“I told our fans to bring the noise, bring the volume,” Anderson said, “because the girls get energized and when they’re excited it makes them play better.”

Message received.

The Lady Trojan faithful, including a sizeable contingent of adults, brought their heat to the Norway High School gym and the players responded in kind by ousting the Eagles 3-1 (16-25, 25-11, 27-25, 25-17) in an at-times deafening Norway High School gymnasium.

With its victory, FP will host Painesdale-Jeffers for the regional title tonight at Eddie Chambers Gymnasium in Crystal Falls. The Jets edged Ironwood 3-2 on Tuesday to clinch their berth in the championship match.

Forest Park’s Audrey Franz (6) twists while digging out a hard shot from the Stephenson side of the net during the Lady Trojans’ win Tuesday in the regional semifinal at Norway.

After a nervy start, the Lady Trojans were the better team against Stephenson on Tuesday despite the fact that the Eagles had swept FP in the regular-season matchup. But on Tuesday, once the Lady Trojans shook off their first-set jitters, they played like a regional finalist.

“I think we were more aggressive,” Anderson said of her team’s improvement after the opening set. “When we are aggressive with our swinging, that’s when we play our best volleyball and that also caused Stephenson to get out of synch a little bit.”

Certainly Forest Park improved its movement and passing once they took a quick 7-0 lead in the second set. That allowed outside hitters Ema Stepien and Ava Fischer to take over the match, combining for 18 kills.

While Stepien, a junior, played in important matches prior to Tuesday’s regional and came up big in the semi, it was the freshman Fischer who had her first big night in the limelight, finishing with 10 kills, a team-best six aces, three digs and a block.

“Ava played fantastic tonight,” Anderson said. “It was great to see her have such a fantastic game. She carried us for parts of the match. When she gets her timing down and gets her hand on top of that ball, she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

Fischer didn’t seem all that surprised by her performance, talking in a modest but very confident manner afterward.

“I think a big factor for me is mental health, and I feel like I’ve done pretty well on that factor,” Fischer said about her self-talk during a match. “I tell myself that I’ve done this a million times before when I get into a sticky situation.

“That (mindset) has always come natural to me. I’ve always been very positive about myself, very confident in myself.”

With Fischer unleashed both on the left side and at the service line, things started to click for the Lady Trojans. In return, their fans got even more riled up, and that feedback loop continued for most of the remainder of the match.

The Eagles did have their moments, however. They played evenly throughout the third set, which Forest Park finished on an ace by Fischer and a kill by Stepien. Then in the fourth set, Stephenson raced out to a 14-7 lead before the Lady Trojans stepped on the gas and went on a 15-1 run that pushed them to the edge of victory.

That win came when sophomore middle hitter Audrey Franz tipped the ball into a hole in the center of the Stephenson defense, prompting a scream from her and her teammates as they clinched a spot in the final.

“It feels very good tonight, and we’re excited to go home and play in the regional final in our own gym with all of our fans there,” Anderson said. “So we’re excited; hopefully we can show up and play the volleyball that we’re capable of.”

Leah Feldhausen gave her normally vital effort to the cause in the semi, finishing with eight kills and four blocks.

The versatile Franz produced four kills, six blocks and five aces, while Charlie Larson directed the team with 30 assists. And libero Ashlynn Kannich led the FP defense with 13 digs and served two aces and junior Lauren Kudwa was big factor at the net with six blocks.