BLOOMINGDALE — No one needs to convince the Brandywine volleyball that Schoolcraft deserves its No. 2 ranking in Class C.

The talented and experienced Eagles posted an impressive 25-11, 25-16, 25-18 win over the Bobcats in regional semifinal action on Tuesday at Bloomingdale High School.

Schoolcraft, which improved to 40-10-1, will be looking for its third straight regional title on Thursday when the Eagles face NorthPointe Christian.

“We knew that they were good and had been here before,” Brandywine coach Carrie Bidwell said. “They have a great group of girls and a great group of seniors. They’re ready to go on to the next level of the tournament.”

Schoolcraft showed off its hitting ability on Tuesday as the Eagles finished with 38 kills. Leading the way for Schoolcraft was 6-foot-3 junior Jayci Suseland, who finished with 15 kills. Marianne Douglas had nine.

“We have a veteran group and we know what it feels like to be here,” said Schoolcraft coach Erin Onken, who has four returning starters from last year’s team.

“We did some good things tonight. We struggled a little bit with our ball control tonight. That’s something we’re definitely going to freshen up on before Thursday.”

Brandywine, which finishes at 22-18, fell behind 18-5 in the first game. During that stretch, Bidwell called two timeouts.

“I think we had a case of the regional nerves,” the Bobcats coach said. “I told our girls that all we could control was what took place on our side of the net. We played better when we did that.”

Brandywine went on a 4-0 run in game one before Schoolcraft finished the game with four of the final five points with the final point coming on a kill from Douglas.

A 9-1 run gave the Eagles a 13-5 lead in game two. Game two also ended on a kill from Douglas.

Brandywine took its lone lead of the match in game three when Sydney Carlson recorded a kill to give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. Schoolcraft responded with a 9-1 run to take a 10-3 lead. Jayci Suseland and Kathryn Ingle each had two kills during that stretch for the Eagles.

The Bobcats refused to quit as a 7-2 run pulled Brandywine within 23-17. The rally forced Onken to call her lone timeout in the match.

Eventually, the game and the match came to an end with Douglas delivering another kill.

Carlson and Olivia DePriest each had four kills to lead Brandywine offensively. Abbey Cole was a standout defensively for the Bobcats as she finished with a 15 digs.

“Nobody thought we would get this far and win districts,” Bidwell said. “We were down three people that were contributors on last year’s team. I feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment that we made it this far.”

 

 Class C Regional Semifinals

At Bloomingdale

Schoolcraft d. Brandywine 3-0

Set scores

25-11, 25-16, 25-18

 

Individual statistics

Kills: Sydney Carlson (B) 4, Olivia DePriest (B) 4, Makena Bowen (B) 3, Rachelle Dodge (B) 2, Jayci Suseland (S) 15, Marianne Douglas (S) 9, Kathryn Ingle (S) 5, Shelby Suseland (S) 4, Madie Hybels (S) 3

Blocks: Dodge (B) 3, DePriest (B) 3, Hybels (S) 3, Shelby Suseland (S) 3

Assists: Emily Erwin (B) 13

Aces: Justine Sater (B) 3, Sarah Wisser (S) 3

Digs: Abbey Cole (B) 15, Carlson (B) 7, Hannah Huysken (S) 7, Douglas (S) 5, Miranda McDonald (S) 4