D3 semifinal recap: SMCC to defend against upset-minded Reese

<p>Division 3 will have a familiar face in Saturday’s state final, as SMCC is set to go for a third consecutive championship.</p> <p>Awaiting on the other side will be Reese, which is making its finals debut.</p> <p>The Rockets looked every bit the title contender against top-ranked WMC, while SMCC showed its usual championship pedigree by finding ways to top McBain in three ultra-competitive sets.</p> <h4><strong>Reese over Western Michigan Christian 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 28-26</strong></h4> [caption id="attachment_166158" align="alignright" width="207"]<img class="wp-image-166158 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/Reese-2-Maddi-Osantowski-207x300.jpg" alt="" width="207" height="300" /> [player_tooltip player_id="172182" first="Maddi" last="Osantowski"][/caption] <p>What looked like it was going to be an impressive sweep for 13^th-ranked Reese over top-ranked WMC turned into quite the finish.</p> <p>After completely putting the Warriors on their heels with two fundamentally sound sets of volleyball, Reese would find itself leading 22-16 in the third before WMC scored nine of the final 10 points to force a fourth.</p> <p>In the fourth, Reese held a 21-16 lead only to see WMC find a way to fight back again. The Warriors fought off four set points before <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172182" first="Maddi" last="Osantowski"]</strong> gave the Rockets the lead for good with her 37^th kill of the match to make it 27-26. A WMC error then ended things at 28-26.</p> <p>Outsized by WMC, Reese relied on good passing, aggressive serving, and the athleticism of Osantowski to come away with the “upset” victory.</p> <p>“My girls played so good. They came out today just firing and we had so much energy. I am just super proud of them,” Reese coach Angie Compton said. “We knew we could tip with (WMC). We weren’t going to get cheap points that we might against other teams, so our game plan was just to swing, swing, swing. We just wanted to do everything we could to win. We knew we were the underdog and nothing to lose, so that just helped our mentality to win.”</p> <p>The Rockets had 14 aces in the win, with four from Osantowski and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172190" first="Jerzie" last="Vanochten"]</strong>. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172183" first="Aydan" last="Dalak"] </strong>had 46 assists and 13 digs, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172186" first="Josie" last="Johnson"] </strong>had a team-high 24 digs. Osantowski added 19 of her own.</p> <p>Western Michigan Christian was led by its powerful middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60835" first="Kyla" last="Wiersema"]</strong>, who put down 24 kills while picking up 4.5 blocks and 14 digs. The Warriors, a strong blocking team all year, finished with 13.5 for the match.</p> <p><strong>Madison Wiersema </strong>had 28 digs for WMC, while <strong>Elizabeth Mast </strong>had 11 kills and <strong>Kendal Young </strong>racked up 38 assists with 18 digs.</p> <h4><strong>SMCC over McBain 25-23, 25-23, 26-24</strong></h4> [caption id="attachment_166159" align="alignright" width="288"]<img class="wp-image-166159 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/SMCC-12-Jessica-Costlow.jpg" alt="" width="288" height="300" /> [player_tooltip player_id="156292" first="Jessica" last="Costlow"][/caption] <p>A sweep can’t be any closer than this was.</p> <p>No. 2 St. Mary Catholic Central won by just a six-point margin, holding off a very game ninth-ranked McBain team.</p> <p>Led by a mixture of seniors and underclassmen, the Kestrels showed the championship poise that has defined the program for years.</p> <p>“We have had a lot of girls just step into different positions. We have had a lot of girls step up and embrace their position and just do what we have asked of them every single day,” SMCC co-coach Cassandra Haut said. “They really came together for an awesome team dynamic. They really grew every day.”</p> <p>SMCC led 23-19 in the opening set, only to see McBain claw back to tie things up at 23-23. The Kestrels would answer by scoring the last two points, the first of which came on a kill by freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="156292" first="Jessica" last="Costlow"].</strong></p> <p>The second set was tight throughout. McBain would actually hold a 22-20 lead before the Kestrels scored five of the final six points. Senior middle <strong>Audrey Cousino </strong>came through with two big kills in the rally, while freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="156321" first="McKenna" last="Payne"]</strong> had two of her own.</p> <p>The third set started to tilt toward SMCC at the end, with the Kestrels leading 24-19. However, McBain showed its grit by fighting off five match points to tie the score at 24-24. SMCC again didn’t get rattled and scored the final two points off McBain errors.</p> <p>Costlow would led SMCC in the win with 15 kills, three aces and six digs. Payne added 13 kills with 12 digs, while Cousino had nine kills with two solo blocks. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="24850" first="Kate" last="Collingsworth"] </strong>collected 32 assists from the setter position.</p> <p>McBain was led by junior <strong>Gabrielle VerBerkmoes</strong>, who had 11 kills and 12 digs. Senior <strong>Emma Schierbeek</strong> added 11 kills and 10 digs. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="152532" first="Linde" last="VanderVlucht"] </strong>added nine kills with four digs, while <strong>Jersey Scott </strong>had 11 digs and <strong>Analiese Fredin </strong>had 34 assists.</p>