Trojans upend Bulldogs in district final

Plainwell volleyball coach Carolann Davis needed to have a word with her team.
So with the Trojans trailing rival Otsego 13-12 in the decisive fifth set of a Class B district final on Saturday, Nov. 5, Davis called a timeout.
“When I called the time out, I told the kids to fight to the end, play great defense and most important swing to win.”
Apparently the message got through loud and clear.
After Otsego’s Erica MacQueen served up an ace to put her team one point away from the win at 14-12, Plainwell rallied to score the next four points to take the set 16-14 and claim the district title.
“I’m very proud of our team,” said Davis, whose squad won by a final of 16-25, 26-24, 11-25, 25-21, 16-14. “These are hard-working, competitive kids who wanted to win.”
Sophomore Kenedie Booden served up the final three points, including an ace, to put the match away.
“Kenedie served those final points with confidence and really put pressure on Otsego,” Davis said. “They weren’t able to get the optimal swings.  I
“I knew that we would fight and I was ready to accept whatever happened in the end.”
The match was the third meeting between Plainwell and Otsego, with the teams having split the previous two.
The Trojans won the regular-season contest in similar fashion to the district final, falling behind two sets to one before rallying for the win.
In the title match of the Wolverine Conference tournament, it was the Bulldogs who dropped the first set before bouncing back to win the next three for the victory.
“It was a hard-fought match, like the others,” Davis said. “In two of the five games we didn’t play very well. We passed terrible and had quite a few communication errors. The other games we stepped up to the plate. We served tough and played really good defense and we swung smart and hard.”