Portagers fall to MCE in district final
By DYLAN SAVELA, Manistee News
Advocate Sports Writer
Published: Friday, November 6, 2009
FRANKFORT — Onekama knew a rocky road was
ahead before going into the Class D district title game against Mason
County Eastern.
The numbers were in favor of the Cardinals.
MCE beat the Portagers two times in the regular season en route to a
share of the West Michigan D League championship with Big Rapids
Crossroads Charter Academy, but perhaps more impressive, was the nine
straight district titles the Cardinals were bringing to the table.
The numbers on Thursday night’s scoreboard followed suit.
MCE topped Onekama in four games, 17-25,
25-7, 25-3, 25-19, increasing its district title streak to 10 straight
seasons.
“Well, we like winning,” said Cardinals’ coach Bill Cole. “So it’s a
pretty good tradition to have.”
Onekama was quick to make it interesting however, by taking game one.
Jennica Mathieu served up five straight points that left the Portagers
with a 6-4 lead they wouldn’t look back from.
“It was great serving, and we were tough on the net and just played
really well together out there,” said Onekama coach Lanette Keith.
But unfortunately for the Portagers, the win would be their last.
“We just came back a little more focused,” Cole said of his team in the
remainder of the match. “I brought up a few underclassmen that started
the first game and they played like they were a little afraid — like
younger kids will sometimes. But basically my starting seniors came out
the next two games and played pretty well.”
Onekama held a 3-2 advantage in the second game before the Cardinals
were sparked by a string of six serve points from senior Jessica
Vandeven and a string of nine from sophomore Alyssa Bryan to run away
with the win.
In the third game, MCE’s Megan Wheeler started with an 11-point serving
streak, putting the Portagers in a 12-0 hole they weren’t able to dig
themselves out of.
“We didn’t really fall apart or anything,” Keith said. “He put in some
of his better players and they had a lot of hard serves and we had a
hard time getting them under control.” |
Onekama's Jennica Mathieu
(left) and Sherece Revolt (right) try to block a spike by MCE's
Kinzie Spencer (Dylan Savela/News Advocate
Onekama bounced back with a
tightly-contested fourth game, but it was the reigning district
champions who pulled away in the end.
“I think that they came out strong and we came out strong, but as time
went on they just got stronger,” said Mathieu of the match.
But Keith wasn’t leaving disappointed. “It
was still a good night. I saw a lot of great plays, and some good
blocking on the net,” she said. “It was a great season. We made it to
the finals, were able to knock out some good teams to make it here.
“The girls had a lot of fun and played really well together.”
For the Cardinals, they’ll move on to regional competition on Tuesday in
Buckley. They’ve become accustomed to moving on, but for Cole, the focus
won’t be on the upcoming opponent. Like I’ve said, we don’t really worry
to much about other teams,” he said. “If we’re hitting, we’re going to
be tough to beat, if we beat ourselves, anybody can beat us.” |
