North Muskegon rallies past WMC in Division 3 volleyball semifinals

LocalSportsJournal.com

Something had to give when two of the area’s better volleyball teams, North Muskegon and Western Michigan Christian, collided on Wednesday in the Division 3 district semifinals at Saugatuck High School.

In the end the Norse survived, overcoming an early deficit to post a 3-1 victory over WMC.

The Warriors won a very tight first set 25-23, but then North Muskegon swept the next three, 25-16, 26-24 and 25-19.

“WMC is a good team and they played us tough,” said North Muskegon Coach Heather Claussen. “I think we adjusted well and never let up. We just had a lot of drive that kept us going.”

Mackenzie Fris and Kasey Firestone paced North Muskegon with 13 kills apiece while Ellie Hayhurst added 10.

Fris served up 10 aces while Firestone had 13 defensive digs.

“Mackenzie’s serves were huge for us tonight,” Claussen said. “We have a really well-rounded team that plays together really well.”

The Norse now advance to Thursday’s district championship game against Saugatuck at 7 p.m. on their opponents’ home court.