D4 Semifinal Recap: Athens, Sacred Heart Sweep Way To First Final

Four teams stepped into the MHSAA Division 4 semifinals looking to reach their first state championship match.   In the end, it was Athens and Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart that achieved that goal with a pair of impressive sweeps of their respective opponents.   Now, a first-time champion will be crowned on Saturday at 10 a.m. when the Indians take on the Irish.   Here's a recap of how both teams punched their ticket to the final.   <h2>Athens def. Lansing Christian 25-18, 25-20, 25-23</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/1-Kylie-Quist-1024x908.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247482" width="271" height="240" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kylie Quist</figcaption></figure>   Despite being a three-set sweep, the first D4 semifinal was competitive and Lansing Christian had some opportunities to turn the tide in the match.   However, Athens had an answer for the Pilgrims each time.   In the end, the Indians had depth across the board that allowed it to finish each set.   “It's great to have,” Athens coach Jacy Cole said. “These girls are a team and we have a lot of players that contribute. It's a special group.”   Kylie Quist, a senior outside, led the Athens offensive attack with 11 kills. Senior Jocelyn Hall added nine, while junior middle Piper Porter had eight. Setter Alaina Brubaker recorded 29 assists in the win.   Defensively, Athens was just as spread out as it was on offense. Kamryn Parlin and Brubaker each had 14 digs while Porter had 13, Quist had 12 and Hall had 11. Parlin also chipped in with three solo blocks.   Lansing Christian was led by Eliza Wortz. The senior middle had 10 kills for the Pilgrims, while junior [player_tooltip player_id='172210' first='Katelynn' last='Rottman'] tallied nine kills with nine digs. Madelynn Rottman, the senior setter, put up 28 assists and eight digs while Audra Usiak had 18 digs to lead the Lansing Christian defense.   “(Athens) is a really tough team. We weren't at our full best today. We did some really good things. There are some moments where we beat ourselves in a way, but (Athens) is a tough team,” Lansing Christian coach Sarah Rottman said.   <h2>Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart def. Crystal Falls Forest Park 25-11, 25-10, 25-22</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/23-Angel-Brown-2-756x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247487" width="240" height="324" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='173615' first='Angel' last='Brown']</figcaption></figure>   Learning from last year's shortcoming in a D4 semifinal, Sacred Heart stormed out from the start of Thursday's matchup and never looked back.   The Irish overwhelmed Forest Park in the first two sets and held off a late Trojan rally in the third to earn a sweep.   “Nerves got to us last year, and we really talked about (this year) that we've been here before. We walked in today and the gym didn't even look as big as it did last year,” Sacred Heart coach Krista Davis said. “We came out really, really strong. Forest Park was kind of us last year in the nerve department. I really wanted us to come out strong and take it one point at a time.”   The Irish were a well-oiled machine on offense, hitting .333 as a team led by Lillie Laney and [player_tooltip player_id='173615' first='Angel' last='Brown'], who combined for 18 kills.   The defensive play of libero Bridget Ruiz helped get the ball to setters [player_tooltip player_id='595955' first='Sophie' last='Hauck'] and Eliza Pieratt with a chance to get high-percentage swings at the net.   The Irish led 9-2 in the first set and 12-5 in the second, leaving Forest Park a bit shell shocked.   “We definitely have been a team where the last few games we started out pretty slow,” CFFP coach Bobbie Jo Anderson said. “We've been pretty timid starting out. I think there were lots of nerves. It took us a long time to settle in and good teams force you to make mistakes. (SHA) is a good team. We just didn't play to our potential until the third set.”   The third set was the most competitive. The Irish led 23-17 before Forest Park fought back to make it 23-21. Laney then put down her match-high 16th kill to set up the final point on a Forest Park error.   Forest Park was led by Ema Stepien, who had nine kills. Leah Feldhausen added eight. Charlie Larson tallied 21 assists, while Audrey Franz had nine digs.

Four teams stepped into the MHSAA Division 4 semifinals looking to reach their first state championship match.