BATTLE CREEK – Bronson repeated as Class C state champion with a 3-1 comeback win Saturday over finals newcomer Brown City, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11 and 25-19.
Volleyball and net on hardwood floor of volleyball court
Bronson coach Jean LaClair and several players commented all weekend that they play better from behind. After losing the first set and giving up a big lead in the second, Bronson had its opportunities to prove it again.
“(Brown City) was playing really well and we hadn’t shown up yet,” LaClair said about the first set loss.
“These kids play hard from behind and I still feel the pressure was on them and not us,” LaClair added about being defending champ. “We weren’t playing for last year; we were playing for this year. We didn’t worry about last year. We didn’t care that we were defending champs. It didn’t matter. You get to this level and everybody’s good so you have to play.”
The first set was Bronson’s only lost game during its tournament run. The Vikings responded by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, but gave that up to the Green Devils’ 19-10 run, forcing Bronson to come back again. It did to win the set, the final point coming on a kill by Jill Pyles, who had 12 for the match.
But she had a lot of help. Allison Sikorski led Bronson with 13 kills and Keona Salesman added a dozen as well.
“Our team is so offensively spread out; you can’t focus on just one of our hitters,” Pyles said.
A stronger defense eventually led Bronson to the repeat title.
“We just struggled to shut (Becki Krause) down,” LaClair said of Brown City’s leading hitter with 12. “We’re a very good blocking team but I don’t think we blocked very well against her. She’s a tremendous player.”
The momentum swing was evident on the stat sheet. The two teams were pretty even on kills the first and second sets, but Bronson had a 12-3 and 11-7 advantage in the third and fourth sets, respectively.
Bronson closed out with last set with three consecutive, strong kill shots, the last one provided by Salesman that led to a team celebration pile on the Kellogg Arena floor.
Brown City lost in the semifinals last year, making 2016 its second trip to Battle Creek but first finals appearance.
“It’s just a different feeling,” Brown City coach Jenna Welke said, “and I think that tonight when they went on those runs at the end, we were feeling that, that this is our first time and we couldn’t overcome.”