Port Huron, Mich. – History was made as the Raiders came back through the loser's bracket for the first time ever to win regionals and advance to Nationals for the ninth time in the past 12 years. In the last eight championships, the Raiders made it to the finals after winning their first two or three matches, but this time it was different. It took grit, it took desire, it took belief, it took winning three matches (nine sets) on Championship Saturday, and the Raiders proved they were the most deserving team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Charleston, West Virginia.
Thursday evening the Raiders took care of business in their first match by sweeping the Stars of Lansing 25-22, 25-21, 25-22. That set up a Winner's Bracket final on Friday night against Muskegon, who snapped the Raiders nine match win streak against them, winning 20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20. The Raiders then had to win three matches on Championship Saturday, and they did so by taking out Glen Oaks in straight sets 25-14, 25-15, 25-19, then taking down Muskegon 25-12, 25-21, 25-23 and then 25-22, 25-18, 15-25, 25-23.
Friday's night matchup against the 16th ranked Jayhawks started off well for the Raiders as they led nearly the entire first set and won 25-20. However, Muskegon played their tails off and the Raiders had a hard time landing a kill, digging out nearly 100 balls for the entire match, and worked their way to win the final three sets. Julie Brown and Jaren Smith combined for 28 kills. That win put them in the Championship match and it put the Raiders in an 11 AM matchup against the Glen Oaks Vikings.
GRCC proved to be no match for the Vikings in their match Saturday morning. The offensive and serving was on fire all match long and the 11th Raiders would cruise to victory. They hit .308 as a team and had 10 aces, including three from Jamie Wellet. 11 of the Raiders 38 kills came from Kendra DeJonge while Dani Johnston and Bre Wickerink combined for 15 and just one hitting error.
2016 was a very memorable Regional for both squads, as the Jayhawks nearly did what the Raiders pulled off this year. On their own court, Muskegon beat the one seeded Raiders 15-8 in the fifth set forcing a winner take all championship and it looked as if the Jayhawks would get the upset. They won the first two sets easily, 25-17, 25-17, but back came the Raiders taking the next two sets, 25-22, 25-21 and then in a back and forth 5th set, 22-20! This year's final proved just as memorable.
In round one of the finals, the Raiders dominated the first set, winning 25-12, survived a late scare but won set two 25-21, and then won a nail biter (that no one led by more than three points) 25-23. They hit a blistering .419 in set one and finished with a solid .250 hitting percentage. Wickerink (who had the match winning kill) and DeJonge combined for 29 of the 49 total kills. Emma Pachulski had a very good eight kill match while adding two blocks. The Jayhawks hit just .102 for the match with Jaren Smith leading them with 11 kills.
That Raider win, set up the 6th meeting of the year between MCC and GRCC, and in this one the Jayhawks were the ones dominating early. They jumped out to an 18-10 lead and seemed as if they would cruise to the set one win. "Not so fast" said the Raiders who clawed all the back to tie it up at 21 after back to back aces from Johnston and then a kill by DeJonge. The Jayhawks regained the lead on the next serve, but the Raiders completed the huge comeback after a kill by Wickerink, then DeJonge and then the set winner from Wickerink! DeJonge had seven of her match/season high 24 kills in the set.
In the second set, the Jayhawks led for the first 27 points, but another comeback would put the Raiders back in front, 15-14. A block by Lauren Jonker and Autumn Severn gave the Raiders the lead for good as their squad finished the set off on 12-4 run, winning 25-18. DeJonge, Wickerink, Johnston and Kayla Salyer combined for all 13 Raider kills.
The relentless Jayhawks would not let the Raiders make yet another comeback as they dismantled the Conference/MCCAA Champions 25-15 in set three. GR only hit .083 despite five more kills from DeJonge.
For much of the fourth set, the score was within one or two points and despite the Raiders leading for much of it, the Jayhawks would just not go away. Late in the set, with the score nodded at 20, it became the "Dani Johnston show" as she had 13 hitting attempts. She would get a kills to make it 21-20, 22-20 then another to make it 24-20. Phenomenal digs and blocking by MCC ending up resulting to two Johnston errors and a 24-22 score. However, she wasn't going to be denied this time as she ripped one down the line in the back corner for the Championship Kill!
Tournament MVP, Kendra DeJonge saved one of her best performances of the year for the final match finishing with 24 kills, hitting a solid .286, and added 23 digs and two aces (both team highs as well). Also joining Kendra on the All-Tournament team were Johnston, Wickerink and Schultz. Johnston, connected on 11 of her team high 61 hitting attempts adding 7 digs and two blocks. Wickerink had 10 kills with Pachulski adding four. Schultz and Jamie Wellet were all over the court combining for 39 of the 95 Raider digs.
Final Tournament Statistical Leaders:
-Kills (226): DeJonge 75, Wickerink 47, Johnston 44, Pachulski 20, Salyer 16, Jonker 13
-Assists (212): Severn 145, Jamie Wellet 43, Schultz 13
-Aces (32): DeJonge 7, Severn 5, Schultz 4, Mykayla Vallad 4, Jasmine Wellet 4
-Digs (325): DeJonge 85, Schultz 65, Severn 36, Johnston 34, Jamie Wellet 33, Katelynn Kietzman 29
-Blocks (28.5): Salyer 13, Wickerink 9, Johnston 7, Jonker 7
What's next?
The Raiders should know in a couple days who they will square off against in Nationals. The 16 team double elimination tournament begins on Thursday November 15th and commences on the 17th. First round matches are at either 9, 11, 1 or 3. If the Raiders win that match they will play again on Thursday. If they lose they won't play again until Friday morning.
For pictures from the tournament and all throughout the season, visit our Flickr site.
Click here for the Final Regional Bracket/Results.
Click here for the National Tournament Bracket.
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