Beal City’s dream of a Class C state title in volleyball ended with a 3-1 loss to Covenant Christian Nov. 23 in the title game at Battle Creek.
Covenant Christian took the first game 25-21 by netting the game’s last seven points and took the second game 25-16. Beal City won the third game 25-20. Covenant Christian ruled the fourth game 25-17 and took the match.
In the first game, Beal City fell behind early 8-3 and had problems with Covenant Christian’s net play. The Aggies rallied on an ace from Addie Schumacher, who then served for four more points and led them to a 21-18 lead. Covenant came back on Brianna Norman’s serving for a 23-21 lead, and the Chargers notched the winning point on a Beal City passing error.
Covenant fired out to a 6-2 lead in the second game. Cailey DeJong tormented the Aggies with her jump serves and had two straight aces for a 14-11 lead. Alyssa Scholten’s ace gave her team an 18-13 lead. Shelby Lubbers and Arika Engelsma combined for a block and 22-15 lead. The Chargers went from there for the win and 2-0 lead.
The Chargers enjoyed a 6-3 lead in game 3. Beal City came back and took an 11-8 lead and extended it to 14-10. Grace Schafer’s ace gave the Aggies a 17-12 lead, which became 22-17 moments later on Jordan Schneider’s kill. Schneider and Nicole Gross had a block for a 24-19 lead. A net error gave Beal City the 25th point.
The Chargers bolted to a 5-0 lead in the fourth game on Cailey DeJong’s serving. Beal City settled down and got back in it. Scholten’s tip gave the Chargers a 16-13 lead. They later stretched it to 20-14. Lubber’s thundering kill made it 23-15 and Sydney Hauck followed with an ace. Lubbers ended the match with a kill.
Scholten stands 6’2″ and Lubbers 5’10”. “They were definitely a big team, and they put up a big block,” said Aggie coach Kelly David. “That was definitely a tough part of the game. They were a tough team and had big girls. It was a tough loss. We fought as hard as we could and left it on the court. That’s all we could do.”
Schumacher had 15 kills and eight digs for the Aggies. Melanie Schafer had six kills and 17 digs, while Jenna Theisen added 26 assists and seven digs, and Schneider had seven kills.
“I think our defense on our blocks had to stop their offense,” David said. “That was the key of the third game. They found a way around our blocking. It was tough on the defense. “
Scholten and Lubbers had 13 kills apiece. DeJong had 21 assists and 15 digs for Covenant Christian.
The season ended at 56-4-1 for Beal City. Covenant Christian was 47-9-0.
“I think it was definitely our serving and our hitting,” said Charger coach Denise Uittenbogaard. “We are an attacking team. We have to attack the ball to win games. We have power in the front row and have power in our serves.”
The Aggies were in the Class D title match last year and lost to perennial power St. Philips Catholic Central, which won its class again. The hope this season for the Aggies was that they could prevail in Class C.
“They weren’t satisfied with last year because they got second,” David said. “They really wanted to come in and win a state championship. We fell a little short. They gave it all they had. I’m proud of how they played.”