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SEMIFINALS ROUNDUP: Novi rallies to overcome 2-0 deficit to top Grand Haven, advance to Class A Title Match
Battle Creek – After falling dropping each of the first two games in the Class A semifinals, Novi had its back against the wall on Friday night, but the Wildcats responded in a big way against Grand Haven.
The Wildcats bounced back to take a narrow win in game three and then forced a decisive game five with a 25-20 in game four, erasing a two-games-to-none deficit that put Novi on the brink of elimination for the rest of the night.
In the fifth game, Paulina Iacobelli’s sealed the Novi comeback as she recorded the match-winning kill, lifting Novi to a 15-12 win, punching Novi’s ticket into the Class A State title match.
In the Class A State Championship Match, Novi will face Romeo, which swept Temperance Bedford, on Saturday at 2:00 pm at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
Leading the way for Novi was Iacobelli, who recorded 21 kills and 15 digs, while Victoria Iacobelli added in 19 kills of her own and 14 digs and freshman Erin O’Leary chipped in with 53 assists and 15 digs and Jordan Massab ended the match with 30 digs to help pace Novi.
Grand Haven was led by Autumn Monsma, who finished with 23 kills, Emily Lachmann, who had 22 kills of her own and Katie Cole, who had 60 assists.
Both Novi and Romeo will be in search of their first volleyball state championships in school history on Saturday afternoon.
Romeo 3, Temperance Bedford 0: Romeo stayed red-hot on Friday night as the Bulldogs followed up a dominant quarterfinal win over Mercy with an impressive sweep of Bedford in the semifinal. Junior Gia Milana helped pace Romeo as she registered 19 kills and seven digs, while Lauren North added in 10 kills and 34 assists to help lead Romeo into the Class A State Championship match where the Bulldogs will meet Novi. Miss Volleyball candidate Nicole Rightnowar finished with 14 kills and Isabelle Marciniak added in 24 assists for Bedford.
Battle Creek St. Phillip 3, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 0: Battle Creek St. Phillip will be making its ninth consecutive appearance in the Class D volleyball state championship game where it will be looking for its ninth consecutive title and 10th in 11 years. Abby McKenzie led the way for Battle Creek St. Phillip with 17 kills and 11 digs, while Emily Schaub added in 29 assists in the win, Megan Parker chipped in with eight kills of her own as well for Battle Creek St. Phillip. WOLL was led by 20 kills from Courtney Wightman and 15 more kills from Lindsay Wightman, while Beth Meehan finished with 42 assists for the Lakers.
Leland 3, Onaway 2: Leland will be making its first state championship match appearance since it won the Class D state championship back in 2006 as it picked up a five set win, including a rarely, if ever, seen shutout in the fifth and final game, 15-0, to advance to the state championship on Saturday. Maddie Trumble led the way for Leland with 21 kills, while Erica Ongaro’s nine aces and seven kills helped lead the way as well for Leland, as did Jessica Fleis’ 43 assists on the day. Onaway was led by 31 kills and 37 assists from Taylord Ehrke and 16 kills from Lexi Szymoniak.
