The Kalkaska Blazers Varsity Volleyball team made the long trek to Benzie Central high school on Thursday, for a Tri-Event with BCHS and Traverse City Christian. Since Kalkaska traveled over an hour each way to make the event, they played visitor against BCHS in the first match of the night, and hosted TCC in the second.

Game one against Benzie featured a started strong, as Baylee West gave the Blazers an early 4-0 lead. The hometown Huskies wouldn’t fall without a fight, but even though they stayed within striking distance, the Blazer offense was too much and Kalkaska prevailed, 25-19. Game two belonged to the Lady Blazers from the first serve to the final point, and despite losing outside hitter Jordyn Disbrow to a knee injury (out for the night, hopefully back for play next week), the offensive attack, combined with a defense that refused to let a ball hit the ground, gave Kalkaska a commanding 25-15 win, and 2-0 match sweep.

10 minutes after the last point in match one, TCC took the floor against Kalkaska and the Blazers were instantly locked up in tug-o-war. The Sabers, recently ranked in the top-10 in the state in their division, took the early lead with big hits from their outside and middle hitters, but Kalkaska continued to show they are ready to play with anyone, any night of the week. Rallies were long, but TCC prevailed, 16-25.

Game two against TCC featured one of the best single point rallies of the entire season for the Blazers, a point which Kalkaska won after both teams had multiple players hitting the floor to keep the rally alive. And as the Blazers jumped to a 15-9 lead, poised to force game three against the Sabers, TCC came back with some strong hits, aided by a few Blazer mistakes, and soon the Sabers held a precarious 20-19 lead. The final few points were hard-fought, but the Blazers fell 21-25, losing to TCC 0-2.

The Blazers continued their strong service on the season in match one, by serving 94% against Benzie, but struggled for consistency against TCC, serving 86% as a team. Junior Kenzie Kniss, normally a setter, had a season high four kills on the night. Allie DeVol was back at libero after missing two and a half weeks with an ankle injury and played a great game from the back row. Sophomore Violet Porter had a strong game from the middle, showcasing several big kills, big blocks, and big serves from the back line while Senior Baylee West led the team with multiple ace serves throughout both matches.

The Blazers enjoy a long weekend off to celebrate all the Home Coming festivities, but will be back at it in practice on Monday, gearing up for a conference game, Thursday night, at home, against the Charlevoix Rayders. First serve will be at 7pm following a JV game that start at 5:30pm. Don’t miss out on the action as these young ladies continue to grow together as players and as a team.