CADILLAC — A date with destiny now awaits Traverse City Central.
The Trojans (38-1-1) wasted little time disposing of Petoskey (25-11) in a Division 1 regional semifinal at Cadillac on Tuesday, sweeping the Northmen — 25-9, 25-11, 25-9 — in less than an hour.
“We just came to play,” Central head coach Emily Wilbert said. “I said to our team before that we cannot come out slow, we cannot come out unprepared, there’s no ‘I wish I played better’ or ‘Next time I’ll do it differently.’ That’s over. We come out hard and fast and keep pushing until we win this match.”
After a dominating first-set win, the Trojans kept the pressure on Petoskey by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the second set. The Northmen never sniffed the Trojans after that as Central built leads of 8-2, 12-3 and 19-5 before finishing off Petoskey to go up 2-0.
A sweep seemed all but inevitable as the Trojans had completed the same feat against Petoskey on Oct. 30 to clinch an undefeated Big North Conference season as well as a conference championship.
Central took a 4-0 lead in the third set; and although the Northmen tried to fight back, a 5-3 deficit was as close as they would get to the Trojans the rest of the way. Central went up 11-4 and 16-6 before closing out the match on a 9-3 run to earn a spot in the regional championship finals against either Flushing or Bay City Western at Mount Pleasant on Thursday.
“No matter who we’re playing, we have a one-track mind, right now,” Wilbert said. “We’re on a mission to win a regional title. Being so close, we’re laser-focused on moving this train farther down the tracks so we can do that.”
The Trojans have been close to a regional title before, but no team in program history has accomplished the goal the 2024 team is on the precipice of achieving.
“Winning would mean a lot,” Central junior hitter Sable Dankers said. “Just having a really good team to break past what we did last year has been amazing. It would mean so much to make it further — maybe even make it to states.”
Despite the talent on the roster and the fact that they have not lost since the first game of the season, Wilbert said the Trojans are not yet thinking beyond winning a regional championship.
“This is a big deal,” she said. “If we can get past Thursday, I want to celebrate that goal and then make a new one. I think we can go further, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Elyse Heffner, the leading contender for the Record-Eagle Volleyball Player of the Year, led the Trojans with 12 kills followed by Erica Heffner and Macaire Kudary with seven each, Dankers and Annika Powis with five apiece, and Bella Hernalsteen with one.
Marley Richmond led in assists with 34, and Sidney Richmond had one helper while leading digs with 16 and aces with three along with Erica Heffner. Marley Richmond, Elyse Heffner and Kudary each had two aces as the Trojans’ serving attack kept Petoskey out of rhythm.
Elyse Heffner also had 14 digs followed by Erica Heffner and Kudary with seven each, Marley Richmond with six, Dankers with four, Powis with two, and Nelesen and Hernalsteen with one apiece. Leading in blocks were Powis, Dankers and Elyse Heffner with two each.
Wilbert said there still are things the Trojans have to work on ahead of Thursday’s match. First serve of the regional championship match is set for 6 p.m.
“It’s not an easy road. It’s going to be a hard match to win,” Wilbert said. “They’re going to want to win just as badly as we are. It’s just about making sure we put in the work at practice (Wednesday) and show up Thursday with our best selves. It’s going to be a different level.”
VOLLEYBALL REGIONALS
TC St. Francis 3
Inland Lakes 0
The Gladiators def. the Bulldogs 25-15, 25-10, 25-16.
Traverse City St. Francis: Quinn Yenshaw 13 aces, 13 kills, 11 digs; Avery Nance 16 digs, 3 aces, 1 assist; Lola Brown 6 kills; Landy Fouch 6 kills, 8 digs, 1 block; Reese Jones 2 aces, 13 assists, 3 kills, 4 digs; Tess Konas 16 assists, 1 kill, 2 digs; Harper Nausadis 4 kills, 3 aces, 1 block; Reese Muma 3 kills; Coco Miller 6 digs, 1 ace; Grace Mason 6 digs.
UP NEXT: The Gladiators (32-12-3) advance to the Division 3 regional finals against Calumet at St. Ignace on Thursday. The Bulldogs end their season at 30-10-1.
Kingsley 3
Kingsford 2
The Stags def. the Flivvers 17-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-23, 16-14.
Kingsley: Aizlyn McKinley11 kills, 22 digs, 5 aces; Alena Stewart 13 digs; Delaney Case 1 kill, 1 block; Hanna Curtis 4 digs, 3 aces; Isabelle Seitz 35 assists, 1 kill, 1 dig; Jenna Middleton 26 kills, 28 digs; Olivia Reamer 9 kills, 10 digs; Marisa Graham 4 kills, 3 blocks, 5 digs; Sarah Wooer 50 assists, 2 kills, 18 digs, 1 ace.
UP NEXT: The Stags (45-7-3) advance to the regional championship match against Essexville Garber at Ludington on Thursday.
McBain 3
Beal City 2
The Ramblers def. the Aggies 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 15-13.
UP NEXT: The Ramblers (24-12-2) advance to the Division 3 regional finals at Houghton Lake on Thursday.
Atlanta 3
Harbor Light 0
Atlanta def. Harbor Light 25-8, 25-11, 25-11.
UP NEXT: Harbor Light ends its season at 18-15-1.
MP Sacred Heart 3
Onekama 0
The Irish def. the Portagers 25-15, 25-15, 25-14.
UP NEXT: The Portagers end their season at 33-11-3.