FROM STAFF REPORTS
November 22, 2008 12:00 am BATTLE CREEK -- Getting to the state semifinals was a big accomplishment for the Pellston volleyball team. Getting past Lutheran Westland proved to be a tall order. Westland used its height advantage to block Pellston from advancing further, topping the Hornets by a 25-15, 25-15, 25-10 score in Friday's first Class D semifinal at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. "The team we played against was better than us today," Pellston coach Tim McNitt said. "They were too big and too tough for us. "They were near flawless. They had total control of the game from the onset." Pellston, which finished with a 46-7-6 record, scored the first point of the semifinal on a kill by Katie Dzedzie. That was the last time the Warriors (46-5-5) trailed in game one. Lutheran Westland used its height advantage to dominate the Hornets at the net. The Warriors hit .423 and held Pellston to .043. "They were a quality team," Pellston senior Nicole Madigan said. "They had some real good blockers and shut us down." "We're not used to having a wall to hit around or having to always hit line," classmate Kara Pavlisin added. "They also hit real well and when they had the opportunity and swung away. We tried to tip a little too much. We didn't have the swings that we needed." Even with the loss, McNitt and the Hornets said the season was a success. "I'm really pleased with the effort the team had all season," McNitt said. "They represented northern Michigan, the Pellston community, the school and themselves well. They did themselves proud. "If I was going to have a bad game, I'd much rather have it at Battle Creek than in districts. There were 188 schools in Class D that had school today and 188 that will have basketball practice tonight. We got to play volleyball today, so it was a good day. "Of course, it was hard to say good-bye to the four seniors (Pavlisin, Amanda Friend, Emily Maglothin and Madigan)." Pellston was making its second appearance in the semifinals. The Hornets reached the final four in 2003, also bowing out in the semifinals. "It was an unbelievable experience," Madigan said. "I always wanted to get here. I was in sixth grade the last time we were here and I always wanted to be on the team that got back here. It's something I'll always remember." "It was a lot of fun," Pavlisin added. "I'm real happy we had the team that we had." In addition to using its height in hitting, Lutheran Westland also blocked better. The Warriors had three solo and 12 block assists in the match while a solo block by Pavlisin was all the Hornets could muster. "We probably blocked them 15 times and it went out of bounds, they dug it up or it fell on the floor on our side," McNitt said. "We had numerous chances to get our hands on blocks, it just didn't pan out for us. We caught one good bounce and 15 bad ones." Dzedzie led the Hornets offensively with nine kills while Pavlisin, Kristi Lewis and Tayler Friend had three. Rachel Hutto finished with 21 assists. Hutto also led Pellston defensively with six digs. Amanda Friend added five while Dzedzie, Madigan, Lewis and Maglothlin each had four. Rebecca Refenes led Westland with 17 kills while Rachel Storck added eight and Katey Ramthin six. Lauren Gieschen dished out 34 assists.
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