the second set as the teams stood tied at 22. But this time, the Jets eked out the win as the match became a best-of-three for the championship.

In the third set, the Lady Trojans solidified their defense and passing and finished off the set with a kill by Feldhausen.

In the fourth, FP used a 10-3 run, sparked by two kills each from Feldhausen and Stepien, to move to within one point of the championship at 24-16. Forest Park reserve middle hitter Ellie Ayers finished off the victory a few minutes later with a kill, the sophomore’s third of the match.

“Tonight was definitely a team win,” Anderson said. “Everyone played their part and stepped up when needed. Moments like these will not soon be forgotten.”

In addition to Ayers’ contribution off the bench, freshman Elsie Williams chipped in with four digs.

The stalwarts were there too, of course. Stepien finished with nine kills, five digs, three blocks and two digs, Fischer recorded six kills, four blocks, two digs and two aces, Kudwa fired three aces, Audrey Franz posted three digs, two kills, two blocks and two aces and Ashlynn Kannich helped out with 10 digs.

Not to be forgotten was the steady and vital play of junior setter Charlie Larson.

“She did a great job getting the ball to our hitters,” Anderson said of Larson, who finished with 30 assists, five digs and an ace. “I think we often overlook our setters because they aren’t ‘scoring’ points, but Charlie is a huge part of our team and I’m proud of her effort tonight.”

If Forest Park is able to defeat Inland Lakes, they would advance to the state semifinal Thursday, Nov. 17, at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.