Grit, intensity carry NorthWood to key volleyball comeback win over Marian

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MISHAWAKA — It would be hard to say with certain whose post-match smile was the biggest Thursday, Aug. 20 between NorthWood volleyball coach Hilary Laidig and her star player Ella Branham.

Both of their faces lit up the Marian High School gym with beaming pride following a key early-season victory.

Laidig watched as her gritty Panthers shook off a slow start to down the host Knights 3-1 in a matchup of area powers and Class 3A heavyweights.

Senior Branham powered down 21 kills to go with 15 digs as NorthWood prevailed 20-25, 27-25, 25-14, 26-24 in steamy conditions on Demetrius Jackson Court.

The Panthers also got stellar blocking performances by senior Krystal Hershberger, a 5-11 middle, and classmate Addison Davis, a 6-1 opposite. The pair combined for 13 blocks, many coming against Marian junior star hitter Elle Boser.

NorthWood, now 2-0, beat the Knights 3-2 in the semi-state semifinal match in 2025. The Panthers, who were in the semi-state for the fourth straight year, fell in the title tilt 3-1 to Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.

The Red Slam won this clash with heart, hustle and intensity. NorthWood trailed 18-10 in the key second set before storming back behind the big right arm of hitter Branham and the scrappy defensive play of junior libero Nola Nephew and Branham. Laidig took a key timeout with her team down 17-9, and from there, her squad looked like a different team.

The Panthers dominated the third set before Marian was poised to even the match and send it to a fifth set. The hosts led 19-14 in the fourth set before NorthWood rallied. The Knights still had a 24-22 lead before 6-1 senior Addison Davis got the second of two key blocks to make it 24-24. Branham then blasted a kill off a Marian block attempt, and the Knights made an error for the final two points.

“This is a good win for us,” said Branham, a 5-11 outside hitter. “I thought that we played a great match. Defensively, we had great hustle and our intensity stepped up in that second set. We just honed in and we wanted it. Our bigs did a great job blocking tonight.

“Playing together is our thing. I do feel pressure, but that drives me. I just want to be cool, calm and collected and do the best I can for my team. I just think that we were calm when we got down. We reset and then we got the momentum from there.”

Laidig talked prior to the match about a focus on defense after a subpar showing in that area during a 3-0 season-opening win over East Noble Aug. 17.

“This is a huge step for us,” Laidig said with an ear-to-ear smile. “I’m just super proud of this team for the way they responded. I took that timeout in the second set and said do we have an edge, the grit and the intensity to win.

“It gave me chills how we played after that point. We have a long way to go, but that was exactly what we need to do. We focused all week on our defensive intensity. We were gritty there. Hershberger was huge in the middle for us tonight and Davis has not played a lot of volleyball, but she was a big key.

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Marian star Boser, a definite Division 1 talent, led her team with 22 kills and nine digs. Star libero Jenna VanBruaene had 34 digs and junior Jalynne Williams 10 kills. Williams, a middle blocker, played for Goshen last season.

“I think it was a lack of communication that hurt us tonight,” said Marian coach Alisha Fransted, her team now 1-1. “I think that we also had players trying to do too much instead of playing our volleyball. NorthWood did a great job blocking. I’ve never seen (Branham) blocked so much.

“The thing is that this is the first week of the season and we just need to trust the process. We just need to have everyone do their job for us. We basically have two new setters and they are learning. And Jalynne did not join us until late July, and we are working her into our system. I think that she is a great addition and we need to get her more involved offensively.”

Hershberger had seven blocks and six kills and Davis six blocks for the Panthers. Nephew was stellar with 24 digs and senior setters Allie Yoder and Abigayle Schmucker, both new to the position this season, combined for 35 assists. Each also had two service aces.

Sophomore setter Lanie Tomczak had 20 assists and classmate Milena Wilson 15 for the Knights, who finished 24-12 a season ago.