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Forest Park (37-4-1) will face Hancock (31-2-1) at 6 p.m. Eastern time Thursday in Ishpeming as the Trojans look to advance to the MHSAA Division 4 volleyball state quarterfinals.
The Lady Trojans defeated Ewen-Trout Creek in three sets (25-11, 25-23, 25-12) Tuesday night in the regional semifinals to earn a spot in the regional championship.
“Although it wasn't our best performance of the season, we did enough to secure the sweep and advance,” said Forest Park coach Bobbie Anderson. “We struggled with our passing throughout the match, making it difficult to get our offense going and execute our game plan. However, we found ways to make key plays when they needed them most.”
Adee Hagglund and Evie Anderson came up with important kills at big moments in the closely-decided second set.
“Our setters Audrey (Williams) and Vienna (Price) also deserve credit for doing an excellent job tracking down difficult passes and keeping the offense moving,” Anderson said.
“Credit goes to Ewen-Trout Creek for its scrappy play and defensive effort,” she continued. “The Panthers made it difficult for us to find the floor and kept the pressure on throughout the match.”
Josie Anderson led Forest Park offensively with 11 kills, followed by Adee Hagglund with nine. Harper Anderson led the defensive effort with 23 digs, while Price paced the Trojans in assists and aces.
“We are excited to move on to the regional championship, where we will face Hancock,” Anderson said. “We know we will need to elevate our level of play to compete with a strong Hancock team, but the opportunity to keep our postseason run alive is one we are looking forward to. Huge shoutout to our amazing student body that brought much needed energy for our team,” she said.
In Division 2, Kingsley (49-5-1) eliminated Kingsford (24-4-0) in four sets (25-14, 33-35, 25-19, 25-13) in a regional semifinal Tuesday at Manistigue.
Norway (20-11-2) was swept Tuesday by Calumet (23-12-1) in a Division 3 regional semifinal at Gwinn. The scores were 25-16, 25-5, 25-13.