Leland, Everest Collegiate Win 5-Set, D4 Thrillers

It doesn't get much better than what we saw in the Division 4 semifinals on Friday.   Both semifinal contests went five sets, with scrappy and emotional play highlighting each match.   The end result will see Clarkston Everest Collegiate appearing in its first-ever state final to play Leland, which is appearing in its 14th state final and seeking its sixth state championship.   You can see a photo gallery from <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/11/everest-collegiate-vs-lenawee-christian-photo-gallery/">Everest Collegiate vs. Lenawee Christian</a> and <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/11/leland-vs-forest-park-photo-gallery/">Leland vs. Forest Park</a>.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Everest Collegiate def. Lenawee Christian 17-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-11</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/D4-Semi-1-1.jpg?w=862" alt="" class="wp-image-479932" style="width:247px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='261206' first='Sarah' last='Bradley']</figcaption></figure>   Leaning on last year's D4 final performance by Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, Clarkston Everest Collegiate rallied from two sets down to defeat Adrian Lenawee Christian in a thrilling five-set D4 semifinal to open play on Friday.   “One of the coaches put a pamphlet out about Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart last year and how they won (the D4 title) in five sets,” Everest Collegiate junior outside [player_tooltip player_id='261206' first='Sarah' last='Bradley'] said. “They went down in the first two and then came back to win the last three. That was our motivation for this one.”   The first two sets, Lenawee Christian looked like the top-ranked team in the state. Their size, athleticism and serving kept the Mountaineers from getting into a rhythm on offense.   After the Cougars took the first two sets, the Mountaineers just snapped into another level of play.   Gone were the errors and in came the aggressive swings.   The Mountaineers were able to get the ball to the outside, where Bradley caught fire and started putting points away. She had eight kills in the third to start the comeback.   In the fourth set, junior [player_tooltip player_id='288958' first='Madelyn' last='Krappmann'] joined Bradley in the offensive surge. The two combined for 16 kills in the fourth to even things up.   By the time the fifth set came, Everest Collegiate just had too much momentum for Lenawee Christian to stop. The Cougars managed to fight off five set points, but it was too late to keep their season alive.   Bradley closed the match with her 25th kill to send the Mountaineers to their first state final.   “I was just amazed of these girls and was so proud to see them coming together like that,” first-year Everest Collegiate coach Danielle Walker said. “We knew it wasn't over after those first two sets. They had worked so hard and didn't want to go home. They just played together. It was about every member of the team. They did this together with a common goal and they all wanted to win for each other. That's what this program has been about.”   Bradley had 23 digs and five aces to go with her 25 kills, while Krappmann finished with 20 kills, 15 digs and four aces. Erica Walker had 45 assists while Samantha Pietras had 14 digs.   Lenawee Christian was led by [player_tooltip player_id='473915' first='Hannah' last='Baker'], who had 18 kills with 11 digs and seven assisted blocks. Sophia Samonek added 14 kills with 13 digs, while Whitney Lilly tallied 10 kills and four aces. Gabby Bryja had 39 assists for the Cougars, while Allyson Day had 24 digs.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Leland def. Crystal Falls Forest Park 25-17, 17-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-9</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/D4-Semifinal-2-6.jpg?w=922" alt="" class="wp-image-480038" style="width:250px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='254395' first='Fiona' last='Moord']</figcaption></figure>   The “Super 7” of Leland continue their march toward a state championship.   The Comets needed all they had in the tank of their seven players to get past a resilient Crystal Falls Forest Park team that had an answer for almost everything Leland threw at them.   But, in the end, Leland's size and power eventually led it to a decisive 15-11 win in the fifth set.   “We can watch a team dig out every ball that we send over and still keep our poise and really try to maintain what we did on our side of the ball,” Leland coach Laurie Glass said. “I am thrilled because I 100 percent adore these kids and am completely aware what it took for them to be here. I love them and I wanted this for them.”   Leland looked like it was going to set the tone for a lopsided match in the opening set when it jumped out to a 9-1 lead and rode that to a comfortable 25-17 victory.   However, Forest Park responded to the loss in the second, using a 9-0 run to establish a 12-7 advantage that it wouldn't lose.   Leland showed its resilience by closing out the third set on a 6-0 run to keep the Trojans at bay, but Forest Park just wouldn't go away. They closed out the fourth set on a 7-2 run to force a fifth.   The final set belonged to Leland as it led 13-4 and held off one last Forest Park rally before finishing the match with kills from Olive Ryder and Kelsey Allen.   Allen put down 15 kills in the match while [player_tooltip player_id='254395' first='Fiona' last='Moord'] led the offense with 19 kills and added 15 digs and four aces. Shelby Plamondon recorded nine kills, while setter [player_tooltip player_id='483970' first='Abby' last='Hicks'] had 43 assists, 11 digs and three aces. Ryder finished with a team-high 27 digs to go with seven kills.   Forest Park was led by Ema Stepien, who had 12 aces and 18 digs. Libero Audrey Franz played an outstanding game with 29 digs and three aces, while Ava Fisher had nine kills and 18 digs.

It doesn't get much better than what we saw in the Division 4 semifinals on Friday.