Takeaways from Cheboygan volleyball match vs. defending D3 champion
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CHEBOYGAN — Anytime the Cheboygan volleyball team won a point against the Kingsley Stags on Tuesday, Sept. 29, the Chiefs celebrated with a lot of excitement.
They had good reason to against the Stags, last year's MHSAA Division 3 state champions.
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Like last season's state title team, this Kingsley team is also elite.
While the Chiefs had some positive moments in Tuesday's clash, they were no match for the Northern Shores Conference-leading Stags in a 3-0 loss (4-25, 7-25, 12-25) at home.
Here's some takeaways from the conference matchup.
Middleton spearheads powerhouse Stags
For the Chiefs (11-9-3, 2-3 NSC) to even have a shot of staying with the Stags (28-3-1), slowing down superstar hitter Jenna Middleton — who recently became the 35th player in MHSAA history to reach 2,000 career kills — was a must.
But right off the bat, Middleton's powerful hitting was on display for the entire crowd, as she delivered 13 kills in the opening set, which easily went to the Stags. By the end of a dominant second set, she had 20 kills.
Middleton's big night consisted of a match-high 29 kills for the Stags, who maintained their unbeaten conference clip.
Coach Jordan Barrette's Chiefs did just about all they could, but it wasn't enough against a program that should have a solid shot to capture another state crown, this time in Division 2.
"Knowing what they were, we knew coming into this game that this is what that team looked like," Barrette said. "They have lost three games the entire season, so we knew that they were going to be extremely tough competition. We set the goal of let's have fun. Our thing recently has been mental toughness and positive talk on the court."
Kingsley aiming for big prize again
After a week away from any competitive matches, Kingsley didn't show any signs of rust from the first point until the last, unleashing its outstanding attackers and playing superb defense.
All in all, Kingsley coach Dave Hall was pleased with his team's road performance.
"I told them coming in to worry about our side (of the court)," Hall said. "When we're playing together and our defense is playing like that, we're a fun team to watch. I'm a defensive guy, so when I see our defense playing like that, it just makes me happy. When the score's out of reach, they're still diving for balls, and that's just great to see."
After earning Division 3 glory last November, the goal will be to do the same in D2, but Hall knows the competition is even stiffer as his Stags move up a division.
"From day one, they've had that goal of getting back to Battle Creek," Hall said. "Now whether that's the final four or winning it, it doesn't matter. They just want to play in that arena again. I think that's a reachable goal. Winning it in D2 is going to be much, much harder than D3 with some of the teams that I see, but I think we have a shot."
Chiefs show improvement in third
It might've been a rough night for the Chiefs, but as Barrette mentioned, the goal was to have fun even if the match was easily their toughest of the season for Cheboygan.
In the third, the Chiefs enjoyed themselves when they got the upper hand on points, some of which came from junior outside hitter Sophia Naden, who finished with five kills. Diem Schley and Maddie Long added two kills apiece.
"After only two points in the first set, I talked about that our energy could be better," Barrette said. "I said let's aim to get five more (points) than we got the last set, and they got double digits. The bench made a huge difference in that. That's the power of us being loud and engaged and really executed, so that was a big change."
Cheboygan takes on Sault Ste. Marie in a non-conference match on Thursday, Oct. 1, in Sault Ste. Marie.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Takeaways from Cheboygan volleyball match vs. defending D3 champion