On Thursday night September, 3rd, it was the Blazers turn to hit the road, and they drove the 90-minute route to play a thrilling match filled with powerful hits, long rallies, and big saves against the Lady Chiefs. In last year’s district playoff game, Cheboygan knocked Kalkaska out in straight sets and the Lady Blazers were out to show that they are a different team than they were one year ago.

Game one was a slugfest between the two teams despite the Blazers having lost hitter Audrey Comai at the outset of the match. But Sr. Lauren DeVol delivered two big kills to finish off the Chiefs as Kalkaska won, 25-22.

Game two felt a lot like game one, as both teams came out throwing big punches from their respective sides of the net, and once again, it was the Lady Blazers that came out on top with another win, 25-19.

Games three and four flipped the script and while both teams continued to play hard-nosed volleyball, and the Blazers back row defense continued to make it difficult for the Chiefs to score, Cheboygan flexed their muscle and pulled out wins in both games, 20-25, and 17-25 respectively.

So it came down to game five and the Blazers couldn’t keep up with the momentum the Chiefs had earned. Several mistakes in communication by the girls in blue, along with a couple of big hits by the home team, and the Lady Chiefs took the match by finishing off Kalkaska, 5-15.

Violet Porter led the Blazer hitters with 14 kills and 1 block followed by Jordyn Disbrow (9 kills), Payton McKenzie (8 kills), and Mia Miller (6 kills and 1 block). Mackenzie Kniss set her teammates up for the kill 24 times. And, the Blazer back row defense was busy against the Chiefs with Alli DeVol (48 digs), Jordyn Disbrow (42 digs), and Lauren DeVol (32 digs).

The 3-2 Blazers' next game is Thursday night, September 10th, when they head to Elk Rapids to take on the Lady Elks. That will be followed by a quad in Petoskey on Saturday the 12th, and then a home game and senior night on Tuesday the 15th!