D2 Semifinal Recap: North Branch, Cadillac Earn Finals Spot

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One was expected, the other is making its debut.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday's Division 2 final will feature the preseason favorite North Branch take on Cadillac, who is making its first finals appearance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Broncos used their overall depth to overwhelm South Christian, while the Vikings shook off a slow start to defeat Divine Child in four.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's how things played out on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>North Branch def. South Christian 25-13, 25-19, 25-15</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":247926,"width":275,"height":314,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/8-Aubree-Deshetsky-3-896x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247926" width="275" height="314"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jim Fish wasn't shy about saying his team would be back playing for a state title in 2022 after finishing runner-up in D2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday night, Fish's Broncos backed up his words by sweeping a talented Grand Rapids South Christian team in the first D2 semifinal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We don't shy away from expectations. I said last year that we would be back. I said to put it in writing, put the target on us, I didn't care. I wanted them to fell that pressure all year long, and there has been pressure all year long,” Fish said. “The hard part was getting here. This is the fun part. (Thursday), we were just dialed in. Everybody on my team played well. There's not a single one on the court that didn't play well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Most of Fish's 2021 returned for the 2022 season, but one new face was freshman outside hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky']</strong>. On Friday, the new face was the offensive leader, as she put down 13 kills and added 10 digs in the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“What do you say about a freshman and the performance she put on today. That was amazing,” Fish said of Deshetsky. “We just knew we had to have Aubree on the outside (this season) because of her reach.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Branch continued to play its usual technically-sound style of volleyball. It had heavily scouted the South Christian offense and produced eight blocks as a team. When the Broncos weren't blocking, libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110301' first='Hailey' last='Green'] </strong>was getting to almost every ball. She finished with 19 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110302' first='Adrienne' last='Greschaw'] </strong>was also locked in, recording 35 assists, while the Broncos hit .270 against a very long Sailors squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222361' first='Clara' last='Gyomory'] </strong>had nine kills for the Broncos, while <strong>Natasha Bickel </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110291' first='Alana' last='Deshetsky'] </strong>each had eight. [player_tooltip player_id='110291' first='Alana' last='Deshetsky'] also had 16 digs while Aubree and Greschaw each recorded 10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110296' first='Ellie' last='Fles'] </strong>had 10 kills and nine blocks to lead South Christian on Friday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226876' first='Finley' last='Arp'] </strong>added seven kills while <strong>Skylar Raak </strong>had five and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66293' first='Kennedy' last='Arp'] </strong>and <strong>Ashlyn in'tHout </strong>each had four. <strong>Olivia in'tHout </strong>had 11 digs while <strong>Dana Langdon </strong>and Fles each recorded nine. <strong>Gina Boomsma </strong>had 17 assists with eight digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Cadillac def. Divine Child 16-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-13</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":247927,"width":280,"height":292,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/9-Carissa-Musta-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247927" width="280" height="292"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='110314' first='Carissa' last='Musta']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Veteran Cadillac coach Michelle Brines has worked for 23 seasons and never been able to reach championship Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On her sixth try as a semifinalist, Brines finally got what she had been chasing thanks to her Vikings besting Divine Child in four sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“This is my sixth time here, so just to be able to finally play on Saturday, it is just amazing,” Cadillac coach Michelle Brines said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brines has 6-foot-4 junior middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110314' first='Carissa' last='Musta'] </strong>to thank for Saturday's finals appearance. It was Musta's adjustments throughout the match that allowed Cadillac to bounce back from its rusty first set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Musta moved her blocking over slightly and started working her offspeed shots to begin finding consistent landing spots in the Divine Child defense. Here 17 kills, three solo blocks and six assisted blocks is what changed the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We always knew she could be a beast, and tonight she proved it,” Brines said of Musta.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Musta's success in the later sets also opened the door for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='108763' first='Joslyn' last='Seeley']</strong> and <strong>Makenzie Johns </strong>to warm up. Those two combined for 18 kills while <strong>Cassie Jenema </strong>fed all three for 32 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seeley joined <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110294' first='Brooke' last='Ellens'] </strong>as the defensive leaders with 18 digs each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Divine Child came out hot in the first set, using a balanced offense to overwhelm Cadillac, but the Falcons just couldn't sustain it in the later sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kate Reising </strong>had 17 kills to lead Divine Child offensively, while <strong>Reese Ringwelski </strong>and <strong>Chio Ibegbu</strong> each had 13. <strong>Jillian Palmer </strong>recorded 40 assists while running the offense. DC libero <strong>Paige Ebben </strong>played as well as anyone on the night, recording 29 digs. Her efforts kept the Falcons in a lot of points throughout the match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->