TRAVERSE CITY -- On Tuesday night, Forest Area's season was two points away from being over.
Days later, it's still going.
The Warriors continued their hot streak on Saturday with a straight-set win over host Traverse City St. Francis in the Class C district finale.
It was the first district title for Forest Area (44-10-6) since 2003 and came after the team fell just short of winning the Ski Valley Conference title this year.
"This is what we've been waiting for every single year and what we've been playing for," senior Chelsee Strine said. "This definitely makes up for not winning the conference. I guess the biggest thing in winning this is that by winning districts you get to keep playing, and that's all we want to do. When you want something this bad, nothing can take it from you."
The Warriors were down two games against Suttons Bay on Tuesday in the district quarterfinal and were tied at 23-23 in the third game. Since then, they haven't dropped a game after rallying past the Norse, sweeping Kalkaska on Thursday and getting the Gladiators 25-13, 25-23, 25-20 on Saturday.
"That's how this game can change," said Forest Area coach Ron Stremlow of being on the brink of elimination on Tuesday. "The girls have been playing hot and the momentum's been on our side. I think that game just turned. It showed our character and we thought we can't be beat."
Forest Area will host Charlevoix at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinal.
After running away with the first game, St. Francis (28-11) came back early in the second and later led 19-15. But the Warriors fought back, tied the game at 22-22 and won it on a Mae Johnson ace and two kills from Strine.
The third game went back and forth and was tied at 17-17 when Stremlow called a time-out. It worked, as Forest Area took eight of the next 11 points for the title. Savanna Daniels clinched the win with a block.
"Our girls didn't want to end," Stremlow said. "To beat somebody on their court is tough. And they're the Lake Michigan Conference champs, a very good team and their record speaks for itself."
Strine had 17 kills and nine digs, Mae Johnson had 18 kills and eight digs, Katie Johnson had 34 assists, Marissa Ingersoll had 15 digs, Daniels added four blocks, Camille Tornow had 13 digs and four aces and Kassie Magee had three aces and two big blocks.
"Seven of my 11 girls have been on varsity since their sophomore year," Stremlow said. "They've put a lot of time in. I don't think we panic much because we know what we're doing. I thought we did a pretty good job of focusing in. We didn't lose our cool."
St. Francis had a number of costly serving errors that cost them throughout the match.
"You've got to get your serves in, that's definitely a key," Glads coach Branden Morgan said. "We're a pretty strong serving team, but when it happens it tends to affect the whole outcome."
Sophomore hitter Bailey Ray paced the Gladiators attack with a number of key kills. She finished with 16 kills and 13 digs.
"She's one of the best in the state as far as I'm concerned. She's amazing," Morgan said. "We have a quality group of girls following her. We brought up a couple of JVs for districts and you're going to here about them for years to come too. Our program should grow. We should make some noise for a while."
Other contributors included Abby Clear with 10 kills and 11 digs, Emily Buckel with 35 assists, two blocks and two kills, Vanessa Fisher with nine digs and three blocks, Madison Archer had three kills and two blocks while Jamie Bott had four kills and was perfect serving.
Despite the loss, the season ended on a high note for St. Francis after a bumpy start. After Jeff Bensley resigned as head coach a month into the season, Morgan stepped in and led the Gladiators to the league title.
"We're not hanging our heads low, by any means," Morgan said. "We're walking with our chests puffed out and feeling proud about our season. We've been through a lot of adversity this season with a few changes here and there, but the girls came together as a team. They're a family here at St. Francis. It's not just the volleyball program, but the school in general. We move forward and hold each other up when need be."
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