Merrill and Freeland hit volleyball roadblocks Tuesday, falling in volleyball quarterfinal matches one win from the Final Four.
In Division 4, perennial volleyball power Leland ended Merrill’s season, 3-0, and advances to the semifinals at 2 p.m. Thursday against Rudyard at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
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Leland won in three games, 24-26, 21-25, 19-25.
“We had a chance to win that first game and had a good ball,” Merrill coach Ann Wiley said. “Obviously, that would have changed things. We came back and gave it all we had.
“It’s disappointing not to win, but I’m just so darn proud of what these girls have accomplished here.”
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Ashtyn Hescott and Libby Fischer led the 51-6 Vandals with seven kills each, with Maggie Debeau adding five kills. Zoe Fleming had 21 assists, while Megan Geitman added 13 digs.
Freeland finished its season with a 3-0 loss to Kingsley in a Division 2 quarterfinal, ending the season at 35-13-5. Kingsley advances to play Grand Rapids Christian at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
“Kingsley is solid, but we couldn’t find the court,” Freeland coach Penny Cook said. “They blocked some, but we hit so many out. We made the mistakes, and Kingsley didn’t."
Kingsley took the first game, 25-7, then finished off with 25-17 and 25-13 wins.
“Our team hitting percentage is .200, and we hit .023,” Cook said. “Kingsley had seven or eight seniors who got this far last year and lost to Corunna. They had been there.”
Caitlinn Pistro and Elli Howard had six kills each, with Howard adding 17 digs.
“We had a great season, getting this far for the third time in our history,” Cook said. “We just haven’t been able to get over this hurdle.”
In Division 1, Mount Pleasant fell to Lake Orion, 3-0, in a quarterfinal match. Lake Orion takes on Lowell in a Division 1 semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Kellogg Arena.