North Branch Fends Off Game Cadillac To Win D2 Title
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You wouldn’t have found many people outside of Cadillac picking the Vikings to beat North Branch in Saturday’s Division 2 championship. Though the Broncos did prevail in three set to win their first state title since 2016, Cadillac made North…
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Continue ReadingYou wouldn’t have found many people outside of Cadillac picking the Vikings to beat North Branch in Saturday’s Division 2 championship.
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.
The first set proved to be the story of the match.
The Vikings came out hot and were dominating early behind their blocking and attacks from junior 6-foot-4 middle Carissa Musta Carissa Musta 6'3" | MB Cadillac | 2024 State MI . Cadillac built a 19-9 lead and seemed certain to the first set.
But, the Broncos showed their moxy and slowly fought their way back.
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 Aubree Deshetsky Aubree Deshetsky 5'9" | OH North Branch | 2026 State MI .
“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.”
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.
But, that was when North Branch cranked it into high gear. Senior Natasha Bickel sparked a 7-0 run to end the second with three kills and push the Broncos up two sets.
“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.”
The third was all Broncos, as they went up 20-8 and eventually closed out the match.
North Branch Standouts
Junior OH Alana Deshetsky Alana Deshetsky 5'8" | OH North Branch | 2024 State MI : 9 kills, 22 digs
Freshman OH Aubree Deshetsky Aubree Deshetsky 5'9" | OH North Branch | 2026 State MI : 13 kills, 14 digs
Junior S Adrienne Greschaw Adrienne Greschaw 5'9" | S North Branch | 2024 State MI : 45 assists, 7 digs
Junior L Hailey Green Hailey Green 5'1" | DS/L North Branch | 2024 State MI : 25 digs
Junior RS Clara Gyomory Clara Gyomory 5'10" | RS North Branch | 2024 State MI : 12 kills, 4 digs
Senior MH Natasha Bickel: 11 kills, 8 digs
Cadillac Standouts
Junior MH Carissa Musta Carissa Musta 6'3" | MB Cadillac | 2024 State MI : 16 kills (.304), 7 assisted blocks
Junior OH Makenzie Johns: 12 kills, 4 digs
Sophomore S Cassie Jenema: 30 assists, 17 digs
Junior L Brooke Ellens Brooke Ellens 5'1" | DS/L Cadillac | 2024 State MI : 23 digs
Senior OH Joslyn Seeley Joslyn Seeley 5'10" | OH Cadillac | 2023 State MI : 6 kills, 12 digs