BOYNE FALLS — Not many saw a sweep coming when Traverse City Christian and Buckley squared off for a Division 4 regional championship at Boyne Falls on Thursday.
But the Sabres cut through the Bears in three straight sets to earn a trip to Big Rapids on Tuesday and take home the program’s second regional title in four years as they won 25-21, 25-17 and 25-15 against a history-making Buckley team.
“No, I really didn’t,” TC Christian head coach Hannah Pohlman said when asked if she expected to sweep the Bears. “I’ve seen Buckley play, and they fight back a lot and I thought my girls would be nervous. I knew we were capable, but I didn’t think that was the way it would go tonight.”
The Sabres (23-19-2) had to come back in the first set as they trailed the Bears (30-9) for most of the stanza until a timely timeout from Pohlman got TC Christian’s head back on straight. Down 20-17, the Sabres rattled off six straight points to take a 23-20 lead and quiet the Buckley fanbase while whipping the TC Christian faithful into a frenzy.
The second set stayed close through the first portion, with ties coming at 1-1, 4-4, 7-7 and 9-9. But after the fourth deadlock of the set, TC Christian went on an 11-1 run to take full control of the match with a 2-0 lead.
The Sabres and Bears tied at 9-9 again in the third set, and this time it was a 10-2 run that put TC Christian in the driver’s seat and pretty much ended all hopes of a miraculous comeback from Buckley.
The last time the Sabres won a regional title was in 2021 when Pohlman was the varsity assistant. Thursday marked her first regional championship as head coach.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “We had a rough start to our season, so for us to be on the up and up now is just incredible.”
A five-set thriller of a win against Elk Rapids on senior night might have been the late-season turning point that lit the fuse on the Sabres’ rocketship.
“It gave us a lot of confidence,” Pohlman said of beating Elk Rapids. “I think Elk Rapids was the first time that we put it all together and pulled it off to make us believe that we can really do this. We can do great things together.”
The Sabres have a tall task in front of them as they take on Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart at Ferris State University on Tuesday. The Irish (41-4-2) make a return trip to the home of the Bulldogs and the quarterfinals after losing to the Leland Comets at FSU last season.
“It’s just exciting to make it there,” Pohlman said. “That in itself is going to be a memory they have for the rest of their lives, but I think they are capable of doing great things when we get there.”
The Sabres held a team camp with the Bulldogs at Ferris State over the summer and then skipped a practice to head to Big Rapids and watch Ferris State play.
“It’s a huge full-circle moment,” Pohlman said. “We learned from them, and now we get to go play in their gym. It’s going to be so special for all of us.”
The Sabres were led by Alyssa Wylie (four kills), Olivia Strehl (13 kills, nine digs, one assist, one ace), Kirsten Crosby (six kills, one assist, two digs), Lydia Critchfield (20 assists, four kills, four digs), Scarlet Bouwmeester (six aces, five kills, two digs), Makenna Oster (five digs, four assists), Cahill Stimpson (six assists, three digs), Shelby Oster (two kills) and Lydia Tebben (two digs, three assists).
“They don’t ever give up,” Pohlman said. “Every time they lose a point, they take it as an opportunity to learn and adjust and figure out how to do it better the next time. For players that age to be able to do that instead of thinking about themselves is pretty special.”
Pohlman said the players had a team meeting led by freshman Scarlet Bouwmeester before the championship match to make sure they were all on the same page.
“They play for God and they play for Him,” Pohlman said. “They were able to reflect and say, ‘This isn’t about me. We’re playing for a greater purpose.’ That was a big moment for them.”
The win was slightly bittersweet for the senior Wylie, who won’t be with her team the rest of the way as she leaves Friday for a mission trip to Belize.
“I’m feeling excited right now, but I know on the way home that I’m going to be crying because I have to miss states,” Wylie said. “It’s bittersweet, for sure, but I’m counting on the girls to keep it going. They’ve put in all the hard work all season, and they can do this if they want to.”
Wylie, who is one of just two seniors on the Sabres along with Shelby Oster, believes her team has more in them this season.
“We worked hard. We earned it,” Wylie said. “I think we can go all the way.”
For the Bears, Maddi Sladek — Buckley’s lone senior — led with eight kills, seven digs and an ace. Kayla Milarch had four digs, three kills and two blocks, while Maddie Chilson had eight kills and seven digs.
Milarch and Chilson should return for their senior season in 2025 along with eight sophomores and a freshman from the 2024 squad that won a district championship and advanced further in the postseason than any team in program history.
“Last year, we went 6-24, so we turned a whole season around,” Buckley head coach Jordin Ellens said. “I have a very big sophomore class that is out on the court. I’m losing one senior — and she was the rock of our team — but I have a feeling we’ll be back.”
Ellens said the big lesson learned Thursday was to not give up.
“They lost a lot of grit in the third set, and that brought them way down,” she said. “They know they need to finish and put it all on the court.”
Despite the loss, the 2024 Buckley Bears meant a whole lot to the community and fans who supported them.
“We made history,” Ellens said. “Whatever tears are coming out, they should be happy tears because we can walk out of this gym saying we made Buckley history. That is such a cool thing for them.”