KINGSFORD – The story of the 2025 Kingsford Flivvers volleyball team had been mostly told entering Thursday night’s MHSAA Division 2 District 33 final against Negaunee.

Coming into the season, the Flivvers had lost a historic class of six seniors that won three districts in a row. So how would a team of mostly inexperienced upperclassmen, along with three sophomores and two freshmen, fare when the spotlight turned onto them?

Well, very well, thank you. The latest Flivver squad fought through a lack of varsity match play and inconsistency to win the program’s fourth district title in a row, defeating Negaunee 25-14, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23 before a raucous crowd in Flivver Gym.

After junior Mya Brunswick smacked a spike down the line on match point, the players, coaches, students and general fans roared.

“We were young, definitely inexperienced.” said senior setter Karly Trevillian, who played sparingly last season. “I think it feels great to outdo, maybe, what was expected of us.

“We went into the season, and everyone was thinking, ‘Well they lost their seniors, they lost their squad.’ So I think it was really nice to know that we were going to prove them wrong because from the first practice I knew that these girls were going to work just as hard and get there.”

Her coach echoed those comments.

“I mean, I am just so proud of this team and the season,” Jaclynn Kreider said. “You lose six seniors last year who have really gotten us three district championships and you kind of feel like, well it’s a goal of ours (to win the district championship) and it’s something we can strive for, yes, but I feel like sitting here now tonight, it’s a little bit of a shocker.”

The Flivvers (22-2) entered Thursday’s match after a long trip to Houghton Wednesday night when they fought back from two sets down to win in five. So in order for the team to contend with any fatigue and doubt, a quick start was needed.

And they got it. The Flivvers jumped on the Miners (19-10-4) early, building an 11-4 lead, keyed by two kills each from senior middle Cassie Olson and freshman middle Staysha Jarski and two aces from freshman setter/hitter Mckynzee Kreider.

“If we started slow, I think it would have been very easy for the mindset to be ‘I’m exhausted, this is too tough.’  And the fight to possibly go five again tonight, so that first set was huge,” Kreider said.

Kingsford accomplished their 11-point opening set win with fantastic serving that forced Negaunee out of system time after time.

When sophomore Alivia Nash fired an ace to give her team a 23-10 advantage, the set was basically over.

The second set was much more competitive as the Miners, led by juniors Gretel Johnson, Lilia Mason and Isla Engstrom, fought back from a 22-19 deficit to score five points in a row and take a 24-23 lead.

But the Flivvers’ resilience, which they’ve had all season, displayed itself again. Olson tied the set with one of her eight kills on the night to bring Kingsford level.

Junior Mylee Kreider then ripped a kill to push her team to within a point of a two-sets lead. But Johnson answered with a kill through the Kingsford block to even the count at 25-all.

Nevertheless, Mckynzee Kreider smashed a spike through the Negaunee block and Trevillian followed with a push into an open area to edge the Flivvers to within one set of victory.

Though she finished with 14 assists and five digs, the massive kill on set point was Trevillian’s only kill of the night.

“We came out just gunnin’,” Trevillian said. “Last night we started out slow and that hurt us and that’s hard to work through that. We knew that Negaunee was coming for it, they wanted it, they’re a good team.”

The Miners proved they weren’t going to go quietly when they ran off six points in a row to take a 21-15 lead in the third set. Kingsford pulled within 23-21 but a Negaunee kill and a Kingsford error gave the Miners the momentum and extended the match.

The fourth set was a battle. Olson recorded a kill and a block to put the Flivvers up 6-2, but Negaunee eventually tied things at 11-all. The Miners then grabbed a 17-15 lead on a push by senior Aleana Park.

But on this night, the newest Flivver championship team would not be denied. Jarski smacked two kills and Mylee Kreider added another to lift Kingsford to 23-19 lead.

Negaunee pulled to within 24-23 but Brunswick took a deceptive feed from Mckynzee Kreider and belted a kill to secure the victory.

“Kynzee knew that she was getting pulled toward the left side and so the defense wasn’t expecting her to set the (right side),” Coach Kreider said of Mckynzee, who finished with 17 assists, 16 digs, eight kills, two aces and a block. “She went back to Mya because she knew that was right set but she also trusted Mya.

“(Kynzee) is just very levelheaded. She’s just a competitor and she’s got a lot of grit.”

Jarski finished with a team-high nine kills and Mylee Kreider posted six.

Nash wound up with team highs in digs with 22 and aces with three, while fellow sophomore Lakyn Wallis added 21 digs and two aces.

Junior Onika Smeester chipped in with eight digs and Mylee Kreider contributed seven.

Sophomore Avery Edwards, who spent the regular season on the junior varsity squad, came off the bench to complete all 15 service attempts, including an ace, and added three digs.

Edwards’ performance spoke to the depths of the Flivver program.

“I’ve kind of just tried to remind her that she’s here because we believe in her and she’s done a great job,” coach Kreider said of Edwards. “And she probably could of, should of, been on the varsity this year.

“But we wanted her to take the leadership role on the JV. (In the district), we told her, ‘Keep your serve in and then play defense’ because she is one of our best defenders.”

Coach Kreider finished her comments with a look ahead to her team’s Regional 9 match against Ogemaw Heights (28-6-2) on Tuesday at Newberry.

“In my mind, we have surpassed our expectations, so now it’s just have fun and ride it as long as we can so that we can continue to be together and make great memories together,” she said.