Chesaning knew all about Swan Valley hitter Rachel Joslyn, so the Vikings made a subtle shift in strategy.
The Vikings found other hitters, earning a 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 win over the Indians to win the Division 2 volleyball district championship Thursday at Swan Valley.
MORE: Check Saginaw-area district brackets, regional opponents
“Chesaning’s blockers were following Rachel all night,” Swan Valley coach Sarah Gyger said. “We had to start setting our middles. They were cheating to Rachel. A lot of the times, we didn’t have a middle blocker, so we had to feed the middle.”
That wasn’t as easy as it sounds, with starting middle hitter Makenna Dawson quarantined. But sophomore Lyberty Brandt and junior Adrianna Mileski took advantage of the open middle to help lift the Vikings to the title.
The 22-16 Vikings advance to the Division 2 volleyball regional semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Frankenmuth against Central Montcalm, a 3-2 winner over Ionia.
“We can really set any of our hitters, but we rely so much on our outside hitters,” Giger said. “We started working with our setter (sophomore Rylei Muter) to work the middle and set the middle hitters.”
In the other regional bracket at Frankenmuth, Birch Run will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday after a 3-0 win over Clio. The Panthers will have to wait until Saturday to learn their opponent. Essexville Garber beat Bay City John Glenn, 3-0, and Bullock Creek knocked off Carrollton, 3-0, to set up a Garber-Bullock Creek district final at 11 a.m. Saturday at Garber.
Sophie Waddle and Jacey Heist had 10 kills each for the Lancers, with Lauren Wishowski adding 10 digs. Addi buda and Vivian Freeland had 10 assists each.
Division 1
At Mount Pleasant: Mount Pleasant swept Midland High, 3-0, to claim the district title and advance to the regionals. The Oilers will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Houghton Lake against the Traverse City West-Traverse City Central winner. West and Central play at 6 p.m. Friday
Division 3
At Millington: Valley Lutheran blew past New Lothrop to claim a district title and advance to the regional tournament. The Chargers will play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Unionville-Sebewaing at USA.
At Ithaca: Breckenridge outlasted St. Charles, 25-17, 25-15, 21-25, 22-25, 15-8, to claim a district championship. The Huskies advance to the Unionville-Sebewaing regional, where they play in a semifinal game at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Otisville-LakeVille. Lindsay Pumford led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and four blocks, while Macie Czymbor added nine kills and six blocks.
Division 4
At Bay City All Saints: Midland Calvary Baptist, which advanced by forfeit in its semifinal against Michigan Lutheran Seminary, finished its district run with a 3-0 win over Bay City All Saints in the championship match. Calvary Baptist takes on Dryden at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a Division 4 regional semifinal at Mayville.