CHARLEVOIX — There was no scenario where the Boyne City volleyball team would exit Charlevoix without a challenge from the host Rayders Thursday night.
It was the first time the Ramblers were meeting their heated rival in the postseason since 2016 and first time since 2013 that the two were playing for a title.
So, despite a regular season sweep, a challenge is exactly what the Ramblers got in their Division 3 district championship match.
“They made us work for every last point and this match could have gone either way,” Boyne City coach Shannon Flippin said.
The Ramblers had to grind through two opening sets, dropped the third, then found a way to close the door in the fourth for the title.
In Flippin’s eyes, it took everyone involved.
“Our team, our student section, and our friends and family really all combined for this win,” he said. “Without their support this could have been much different.”
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Boyne City picked up wins of 25-21 and 25-22 in the first two sets, then dropped a 25-15 match.
“We played tough the first two sets and then stopped putting pressure on them in the third set and they took advantage in a big way,” Flippin said.
In that third set, Flippin talked with his team late during a timeout about the importance of staying aggressive. From that moment on, Boyne was on the attack, led by Maitlyn Barkley on the outside.
Barkley finished that third set loss with three kills, then the Ramblers carried that late-set momentum into the fourth to earn a 25-18 win and 3-1 victory.
“Our play to win mentality helped us pull away towards the end of that set,” Flippin added.
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Charlevoix closed out a 27-19-4 season with the defeat. It was a season that came with a midseason coaching change and a key injury late in the season for a relatively young Rayder team still.
Charlevoix graduates the likes of Addison Shearer, Jaslyn Blanton, Victoria Carroll, Ayla Kemp, Taryn Carey and Olive Grossi, with Kemp a four-year varsity player and Blanton, Shearer and Carey all three-year members.
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The district championship for the Ramblers comes as their first at the Division 3 level since topping Charlevoix in 2013 and now they’ll get the same exact regional opponent from that season ahead.
Boyne will next head to an Elk Rapids hosted Division 3 regional semifinal at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10 against Traverse City St. Francis (29-17-2).
Between conference, tournament and district play at the end of the season, Boyne City is now on an 11-1 stretch over their last 12 games, having built a now 25-18-3 record.
Once an old league rival, the Ramblers and Glads have not met this season. St. Francis advanced through its district with a four-set victory over Elk Rapids in the district final.
Match stats were not available for both teams as of Friday morning. Check back with the News-Review.
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City volleyball has to dig deep for D3 district title over Charlevoix
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