Rogers City faces Hillman for district volleyball title

It will be a battle of orange and black as the Rogers City Hurons face the Tigers of Hillman for the district volleyball title tonight at 6 p.m. (Nov. 3, 2022) in Onaway. 

Rogers City got by Posen 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-13, 25-20) and Hillman topped Onaway 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17) to earn a berth in the district finals.

Posen came out swinging in the first set against the Hurons, sparked by four kills from middle-hitter Ella Szatkowski to jump out to a 7-3 lead. The Vikings stretched that to 10-4 and then 23-13 before Rogers City mounted a late charge. Kills by Sophie Kieliszewski along with two aces by Alivia Freel helped narrow the score to 23-20. But a kill from Mia Newhouse, off a set from Ava Wesner, gave the Vikings point 25 and the first set win. 

Posen again got a lead in set number two, jumping out to a 9-3 lead after two aces from Mallory Donajkowski. But then the tide of momentum swung over to the Hurons as they tied the set at 13-13 after a service error, and then scored the next five points. Posen tied the set at 18-18, on Wesner’s kill and then the game was tied again at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22. A block by Szatkowski gave Posen set point at 25-24, but the Hurons rallied for the next three points to take the set. 

Rogers City scored points in bunches in set three to earn the win. Posen took a 7-1 lead in set four before the Hurons called to take the lead at 12-11. 

For Posen Szatkowski had five kills, three blocks and two aces; Newhouse had two aces, four digs and five kills; Shelby Donajkowski had 23 digs; Wesner had eight kills, 14 assists and five digs; and Alyssa Smigelski had nine digs. Posen finished at 7-15-1.

For Rogers City, Brooklyn Orr had 13 assists and two aces; Kieliszewski had nine blocks and 10 kills; Savannah Tulgestka had 15 digs and two aces; Alyssa Hein had eight digs and eight kills; Kailin Nowicki had 15 assists, five kills, four digs and three blocks and Freel had sic kills, three blocks and there aces. 

The Onaway Cardinals had their season end on the home court as Hillman moved on with a 3-0 win. The Cards fell behind early in the first set as Hillman jumped out to a 9-4 lead. A kills from Sydney Peel and Ema DeMaestri came before another rally for the Tigers. 

The Cards jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Hillman went on a 7-0 run. Onaway scored three before Hillman went on a 9-0 run to go up 15-7. But the Cards answered with a run of their own. With Grace Watson at the service line, Onaway scored five points. Hillman held on for the win. 

Onaway again got an early lead to start the third set at 4-3, but a 7-0 run powered Hillman to a 14-8 lead. Facing the end of their season, the Cards rallied to make the score 19-17, but could get no closer as Hillman scored the last six points of the set to earn the match win over the Cardinals. Onaway finished at 19-20-1 for the year.

Aubrey Benson had eight kills, 15 digs and two blocks; Grace Watson had 18 assists and 13 digs; Peel had six kills and 17 digs; Sadie Decker had five kills and eight digs; Ella Lintz had 11 digs