D3 Semifinal Recap: P-W, KZoo Christian To Play For First Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division 3 is certain to crown a first-time state champion in volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two former runner-ups, Pewamo-Westphalia (1994) and Kalamazoo Christian (1976), will both be making their first appearance in a final in decades.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two squads advanced to Saturday's final with wins in Friday's semifinal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pirates were too much for Cass City in a three-set sweep, while the Comets overcame a two-set deficit to edge Calumet in five sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's how it all went down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>P-W def. Cass City 25-15, 25-16, 25-18</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":247831,"width":271,"height":288,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/11-Taylor-Smith-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247831" width="271" height="288" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='172203' first='Taylor' last='Smith']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After an emotional win over top-ranked SMCC on Tuesday, Pewamo-Westphalia came into Kellogg Arena all business.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Backed by a large and vocal crowd, the Pirates punched their ticket to their first finals appearance since 1994 on Friday by sweeping Cass City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've had so many great teams in the eight years I have been here and great teams that preceded that from 1994 on. It's been a long journey for the school and the community,” P-W coach Jon Thelen said. “It was a very confident win for us. We did a lot of the things we have been working so hard on all season well. We walked into the gym with an air of extreme confidence and I was really happy with how we played.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pirates used their size and athleticism to keep Cass City from getting into much offensive flow throughout the match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Though P-W recorded just four solo blocks and four assisted, they got their hands on a lot of Cass City attacks to slow the Red Hawks down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sierra Schneider </strong>was the biggest blocking force. The 6-foot-1 senior middle had three solo and one assisted. Junior 6-1 setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172203' first='Taylor' last='Smith'] </strong>had 26 assists, eight kills and nine digs to lead the P-W offense, while 5-11 senior outside <strong>Dani Pohl </strong>had 12 kills with five digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='462056' first='Saige' last='Martin']</strong>, a junior 6-0 middle added seven kills and six aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cass City was led by standout sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156307' first='Shelby' last='Ignash']</strong>. The 6-0 middle/outside put down a match-high 14 kills while hitting .400. She also led Cass City defensively with nine digs. Fellow sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172195' first='Kacee' last='Gray'] </strong>added nine kills and nine digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172194' first='Saylar' last='Cuthrell']</strong> had 25 assists and six digs for Cass City as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Kalamazoo Christian def. Calumet 16-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-11</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":247832,"width":276,"height":316,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/15-Marisa-Fetterley-3-894x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247832" width="276" height="316" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marisa Fetterley</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It wasn't the start Kalamazoo Christian was hoping for on Thursday, but the Comets dug deep and rallied from two sets down to best Calumet in the second D3 semifinal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our school has never been this far before, so when you are in that position it can make you question things. I was trying to drill in their head that they were good enough to be (in Battle Creek) and they could win this match,” said first-year Kalamazoo Christian coach Carlie Southland. “We just had to revert back to our game plan and execute it better. We had to move the ball around.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Down two sets, the Comets started to develop a connection between setter <strong>Lola Stecker</strong> and 6-foot-3 middle <strong>Marisa Fetterley</strong>. Fetterley came through with four kills in the decisive fifth set and had a team-high 21 to go along with six blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='176604' first='Holland' last='DeVries'] </strong>had nine kills for Kalamazoo Christian, while <strong>Mackenzie Ash </strong>added eight and <strong>Makenna Ekkens </strong>had six. Libero <strong>Jovie Cochran </strong>led the defensive effort with 23 digs while Ekkens had 19 and DeVries tallied 17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Calumet looked like an unstoppable force in the early going, as its block was causing issues for the Comets. The Copper Kings put up nine blocks for the match, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473930' first='Allison' last='Bjorn']</strong>, who had one solo and five assisted. Bjorn also had 11 kills, while hitting .364.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Helen Beiring </strong>led Calumet's offense with 21 kills. She also chipped in with 18 digs. <strong>Lainea Kariniemi </strong>recorded 44 assists and 14 digs, while <strong>Kaylie Halonen </strong>had a team-high 20 digs. <strong>Jackie Kilunen </strong>added 19 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->