Local Sports

Forest Park looks to ride momentum to Battle Creek

Forest Park brought plenty of momentum going into this week's Division 4 District volleyball tournament.

The Trojans completed their regular season at 34-4-1 after posting a 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-14) triumph over Bark River-Harris a week ago. That victory secured for Forest Park a fifth-consecutive Skyline Central Conference title and ran its league winning streak to 43 matches.

The No. 9-ranked Trojans swept North Central in Wednesday's district semifinal and followed that with a sweep Thursday over District 99 host North Dickinson (19-13-4) for the championship.

The regional semifinal is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday in Ishpeming against Ewen-Trout Creek.

"I think we have a lot of depth," Trojans coach Bobbie Jo Anderson said. "We have strong hitters across the board. We played a lot of good teams. We've been competitive and successful against the larger schools.”

Forest Park is seeking to take another familiar step after finishing 42-2 and reaching the Division 4 semifinals a year ago. The Trojans have reached the semifinals in Battle Creek three of the last four seasons.

Sophomore middle hitter Josie Anderson - also among the team's leading hitters last fall as a freshman - created plenty of issues for Bark River-Harris in last week's regular-season finale.

"We've been working for it," she said. "We're starting to pull it together. Winning the conference undefeated gives us a lot of momentum."

In addition to earning the SCC title, senior Vienna Price says Forest Park's victories over rival West Iron County were among highlights this fall. The Trojans won in four sets at West Iron and swept the Wykons in three at home.

"They're a pretty good team," Price said. "Those were big wins for us, but winning the conference was definitely the biggest highlight. We don't want our season to end."

Forest Park won the Escanaba Elks Invitational for the third straight time Oct. 3 and its own invitational Sept. 19. The Trojans were runners-up in the “Rock” Invite at Gladstone, dropping a 16-25, 28-26, 15-9 decision to No. 5 Hancock in the title match.

Should both teams continue to advance, they would meet in a regional final.

"That would be a hard match," Price said. "We've been looking at them all season."

BR-H coach Brooke Bartley also was impressed with what she saw from the Trojans.

"They are very well-coached," she said. "They have a great feeder program. The junior high program definitely helps them for varsity. They play a very up-tempo offense."

The Trojans, who run a 6-2 offense, opened their season at Mount Pleasant where they finished 3-1-1 and placed third at the Heat on the Hardwood at Morey Courts. That run included a win over honorable mention Onekama, a loss to No. 3 Traverse City Christian and a tie with No. 2 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.

"I think that set the tone for the season," Josie Anderson said. "We've been working hard and getting better, which has boosted our confidence. Our schedule has helped us."

The Trojans also hosted the Class of the Divisions tournament Oct. 17 where they dropped a three-set decision to Division 2 Kingsford and defeated Division 3 honorable mention Calumet and Division 1 Marquette in two sets apiece.

Forest Park 3,

North Dickinson 0

Forest Park prevailed by scores of 25-15, 25-5 and 25-10 at North Dickinson to secure its sixth consecutive district title Thursday.

“We came out firing on all cylinders and maintained our energy and intensity throughout the match,” said Trojans coach Bobbie Anderson. “It was an outstanding team performance, with every player contributing and executing at a high level.”

Josie Anderson led the Forest Park attack with 14 kills, followed by Adee Hagglund with nine.

Evie Anderson also had a strong night at the net, contributing six kills and a block. Defensively, Josie Anderson led the team with 17 digs, while Harper Anderson and Josie Anderson each recorded three service aces.

“This was a total team win, and I couldn’t be more excited and proud of this group,” coach Anderson said. “The girls came out with great energy, played with confidence and really enjoyed the moment. It’s exciting to see everything coming together as we continue our postseason run.”

North Dickinson coach Taylor Johnson said it was the fourth loss for the Nordics against the Trojans this season.

“Regardless of what the scoreboard showed, I truly believe this was the strongest we’ve played against them,” she said.

Johnson credited seniors Dalaney Steinbrecher, Ella Rossi, Aunika Lindholm, and Alle Brown for a fine effort in their final match as Nordics.

“They have each contributed so much to this program, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way they finished their season,” she said. “I also think our future is incredibly bright, with freshmen Kathryn Steinbrecher and Carli Jungwirth leading our offense tonight. Aspen Anderson and Khloe Roberts were quick and scrappy in the back row, and I genuinely feel like we made Forest Park work for their win.”

The Nordics, Johnson added, will be cheering for the Trojans as they continue their postseason run. “They represent U.P. volleyball so well, and we are lucky to have them as our closest neighbor,” she said.

Trojans coach Anderson credited the Nordics volleyball program as well.

“We would also like to recognize North Dickinson for being a wonderful host and displaying great sportsmanship throughout the evening,” she said. “The Nordics have a young team with tremendous potential, and their improvement and growth throughout the season have been impressive. They have a bright future ahead of them,” she said.

North Dickinson finished the season at 19-14-4.

Nordics stats:

Carli Jungwirth – 5 kills, 1 block, 15 digs

Aunika Lindholm – 14 assists, 7 digs

Alle Brown – 2 digs

Aspen Anderson – 1 kill, 7 digs

Kathryn Steinbrecher – 5 kills, 1 assist, 1 block

Ella Rossi – 1 kill, 2 aces, 1 block, 1 dig

Khloe Roberts – 3 kills, 16 digs

Dalaney Steinbrecher – 22 digs

—

The Daily News contributed