Marian edges Clarkston as school mourns AD
Marian mourns athletic director, edges Clarkston in D1 semifinal
BATTLE CREEK » There was a lot on the minds of the Marian volleyball players Thursday night.
Aside from the pressures of playing in a Division 1 state semifinal against Clarkston, the Mustangs were playing with heavy hearts as they were coping with the passing of Marian Athletic Director David Feldman on Thursday night after a lengthy battle with COVID-19.
The coaching staff wore ribbons while the players left messages on their shoes to honor Feldman. Their gritty play against the Wolves was also a tribute, as Marian battled back from being down a set on two occasions to win the match 22-25, 25-18, 1125, 25-21, 15-11.
“It was an absolutely devastating loss. He’d been in the hospital for five weeks and we truly believed he was just going to eventually get better. It was going to take a long time, but in our hearts we knew he was going to get better. It was a big shock,” Marian coach Mayssa Cook said of Feldman.
“I could tell the girls had been emotional from their eyes. We talked about honoring Dave and how he loved every single athlete at Marian, how he supported us and cared about each one individually. We just talked about being focused and playing for him. He’s proud of us regardless of the outcome. It’s going to be a long journey mourning for him and honoring him. We have a mission we set out since last season, talking about wanting to come to Battle Creek this year. We said we were going to remain focused as a team for each other and for Dave.”
The match was befitting the Kellogg Arena venue, as each team showcased high caliber play.
After Marian jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the first, Clarkston turned the tables. The Wolves started finding their serve, which opened the door for the rest of their attack. Shay Bordine had a pair of aces to help tie the score. Claire Nowicki tallied eight kills in the set to lead the Wolves to the win.
Marian answered the opening set by turning up the intensity in the second. The Mustangs controlled the set from start-tofinish, racking up 18 kills as a squad to even the match.
“Set two was more our style of play. That’s more the team I am used to seeing on the court,” Cook said.
The Wolves couldn’t have played much better than they did in the third set. After a quick 3-1 deficit, Clarkston took over from there. The Wolves would score 12 of the next 13 points with multiple kills from Sydney Hasenfratz, Nowicki and Madison McGraw. Clarkston continued to build on its lead throughout the set and wrapped it up with an ace from Paige Giehtbrock.
“That third set, we just dominated offensively and made very minimal errors. That’s what this game is about, more positives than negatives,” Clarkston coach Kelly Pinner said.
Just like it did in the second set, Marian responded in the fourth. The Mustangs led early, but saw Clarkston claw back to take the lead. Instead of getting rattled, Marian hunkered down and took five of the final six points to force a fifth set.
“We are very good at that,” Cook said of bouncing back from a lopsided set. “We have been beaten 25-12 before, against Mercy, and came back and won the next two (sets). It’s one of those things. That score doesn’t bother me or the girls because it’s happened to us before. We are good at just moving on. As a team we are resilient.”
Marian never trailed in the fifth, as it scored the first three points. Clarkston would get the match to 4-4, but couldn’t find a way to slow down the Mustang attack.
Brizard picked up another four kills in the final set, including the match-winner.
“Obviously (Brizard) is a tough player to defend and we knew that coming in. I think we did a good job in moments of the match in slowing her down and getting good touches,” Pinner said. “She’s just got a hard hand and swings hard and it’s just tough to defend that.”
Brizard finished with 22 kills and 17 digs to lead Marian in the win. Sophia Treder added nine kills and 13 digs, while Ella Schomer had eight kills with 14 digs.
Sarah Sylvester added seven kills and seven blocks, while Ava Sarafa tallied 43 assists and 14 digs. Lauren Heming led the Marian defense with 29 digs.
Nowicki led Clarkston with 22 kills and 18 digs. Giehtbrock added 13 kills and 18 digs while Hasenfratz had nine kills with six blocks.
Shay Bordine had 35 assists, while Summer Jidas had 23 digs.
Clarkston ends its 2020 season at 28-9. The Wolves will graduate four seniors in Nowicki, Hasenfratz, Bordine and McGraw.
“It’s a super-weird year for these kids and they have done a wonderful job since June,” Pinner said. “I can’t say enough about how positive these girls have been throughout this whole thing. Even through the two, three postponements we had in the postseason. I know that that was really frustrating for them, but they still always motivated their team and kept them up. I can’t say enough about how great of leaders they are for their team. I know I am going to miss them and their team is going to miss them.”
Marian (34-5) will now play for the Division 1 state championship on Saturday at 2 p.m. from Kellogg Arena. The Mustangs are seeking their first championship since 2010.
Cook noted that she spoke with Feldman’s daughter on the phone after Friday’s victory and that she will be in attendance for the championship contest.