LocalSportsJournal.com
BIG RAPIDS — It’s been 26 years since the Ludington girls volleyball team played for a regional title.
On Tuesday night, the Orioles punched their ticket to this year’s Division 2 championship match with a dominating 3-0 win over Gladwin in Big Rapids.
Ludington controlled the match from the opening serve, and kept its foot on the gas and looking very much like a team on a mission.
Gladwin simply was no match for the surging Orioles, who rolled to a 25-14 decision in the first set and then cruised to convincing wins in the next two, 25-11 and 25-9.
“The girls showed up tonight and played a great game from start to finish,” said Ludington coach Liz Holden. “They worked together as a team and made some great plays and great saves. They did a great job of keeping them out of system.
“We got a lot of great swings in tonight, and I really like what I saw out there. They were clicking the entire time, and played some really good volleyball.
“It helped keep the energy going when we announced Karli Mesyar’s 1,000th career dig before the final set. They had a lot of fun.”
Mesyar finished with 11 digs for the match, and also picked up four assists and one service ace.
Jordyn Anderson facilitated the Orioles’ offense with 25 assists, and also had five kills, six digs, one ace and one block. Maddy Vaara contributed eight digs, 12 kills, two blocks, three aces and one assist.
Jaelyn Laird added six kills, one block and one dig. Mya Bryant had seven digs, one ace and one assist. Mia Pung had two aces and four digs. Ashley McPike had seven kills, three blocks and three digs. Mia Voss contributed three digs, one kill and one block. Lilly Slater had one dig and one block. Mia Pung had two aces and four digs.
Ludington travels to Gaylord at 6 p.m Thursday for the regional final against Kingsford.
