By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com

FREMONT – History repeated itself on Tuesday night in the Class B volleyball regional semifinals – and that was not good news for Fruitport.LSJ Logo incert

Three weeks ago, the Trojans led Holland Christians by two sets, and were one victory away from clinching the match, but lost three straight and let it slip away.

The same thing happened in Tuesday’s regional rematch, when the Trojans saw their season end in a five-set match to Holland Christian after taking a 2-0 lead.

Fruitport, which made its first regional appearance since the 2011 season, won the first two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-16, then lost the next two frames by scores of 25-21 and 25-12 to force a deciding fifth set.

The Maroons jumped to a 14-8 lead in the fifth set, but the Trojans kept fighting off match point and pulled to within 14-13.

But Holland Christian’s Olivia Voskuil closed the match with a kill to seal a 15-13 victory. Holland Christian now moves on to Thursday’s regional finals.

“We controlled the game behind the service line in Games 1 and 2,” said Fruitport Coach Nicole Bayle, whose team finished with a 25-19 record. “As the game progressed I think Holland Christian started to play a little better and they pushed, and our pushback wasn’t as strong as it needed to be.

“I also think that the atmosphere and the pressure of being in playoffs got to us a little bit. In the end we just needed one dig.”

The Trojans were led by Katie Veihl with 10 kills and 10 digs while Kelsey Schultz added a team-high 19 digs. Kailey Carmean chipped in with 37 assists for Fruitport.

Holland Christian jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the first set before the Trojans went on a 12-0 tear on a long service run by Veihl to take a 19-10 advantage.

The Trojans scored six of the final 11 points to take the first set of the match.

Fruitport kept the momentum into the second set, building an 8-1 lead on a solid service run from Lyndsey Ball.

The Maroons cut their deficit to 10-9, but Fruitport responded with a 15-6 run to take the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Trojans scored the first four points of the third set and led by as many as seven points at 10-3. Holland Christian fought back to tie the score 18-18.

Holland Christian closed out the third set with a 7-3 run.

The Maroons maintained their momentum, opening the fourth with a 9-2 lead. Fruitport could only manage to cut its deficit to four points at 11-7 before losing 14 of the next 19 points.

Holland Christian raced to a 14-8 advantage in the fifth-set tiebreaker. Fruitport fought back and made the score 14-13, but the match ended with the kill by Voskuil.