(This story was updated to add new information.)
MACKINAW CITY – There isn’t much room for error if you’re a Northern Lakes Conference volleyball title contender.
Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman and his team know that anybody can beat any team on any given night. But somehow, Huffman’s Comets keep finding ways to win.
Wednesday night was the most recent success story for the Comets, who remained unbeaten in NLC play with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over scrappy defending champion Boyne Falls (25-23, 22-25, 30-28, 25-23) at home.
CHEBOYGAN VOLLEYBALL: What were the main takeaways from Cheboygan volleyball's match against Boyne City?
VOTE FOR AOTW: Vote for the Cheboygan Daily Tribune's Athlete of the Week for Sept. 16-21
“We knew we needed this game to stay ahead in the conference and possibly take that conference title this year,” Mackinaw City senior Abby Brown said. “We lost it pretty badly last year, so we’re trying to just fight back really hard and fight with this new team, because we’re pretty young.”
Here’s some takeaways from Wednesday’s match.
Back and forth battle
The Comets (11-7-1, 7-0 NLC) prevailed but the Loggers, an opponent who refused to back down all night, gave them all they could handle in what was a seesaw contest.
After Mackinaw City held on in a close first set, Boyne Falls returned the favor by evening the match with a second-set win. In the second, the Comets cut their deficit to 23-22 after a thunderous kill from Kerry-Ann Ming, but the Loggers won the next two points to gain momentum.
The Comets held a 23-18 advantage in the third, but Boyne Falls responded again, and the teams went back and forth, winning several points. Mackinaw City got the winning point when the Loggers couldn't to handle an attack.
The final set was almost as chaotic with both teams trading haymakers again, but one last time, the Comets finished a set strong and held on for a precious triumph.
“They don’t quit, they’ve got a lot of grit, and they fight hard,” Huffman said of his team. “There were aspects of our game that weren’t very sharp tonight, but we made up for it with effort, getting after balls, cleaning up tips. It was stressful, but man, they play hard and do a good job.”
About that third set
The Comets have been involved in some wild sets during this thrilling NLC run, but perhaps none were as thrilling as the epic fourth they had with the Loggers. A loss might’ve brought down the spirits of the Comets, but they won with smart play and mental toughness against a difficult conference foe.
“We’ve played a lot of scrappy teams this year, so we’ve had to learn how to do that,” Brown said. “We’re used to the fundamentals and the quickness of varsity play, because we play a lot of U.P. teams, but we’ve had to play a lot of the teams down here and learn how to scrap, and we just had to work really hard to win.”
MITCH CRAWFORD: 'He's grown up a ton': Crawford a well-disciplined difference maker for Inland Lakes
KIEFER TWINS: Twins Carson, Andrew Kiefer a driving force for Cheboygan cross country team
Leading the Comets was Rian Esper, who finished with 38 digs, 17 service points and two digs, while Abby Brown tallied 10 kills, 14 points, four aces and eight digs, Vanessa Groenewoud added 18 kills, 10 points, 12 digs and five aces, Alaina Brown recorded 12 kills, 10 digs and five points, Kerry-Ann Ming registered 12 kills and 10 digs, and Elizabeth Kruczynski had 11 points, six aces, eight digs and three kills.
Big showdown ahead
With one more win, Mackinaw City would finish the NLC regular season undefeated. However, the Comets will have to get it done at Harbor Light, another league contender this year. That match will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
“Our No. 1 goal this year was going in and winning the conference title,” Huffman said. “The girls know that if we can go into that (NLC) tournament as the top seed, that gives us a little bit of an advantage. If we show this kind of grit and we sharpen up some things, I think we’ve got a good shot on Tuesday.”
The NLC tournament will be played at Boyne Falls on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Mackinaw City grinds out hard-fought victory over Boyne Falls, remains unbeaten in NLC
Local News
Comments / 0