Volleyball: Harper Creek, Lakeview and No. 3 St. Philip all advance to regional finals

BATTLE CREEK – No. 3-ranked Harper Creek was a heavy favorite, playing in front of a big home crowd.

So it made sense that the Beavers were a little nervous as they began regional play.

But, after a slow start, Harper Creek rolled to a 3-1 victory over Niles in this Division 2 regional semifinal volleyball match at Harper Creek High School on Tuesday.

The Beavers put some nerves behind them and beat unseeded Niles, 21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-17, as Harper Creek advances to a regional final against Three Rivers on Thursday at 6 hours at Harper Creek High School. .

“I was a little nervous at first, honestly. But after that start, we did all the little things, executed them and moved forward,” Harper Creek senior Ella Chantrenne said. “We are very happy to be able to continue playing.”

In fact, Harper Creek came out strong and led the first game, 18-12. But Niles went on a 10-1 run to take a 22-19 lead before taking the advantage by winning the first set.

“I think we’re nervous,” Harper Creek coach Terra King said. “We spend too much time trying to figure out how to beat the other team, instead of just playing our game. Once we focused on our game, everything was fine. We seemed to get our act together when the things are going well. hustling and that’s what we did again this evening.

After the first set scare, Harper Creek took a 7-1 lead in the second set and never trailed. Another fast start in the third set, leading 8-2, had the Beavers feeling confident again. In the fourth set, Harper Creek opened a 7-7 match by going on an 8-2 run to lead 15-9. From there, the Beavers closed out the game with consistent play until the end.

Apparently Niles was looking to set up his blocks to take down Harper Creek all-state senior Cassidy Pratley. Pratley still had 22 kills to lead the team, but the Beavers also had to look elsewhere for points. Sophomore Camille Robinson had 15 kills and Chantrenne added 12 with Krista Brannen chipping in with eight kills. Taegen Anderson added 49 assists. Addison Woodruff had 27 digs and Chantrenne added 19.

“We had some other girls that were able to step up tonight,” King said. “Our sophomore (Robinson) played well tonight. Ella was a very consistent presence for us and she did what she does and we saw Krista come alive as well. And Cassidy does a good job coaching everything the world through all this, even if they tried to take it a little.”

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Lakeview advances in Division 1

After not leaving the district a year ago, Lakeview made it its mission to keep its season going as long as possible this year.

The Spartans will continue to play as Lakeview defeats Byron Center, 3-1, in this Division 1 regional semifinal at Thornapple-Kellogg High School in volleyball on Tuesday.

Lakeview won 26-24, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, to advance to the regional final against Portage Northern at 6 p.m. Thursday at Thornapple-Kellogg. Portage Northern defeated Holland West Ottawa in five sets to advance. The Spartans split with Portage Northern during the regular season.

“The girls are overwhelmed with enthusiasm,” Lakeview coach Renee Buchholz said. “Since they didn’t pull districts last year, they came out with something to prove this year and show everyone that they can do it.”

Lakeview saw contributions from all over the court in the win with Anya Rankin leading the way with 13 kills and 18 digs and Livi Overbeek adding 11 kills and 14 digs. Carson Howard had 10 kills, Camille Oxley had 21 digs and Caitlyn Miller had 41 assists.

“We mixed our shots really well and who we gave the ball to,” Buchholz said. “They had a libero who did a great job of getting everything done, so we tried to not be so predictable and keep the ball away from her, so we got everyone involved tonight.”

St. Philip advances to Division 4

St. Philip will be playing in its seventh regional final in the last eight years. But this year, the Tigers are doing it with a very young team that only has one senior.

St. Philip advanced to the regional final with a 25-21, 25-11, 25-12 victory over Martin in this Division 4 regional semifinal at Martin High School. St. Philip will face No. 8-ranked St. Joseph Our Lady. du Lac during a match at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“We talked a lot at the beginning of the season about the need to be patient because of our youth,” St. Philip coach Vicky Groat said. “We said we might look horrible sometimes at the start of the season, because we were so young, and we did. But the girls play better every time they take the floor and that’s It’s an exciting time for them, isn’t it.”

Lanie Overbeek and Quinn Dzwik each had 10 kills to lead St. Philip, while Adriana Olsen added nine kills. Mylee Grimm had 14 digs and Quinn Dzwik added 13 while Overbeek also had eight digs. Addi Dzwik had 23 assists and eight digs.

Bronson progresses in Division 3

No. 8-ranked Bronson swept Watervliet, 3-0, in this Division 3 regional semifinal at Bridgman High School. Bronson will face No. 3 ranked Kalamazoo Christian in a regional final at 6 p.m. Thursday in Bridgman.

Bill Broderick can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Battle Creek Area Results from Regional Volleyball Semifinals