03/11/2007

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Leland senior Elaine Wilson passes the ball during Saturday’s Class D regional. Ashley Erhardt looks on.

Marion takes out Leland in five

Postseason loss is first short of semis since 2003

By MARK URBAN

murban@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
From left to right, Leland seniors Roberta De Luca and Anna Lau are unsuccessful at blocking the ball during Saturday afternoon’s Class D regional volleyball tournament against Marion.

TRAVERSE CITY — The regional title and a trip to the Class D quarterfinals was there for the taking.

And Marion did.

The Eagles earned their first regional volleyball crown in school history, ripping the fifth and deciding game away from defending state champion Leland by a 15-6 score on Saturday at Traverse City St. Francis.

Marion (36-10-3), which advances to Tuesday's quarterfinal at Frankfort, scored the final nine points of the fifth game to give Leland its first postseason loss short of Kalamazoo and the semifinals since 2003.

"I thought they hustled and made some big plays when they needed it,” Leland senior setter Whitney Grant said. "We left everything we had on the floor. But in times they really needed points, they put them away.”

"I thought Marion played better than we did at big points,” said Leland coach Laurie Glass, whose team finished 47-16-1. "They swung from beginning to end and that's what it takes to win tight games.”

Three of the four of the games leading up to the fifth were tight.

Marion took the first game 25-20 but Leland dominated the second to prevail 25-14. The Eagles took the third by a 25-18 score and held a late lead of 22-19 in the fourth, but the Comets scored three straight points and six of the next seven to force game five.

"We played with a lot of heart,” Grant said. "We said we weren't going to go out like that. We were going to keep fighting until the end.”

"That was a heck of a comeback by my kids to force the fifth game,” Glass said. "I thought they did a great job. But we didn't capitalize in the fifth game.

"That's why you play the games. They beat us twice this season so you have to say they're the better team.”

Marion coach Mary England said the way her team lost the fourth game may have been the big reason the Eagles played the way they did in the fifth.

"We tried to make up for past mistakes, letting that fourth one get away,” England said. "We're a senior-oriented team, that's why we wanted to win so bad.”

The fifth game started as a back-and-forth affair — until the two teams got to 6-6. A serving error gave Marion an advantage the Eagles would never relinquish.

Tierra Eising had a tip and a kill sandwiched around a hitting error by Leland that made the score 10-6 and forced Leland to take a time-out. But the stoppage didn't quell Marion's momentum as Eising hit one off a block attempt for an 11-6 lead. An ace by Elizabeth Baughan, a hitting error, a hit by Eising and a block by Eising ended the match.

"That's usually the way fifth games go,” England said. "You have to come out and be in control right away and they did.”

"We just didn't put it down,” Leland senior libero Ashley Erhardt said. "They were the better team today. They played their hearts out in the fifth game and it showed. But we did our best, we laid it all out there.”

Marion advanced with a 25-8, 25-14, 22-25, 25-10 victory over Mason County Eastern. Leland reached the regional final by sweeping Central Lake by a 25-11, 26-24, 25-13 score.

"The first game was our warm-up game, like I like to call it,” Central Lake co-coach Laura Grafenauer said. "Then we came out in the second game and I was so proud of they way they played. Leland is a very tough team and I don't think we have anything to be ashamed of.

"We're pretty excited to be here. It's hard for the seniors because they wanted it really bad. But I'm proud of them and hopefully they will be proud of that once the emotion dies down.”

Leland and its six seniors will also realize that after three straight trips to the semifinals and the 2006 state title.

"It was well worth it,” said Erhardt, who finished with 36 digs, one ace and one assist. "We accomplished so much. I was proud of it and all the teammates I played with for four years. I don't regret anything.”

Erica Breen led Leland's offense with 36 kills in addition to 17 digs and three blocks. Anna Lau finished with 26 kills, 10 digs and three blocks and Juliana Lisuk 18 kills, four digs and four blocks.

Grant had 77 assists to go along with six aces, five blocks, eight digs and three kills. Other key contributors for Leland were McKenna Haverberg (three aces, 16 digs), Elaine Wilson (one ace, one block, 10, digs, nine assists, three kills), Roberta De Luca (five digs, seven kills) and Haley VerSnyder (two aces, three digs, one assist).