D1 Semifinal Recap & Standouts: Beast of the East Rematch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Rockford and Northville met in the Beast of the East final last month, it felt like it had the potential to be a championship precursor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Low-and-behold, the Rams and Mustangs will meet up again for the Division 1 title on Saturday after both prevailed in their respective semifinal on Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville needed four sets to best Marian, while Rockford made quick work of Fenton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now when the two meet for the title, they will have over 24 hours to prepare instead of capping off a 12-hour day of play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>No. 2 Northville def. No. 4 Marian, 3-1</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":723056,"width":"278px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/Marian-vs-Northville-7.jpg?w=891" alt="" class="wp-image-723056" style="width:278px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='156293' first='Ella' last='Craggs']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A battle of Mustangs saw Northville fend off a feisty Marian squad to advance to Saturday's final. Northville prevailed by scores of 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-22.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian didn't make it easy on Northville, as the sets were tight throughout and came down to a few key rallies.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Twins <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156326' first='Mallory' last='Reck']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156325' first='Molly' last='Reck']</strong> clutch in pressure situations for Northville. They combined for 39 kills and 36 digs. Molly tallied 21 and 22, respectively, while Mallory had 18 and 14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156293' first='Ella' last='Craggs']</strong> dished out 42 assists and 19 digs, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='537079' first='Kaylyn' last='Tuck']</strong> had nine kills and five blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even when Marian pushed back, Northville had an answer behind their senior leaders, which is why Northville coach Sarah Lindstrom is confident her team can win again on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I've never been more confident in a team, and I don't think these kids could be more confident in themselves,” Lindstrom said. Every other time we've been here, we get here, we're in the locker room and we say, ‘hey, we made it here. So no matter what happens, we gave ourselves a chance.' Today in the locker room, we said, that's just not the case. We're not here to get third, we're not here to get second. We're here to win the state championship. And we've changed our mentality.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian was led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156287' first='Isabelle' last='Busignani']</strong>, who capped an impressive career with 16 kills and 20 digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='436889' first='Sophia' last='Smith'] </strong>added nine kills and 15 digs, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226885' first='Allie' last='Davison'] </strong>had 38 assists and 13 digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226945' first='Jayla' last='Zayti'] </strong>also chipped in with six kills and seven assisted blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville improves to 39-2 with the win, while Marian closes out its season at 45-8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>No. 6 Rockford def. HM Fenton, 3-0</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":723084,"width":"294px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/Rockford-vs-Fenton-14.jpg?w=958" alt="" class="wp-image-723084" style="width:294px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='467901' first='Mallory' last='Wandel']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockford punched its ticket to the final and never let Fenton get out of the gate on Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rams won by scores of 25-12, 25-14, 25-8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We felt good today. We had a good warm-up and came in very confident,” Rockford coach Kelly Delacher said. “This team has great chemistry and is very unselfish. They don't care who gets the credit, they just want to win and have fun together. It should be a great final.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rams were very effective on offense, hitting .392 as a team. Setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226887' first='Izzie' last='Delacher'] </strong>and <strong>Ashley Williams </strong>combined for 38 assists. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='467901' first='Mallory' last='Wandel'] </strong>led the offense with 18 kills while hitting .444. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226900' first='Liv' last='Hosford'] </strong>wasn't far behind with 15 kills and hitting .462. <strong>Eleanor Goad </strong>had nine digs to lead the defensive effort.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fenton was led by <strong>Anna Logan</strong>, who had eight kills and five digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226907' first='Eva' last='Long'] </strong>added 13 assists, four kills and four digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fenton closes out its season at 36-5, while Rockford improves to 40-9. The Rams are having an impressive postseason run that includes wins over Forest Hills Northern, Jenison and Grand Rapids Northview. Northville has disposed of Mercy, Bedford and Marian in the last two weeks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->