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March 18, 2006Norse fall in state semifinalUnion City wins in three straightKALAMAZOO - Suttons Bay got to feel what it's like to play volleyball against an octopus.Union City dug up the best the Norse had to offer in the Class C state semifinal at Western Michigan University on Friday, ending Suttons Bay's season with a three-game sweep, all by 25-15 scores. With the victory, the Chargers (46-9-9) advance to their first state final. They'll face North Muskegon (37-7-1), which swept Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in the first match of the day. "They seemed to be everywhere," said middle hitter Holly Orban, the lone senior for Suttons Bay. "Every time I saw a hole before I hit, they'd have somebody there and they'd find a way to get it up. It seemed like they all had multiple arms." "We were hitting, we were trying as hard as we could," Suttons Bay junior middle hitter Kelsey Wick added. "The other team just dug everything up. They played great defense. "No matter how hard you hit, they would dig it back up. They would throw out a limb and it would be the perfect pass. It's like they had 10 arms." Suttons Bay coach Mike Kelly, who has ended both of his two seasons with a loss in the semifinals, said Union City's play reminded him of a practice drill. "It's like they had 10 players in the back row," said Kelly, whose team finished 52-14-6. "We do that a lot in practice. We'll have six players in the front row and five in the back and play a scrimmage. It was just like playing that. "I asked the girls to hit it hard at them and we did. There just wasn't much floor to hit. They beat us with their defense." Union City had 59 digs in the match, compared to 38 for Suttons Bay. And three players posted double digits in digs. "All season long we've been that way," Union City coach Mike Leson said. "I play eight kids who just play defense. And it's a different player all the time. "We didn't play with a libero this season because we have eight kids that play defense." Orban said it was frustrating to face a defensive team like the Chargers and it showed in the statistics. Suttons Bay had a negative hitting percentage as a team. Orban led the Norse with 7 kills while Wick added 6 and Maggie Walters 3. Anna Pryor finished with 16 assists for Suttons Bay. Charlotte Stowe paced Suttons Bay on defense with 10 digs. Orban added 9 digs while Pryor, Christa Nesky and Fran Belanger each had 4. Compounding Suttons Bay's problems was the scoreboard. Union City never trailed in any of the three games. The Chargers scored the first four points of the second game and the first seven of the third. "We always seemed to get behind in games," Orban said. "It's always hard when you're playing from behind. Now that you're at the semifinals, it's hard to come back. The teams here are too good to make mistakes and give the lead away." Despite the early deficits, Kelly said his team battled all the way to the end. "One thing I credit is the young kids didn't quit," he said. "It didn't matter what the score was, they just stayed out there and kept swinging." Kelly said he was also thrilled with how the young Norse got better as the season went along. Suttons Bay played with just one senior and one junior in its top eight. "We started out as a young team that wasn't very good," Kelly said. "To get here to the Final Four is a real honor. I'm proud of all of them." And Suttons Bay is already talking about a return to Kalamazoo in 2007. "We're only losing Holly," Wick said. "She's our captain, a majority of our offense, our defense and our serving. "But we're only losing one player. We plan on coming back next year."
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