SAULT STE. MARIE — No one should be counting out Traverse City St. Francis. Not after Thursday.
The Gladiators pulled off the improbable and won a Division 3 regional championship — their second in a row — after being down two sets to none in the best-of-five battle against Calumet at Sault Area High School.
“Hanging in there,” St. Francis head coach Kathleen Nance said when asked how her heart was feeling after the thrilling five-set comeback victory. “We are just absolutely refusing and unwilling to quit. We’ve got a lot of fight in us, and we are hungry to get back to Battle Creek.”
Battle Creek is, of course, the site of the state championship matches. The Gladiators earned a trip there last season, losing in the title match to Kalamazoo Christian.
“In the huddle, it was really about remembering who we are. We play for each other,” Nance said. “Every single kid on this team deserves a regional title. It’s not just about the seniors. It’s not just about the kids on the court. It’s about all of us, and we’re going to work together and play for each other.”
The Copper Kings pulled ahead 1-0 after a back-and-forth battle in the first set, winning 29-27. When Calumet won the second set, 25-22, a return trip to the state championship bracket seemed quite a longshot for the gritty Glads.
But St. Francis rolled up its collective sleeves and took the next three sets — 25-18, 25-21 and 15-8 — to complete the reverse sweep and earn a spot in the state quarterfinals against Roscommon at Grayling on Tuesday.
“We’ve been here before. We have been able to reverse sweep a really good team before, so we were ready for the fight,” Nance said. “We were right in those first two sets. We weren’t getting beat down. We just needed to clean up a few things and continue to put pressure on Calumet.”
Nance said she could not be more proud of her team.
“These girls come into the gym every single day. They work hard. They are a refuse-to-lose type of team,” Nance said. “This is huge for our program and for the future as well.”
The comeback win proved to Nance that “there is never a time to panic” for the Gladiators.
“It is not over until it’s over,” she said. “That’s the beauty of volleyball. We’re not on a clock. There is always room to come back until the final point is played.”
Serving was on point for the Gladiators (33-12-3) against the Copper Kings (29-5-2), piling up a baker’s dozen aces. Avery Nance led with three followed by Reese Jones, Quinn Yenshaw, Coco Miller, Harper Nausadis and Grace Mason with two apiece.
Yenshaw was big-time with 23 kills to lead the Gladiators’ attack. Landry Fouch and Lola Jones reached double digits in kills with 15 and 10, respectively. Nasaudis had seven, Reese Muma four, and both Jones and Tessah Konas had two. Jones and Konas were also clutch in setting up their teammates for success, compiling 25 and 24 assists, respectively.
On defense, one block each went to Muma, Yenshaw, Fouch and Nausadis. The Gladiators also racked up 109 digs, led by Nance with 31 and Yenshaw with 26. Jones had 18 digs, followed by Miller with 15, and Mason with nine.
“We all really came together as a team and put each other first,” Avery Nance said. “We all really wanted to win this for each other, and we put God first and let God lead us through this match. We prayed through every single set. God, if this is your will, you’re going to help us win this game. I really think it helped and helped us calm our nerves.”
Nance said the team also had a big talk before the last set.
“We said we were going to do this for each other,” the senior Gladiator said. “Every single one of us deserves this regional championship.”
The Gladiators take on Roscommon (31-8-2) in the quarters on Tuesday. St. Francis is already 2-0 and has not dropped a set against the Bucks this season.
“It’s such a joy that get to continue this together,” Coach Nance said. “We just have to stay disciplined and maintain our composure (Tuesday) — having grit, fight and determination.”
VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL FINALS
Kingsley 1
Essexville Garber 3
The Dukes def. the Stags 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 29-27.
Kingsley: Jenna Middleton 25 kills, 15 digs, 2 aces; Marisa Graham 4 kills, 1 block; Olivia Reamer 7 kills, 4 digs; Hanna Curtis 2 digs, 3 aces; Sarah Wooer 45 assists, 18 digs, 2 kills; Aizlyn McKinley 6 kills, 15 digs, 1 ace; Delaney Case 5 kills, 5 blocks; Isabelle Seitz 10 digs, 15 for 15 serving; Alena Stewart 6 digs.
UP NEXT: The Stags end their season at 47-8-3.
Roscommon 3
McBain 0
The Bucks def. the Ramblers 25-20, 25-23, 25-19.
UP NEXT: The Ramblers end their season at 24-13-2.