ST. NICHOLAS – A strong night at the service line by junior Caragan Thill led to the attack as Big Bay de Noc Volleyball triumphed over Mid Peninsula 25-15, 25-16 and 25-18 on Tuesday at Mid Peninsula.
Thill finished the night with 12 digs, eight kills (a match-best), and five aces (a match-best).
“She has come a long way,” That’s what Black Bears coach Angie Carley said about Thill. “We’ve really been riding her serves for the last two weeks and she came out of nowhere with it. She was a good server. And tonight her consistency on that good serve showed. That helped us take a lot of the leads we had in those three sets.”
Two of Thill’s aces came in the first set, turning a 3-3 tie into a 13-3 lead, a 10-0 run that saw the Wolverines use both of their timeouts in the stanza.
Thill hit two more aces as part of a 6-0 run that gave the Black Bears a 13-3 lead. The fifth and final ace of the night came later in the second period, giving them a 20-13 lead.
“She’s so tall and has these long arms and can jump about a mile, but she also works her ass off,” Carley said. “A lot of times you look at these players who can hit and block so well in the front row and you think, ‘What’s her defense like?’ And she’s going to bust her ass, stretch out on the floor and sacrifice her body. Whether she’s in the front row or the back row, it doesn’t matter.”
Carley was more than happy after Big Bay’s opening game.
“The best thing was that everything we talked about in training, about the mentality, was visible on the pitch today,” she said. “Our biggest hurdle in the past has been when we’ve lost the lead or (the other team) has caught up … we’ve always sunk into that hole and had to keep digging ourselves out. Our big task tonight was to pull ourselves out before we had to dig ourselves out. I think a lot of that showed tonight.”
Macy Peterson led the Black Bears with 19 assists and added 12 digs. Tatum Harvey had 16 digs, the most of the game. Payson Pederson added 10 digs and seven kills. Dixie Morris had 18 assists. Lila Morris had three kills, three digs and a block. Cali Miller had two digs. Kelsye Krankovich added a dig.
Tuesday was also the first home game for the Wolverines, who will have to replace departed seniors Kristin Koth, Josie Hemminger, Rachel Johnson and Olivia Nummilien. This year’s roster includes senior Deziray Casey, juniors Hope Brunngraeber, Gallie Haring and Tessa Lofquist, sophomores Abbigale Klee and Payton Latvala, who will play with freshman Madelyn Lofquist.
“There is still a lot to improve,” Said Mid Pen coach Emily Kayser. “We are super young this year. We have four girls who have never been on the varsity team and three who are returning. So there is still a lot of development to be done.”
The Wolverines were nervous at the start of the game. They had communication problems, missed shots at the service line, in front of the net and on passes, and lacked energy.
“Their energy levels and training sessions were like night and day compared to what happened tonight,” said Kayser. “The girls dance during practice. They have fun. They talk to each other. You could probably hear crickets out here (during the game).”
Tessa Lofquist led the Orange and White with eight digs and five kills, and scored two aces. Madelyn Lofquist scored six assists, three digs, two kills and an ace, which was a team-best performance. Brunngraeber scored four aces, five assists, four digs and a kill, which was a team-best performance. Harring scored five digs and an ace. Casey scored six digs, which was a team-best performance. Klee scored two kills.
The Wolverines will travel to North Central to compete on September 3rd at 7:00 p.m. The Black Bears will host Rapid River on September 3rd at 6:00 p.m.