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CHEBOYGAN -- While she knew she had an athletic, explosive and up-and-coming squad, Kingsford varsity volleyball coach Jaclynn Kreider worried about one major question that is key to any long tournament run -- could her players fight through the inevitable challenges they would face against upper-level competition?
Turns out, Kreider's concerns were valid as the Flivvers struggled to fight through the storm and dropped a 3-1 decision (25-23, 21-25, 12-25, 17-25) to the Cheboygan Chiefs in a MHSAA Division 2 Regional 9 semifinal Tuesday evening in Cheboygan.
"Unfortunately, tonight we struggled mentally after the first set," said Kreider of her team which sports six sophomores in its regular rotation. "We became quickly frustrated in set two and were not able to get ourselves mentally back in the match. I knew that was a possible weakness of ours going into this type of match with such a young team."
After Kingsford went a leg up after the first set, the Cheboygan defense improved and put significant pressure on the Flivver hitters to hit their spots.
"We had a ton of hitting errors and, at this point in the tournament, you can't win when you aren't hitting with a positive efficiency," Kreider said.
The errors added to the advantages Cheboygan had in experience and location.
"They have a strong senior presence on their team and being in their own gym playing in front of their fans was a lot for our girls to handle," Kreider added.
Sophomore Maddie Kreider led the Flivvers with 13 kills, 12 assists, 16 digs and four aces. Classmate Kailey Sundquist put down eight kills, senior Elaina Bortolini added five, sophomore Jenna Viau contributed four, senior Laura Bracket had three and sophomore Anna Bortolini posted two.
Alyssa Larson led Kingsford in assists with 17, while sophomore Ellery Nash paced the Flivvers in digs with 35. Viau added 12 digs and sophomore Bryonna Sanders chipped in with 11 digs.
Bracket and Viau logged one block each.
Elaina Bortolini, Bracket and Lexi DalSanto saw their Kingsford volleyball careers end with the loss.
"We are going to miss our three seniors and (I) give them a ton of credit for leading our team this year," Coach Kreider said.
Nevertheless, the Flivvers will return the bulk of their regular rotation in 2023 after advancing to the final 16 in Division 2.
"I am proud of our team … and how far we came this year," Coach Kreider said. "We improved a ton, but tonight just wasn't our night."
With their victory, the Chiefs advance to face Cadillac in the Regional 9 final on Thursday at Houghton Lake. Cadillac moved on after a 3-1 victory over Midland Bullock Creek.