Marian outlasts Wolves to reach Division 1 semi
PORT HURON >> Tuesday night’s Division 1 quarterfinal will be a match that no player from Clarkston or Birmingham Marian is likely to ever forget.
In a five-set thriller, No. 1 Marian prevailed over No. 4 Clarkston, but the match was left with a “what could have been moment” that was hard to overlook and hard for the Wolves to overcome.
Leading two sets to one over the two-time defending Division 1 state champs, Clarkston held a 26-25 lead in the fourth set, needing one point to finish the match.
The Wolves had the opportunity to set junior hitter Cayla Cogan, who had already racked up 25 kills in the match and was looking to make it 26 while punching Clarkston’s ticket to Battle Creek for the state semifinals.
Cogan went up, but then came crashing down, as did the volleyball.
The junior injured her knee while jumping off the floor and was unable to take a swing, and couldn’t get herself off the floor for several minutes.
Cogan didn’t return to the match and Marian was able to rally to win the fourth set, and ultimately win the match, 15-25, 25-21, 15-25, 29-27, 15-8.
“It’s disappointing that it had to end that way. You want both teams to be at full strength when you reach the end,” Clarkston coach Ali Smith said after the match. “Not to take anything away from Marian. Marian played great, but our kids played great as well.”
Cogan had the hot swing throughout most of the match. She put Clarkston (38-8) up 2319 in the fourth with her eighth kill of the set. But, the rotation then took her off the floor and the Wolves were unable to finish points.
Clarkston would have three match points turned away by Marian (47-1) before Cogan returned to the floor with a big smile on her face, confident she could put the match away.
“She came in with a mission,” Smith said of Cogan. “Nobody has an answer for Cayla when she’s feeling it.”
Following the injury, Marian would fight its way to the win thanks to a kill by senior Ella Schomer to break a 27-27 tie.
In the fifth, Marian was able to jump out to an 8-3 advantage.
Sophomore outside hitter Izzy Busignani put down four kills in the set, finishing the night with a matchhigh 27.
“We always win the terminal set. If we make it go five, we will win that set. We say it with confidence,” said Marian coach Mayssa Cook. “I am proud of my girls for showing grit and coming back.”
Clarkston made an emphatic statement in the opening set, taking a 2515 victory, as Marian was
struggling to find its offensive groove.
It started to return in the second with a 25-21 response to the Wolves, but faded away again in the third when the Wolves jumped out to a 7-0 lead and didn’t look back.
“Marian has been good all year and I think we came in playing our best volleyball right now,” Smith said. “We were healthy and we were finally getting into some rhythm offensively, which took us a while to do because of the injuries we had this season. I liked the matchup for us and I thought that we had a great shot.”
On top of strong hitting from the likes of Cogan and senior Paige Giehtbrock, Clarkston played consistent defensively all match behind the effort of junior libero Kiley Gallagher.
“I thought we passed the
ball so well,” Smith said of her defense. “We were relaxed and calm in the back row. We knew what the game plan was and I thought we executed it really well.”
When Marian needed its spark, it came from Busignani, who started warming up during the second set and carried that for the rest of the match.
“We just had to put that ball a little tighter for her. On a 50-50, she’s going to win. She’s an arm length above the blocker,” Cook said of her sophomore. “At first I felt we were out of system and pulling her too far off the net. It made her slow down a little bit. We just had to set it tighter and giver her a chance to rip the ball, and she did.”
Busignani did get in sync with setter Ava Sarafa, who went over 5,000 assists for her prep career in Tuesday’s
win.
“We just have players that know when to step up in the right moments and I think that when we work as a team and have each other’s backs, it’s going to be hard to stop us,” Sarafa said.
To go with Busignani’s 27 kills, Schomer added 12 kills while Molly Banta tallied seven.
With the victory, Marian keeps its hopes alive of a third straight Division 1 state title.
The Mustangs will meet up with No. 3 Forest Hills Northern on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. from Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek in one of two D1 semifinals.
“This can be good for us. It’s a wake-up call and we know we have to be a little more disciplined and cleaner in our touches,” Cook said.
“We are better than
(what we showed). We can play our ‘C game’ and win, but why don’t we play our ‘A game’ and have a lot more fun.
“We know that every team is bringing their ‘A game’ against us. (Clarkston) was very, very motivated. We did what we had to do to get the win, but we for sure have to bring our ‘A game’ moving forward.”
Giehtbrock finished with 16 kills for Clarkston to go with Cogan’s 25.
Giehtbrock is one of five seniors on this Wolves roster, joining Monti Rotter, Annabelle Keller, Emma Larkins and McKenna Hempton.
“They will be missed,” Smith said of her seniors. “Not only do they have a great voice in our gym, but they are excellent studentathletes and represent our team and our community very well.”