North Branch Fends Off Game Cadillac To Win D2 Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You wouldn't have found many people outside of Cadillac picking the Vikings to beat North Branch in Saturday's Division 2 championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Though the Broncos did prevail in three set to win their first state title since 2016, Cadillac made North Branch earn every point in a 31-29, 25-18, 25-17 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first set proved to be the story of the match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings came out hot and were dominating early behind their blocking and attacks from junior 6-foot-4 middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110314' first='Carissa' last='Musta']</strong>. Cadillac built a 19-9 lead and seemed certain to the first set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":248246,"width":289,"height":269,"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-Natasha-Bickel-4-1024x956.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-248246" width="289" height="269"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Natasha Bickel</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But, the Broncos showed their moxy and slowly fought their way back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Branch would fight off five set points when down 24-19 and four more later in the set before eventually finding a way to a 31-29 victory after back-to-back sets from freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“That first set was everything. We lose that first set and maybe it's a different match, I don't know,” North Branch coach Jim Fish said. “We just struggled. I told them it would be an ugly game and we had to be patient. We lost that patience for a while, but then we started making plays. That's the mark of a good team, that they're not going to give up. We didn't panic, which was good. That was a huge comeback.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Branch then got out to a 7-2 lead in the second and it would have been understandable for Cadillac to fold, but the Vikings fought back and tied the score at 18-18.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But, that was when North Branch cranked it into high gear. Senior <strong>Natasha Bickel</strong> sparked a 7-0 run to end the second with three kills and push the Broncos up two sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“If we could have gotten one of those set points, who knows what could have happened,” Cadillac coach Michelle Brines said. “I was really proud of my team. I don't think many people gave us much of a chance at all and we just played pretty tough. We played tough for the first set-and-a-half, then it felt like we were running out of steam a little bit and (North Branch) was asserting their will.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third was all Broncos, as they went up 20-8 and eventually closed out the match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>North Branch Standouts</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior OH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110291' first='Alana' last='Deshetsky']: </strong>9 kills, 22 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman OH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky']: </strong>13 kills, 14 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior S <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110302' first='Adrienne' last='Greschaw']: </strong>45 assists, 7 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior L <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110301' first='Hailey' last='Green']: </strong>25 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior RS <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222361' first='Clara' last='Gyomory']</strong>: 12 kills, 4 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior MH <strong>Natasha Bickel: </strong>11 kills, 8 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Cadillac Standouts</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior MH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110314' first='Carissa' last='Musta']: </strong>16 kills (.304), 7 assisted blocks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior OH <strong>Makenzie Johns: </strong>12 kills, 4 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore S <strong>Cassie Jenema: </strong>30 assists, 17 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior L <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110294' first='Brooke' last='Ellens']</strong>: 23 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior OH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='108763' first='Joslyn' last='Seeley']: </strong>6 kills, 12 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->