BATTLE CREEK – Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart made their first volleyball state finals appearance a memorable one, as they came from behind to claim the Division 4 State Championship in a thrilling 5-set match over Athens on Saturday.
The Indians won the first two sets with ease, 25-14 and 25-13. The Irish battled back in the third, winning a hard-fought 25-23 set to stave off elimination. They then erased an 8-point deficit in the fourth set, including fighting off a match point for the Indians, to win the set in extra points 27-25.
Sacred Heart fell behind 6-2 early in the decisive fifth set before battling back to cap their exhilarating comeback with a 15-11 win.
“Before this game, coach said we just have to ‘ride the storm,'” said Senior Lillie Laney. “And I think we did that. And then in the third set, coach said ‘ride the storm, this is the storm. Those first two sets are the storm, and now here we go. Let’s bring it. Let’s bring it to them.'”
This was Sacred Heart’s first 5-set match of the season. They hit for a .186 percentage as a team, while holding Athens to a .151 hitting percentage. Sacred Heart also out-blocked the Indians 13-9.
“I’m so proud of my team. They played out of their minds,” Coach Krista Davis said. “You know, I don’t really know what got us in the first two sets. It’s all a blur to me at this moment. But that’s the way a state championship should be, it should be a fight to the end.”
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