A record-setting season for the Buchanan volleyball team came to a dramatic close Thursday night.

The Bucks, who set a school record with 48 wins, fell in the Class B Regional finals to Battle Creek Harper Creek 3-1.

The Beavers dropped the first set to the Bucks 25-17, but rallied to win the championship by sweeping the next three sets 29-27, 27-25 and 25-21.

Buchanan (48-5-1) came out on fire and dominated play at the net in the opening set.

Sophomores Franki Strefling and Liz Kuntz set the tone both on offense and defense with a variety of big kills and key blocks.

The Bucks would not be able to find that magic in the next three sets as Harper Creek figured out how to slow down Buchanan while making a statement of its own.

In the pivotal second set, the Bucks let a 19-12 advantage slip away.

The Beavers (55-8-2) eventually caught Buchanan at 20-20 and despite two service errors, Harper Creek was able to pull out the win to square the match at 1-1.

The Bucks thought they had won the match on a kill down the line by Strefling, but the official called a net violation and the set continued.

Buchanan never really recovered although it fought for every point and pushed the Beavers to the limit in the third and fourth sets before falling.

“I could not have ask for anything else,” Buchanan coach Lisa Holak said. “Every game was close. Every game they put their heart out there. They did exactly what we asked them to do. We just couldn’t finish.”

Harper Creek advances to the Class B quarterfinals on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. when it will take on Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard at Jackson Parma Western High School.

Strefling led Buchanan with 19 kills, 15 digs, three aces and a block. Kuntz finished with seven kills and five blocks, while Alexis Meahl and Jada Meahl had 14 and 11 kills respectively and combined for nine blocks and seven digs.

 

Class B Regional

Volleyball Championship

At Dowagiac

Harper Creek d. Buchanan 3-1

Set scores

17-25, 29-27, 27-25, 25-21

 

Buchanan statistics

Alexis Meahl 3 digs, 4 blocks, 14 kills

Jada Meahl 4 digs, 5 blocks, 11 kills

Clara Cornwell 11 digs

Chelsey Bennett 3 digs, 3 blocks, 2 kills

Franki Strefling 15 digs, 3 aces, 1 block, 19 kills

Alex Tobler 1 dig

Liz Kuntz 5 blocks, 7 kills

Taylor Strauss 14 digs, 3 aces

Taylor Reed. 16 digs

Britta Mollberg 8 digs, 1 ace, 1 block, 51 assists

 

Varsity records

Buchanan 48-5-1, Harper Creek 55-8-2