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Boxed out: Traverse City St. Francis tops Shelby, Ohio State commit in regional semis

James Cook, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·4 min read

Nov. 7—McBAIN — Traverse City St. Francis used a tall box to help simulate Navea Gauthier in practice the last several days.

Assistant coach Jimmy Brady stood on the two-foot box in the back row and hit shots at the St. Francis defense to get the Gladiators used to what'd be coming Tuesday in regionals.

It must have worked, as TCSF (35-9-1) bounced Shelby (34-13) and Gauthier — an Ohio State commit — in straight sets at Tuesday's Division 3 volleyball regional semifinals at McBain, winning 25-20, 25-21 and 26-24.

"We knew her back row attack was going to be just as big of a threat as her front row," St. Francis head coach Kathleen Nance said. "Our biggest focus was to try to take away some of the kills she normally gets out of the back row."

That's where the box comes in.

Brady took swings from atop the box in the back row to replicate the angles of the 6-foot-2 Gauthier's attacks.

"Navea is an insane volleyball player," SF junior libero Avery Nance said. "Our big focus was managing what she was going to throw at us. We knew she was going to get her kills. We just had to keep it in our brains that it's just one point. When she gets a kill, we're just going to move on."

Avery Nance, Garnet Mullet, Tessa Konas and Quinn Yenshaw all play for the Grand Rapids-based Far Out club team. Gauthier also plays for Far Out, moving up into an older age group, but they are very familiar with her game.

Gauthier posted 936 kills, 133 aces, 498 digs and 58 blocks as a sophomore last year and surpassed 2,000 career kills in mid-September.

"She is one heck of a player," said Mullet, a Clarkston University commit. "She's going to get her points. She's just that type of player. We can't dwell on if she gets a kill."

Avery had to shoulder a lot of Gauthier's attacks, posting a team-high 21 digs. She also had four aces.

"She gets on top of the ball with so much speed and topspin, and it's hard to have a lot of control over that," Avery said. "She has a really good vertical, so when she gets on top of the ball, it's insanely hard to step in there and just like take it. She'll just ricochet balls off you if you're not in the right place at the right time."

The Glads, ranked No. 3 in Division 3 by MaxPreps and No. 5 with the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association, move on to face unranked Beal City (16-5) in the regional finals Thursday at 6 p.m. in McBain. The Aggies topped McBain (21-23-2) in four sets Tuesday.

The Gladiators served up 15 aces in three sets, including six the in second game.

"They served us extremely tough tonight," Shelby head coach Tom Weirich said. "It looked like maybe our serve receive wasn't as good as it has been historically, but it's because they're the No. 3 team in the state. Everybody I talked to is like, 'They're going to hit you from the pins ,and they're going to serve you off the floor.'"

Mullet led the TCSF charge with almost half of the team's aces, producing seven to go along with 13 kills.

"We really got down to business these last couple of times at practice," Mullet said. "We kept our energy high, we maintained everything and had a clean game."

Reese Jones put up 28 assists, seven digs and two kills, while Konas had 14 assists and six digs. Yenshaw pitched in nine digs and eight kills. Landry Fouch chipped in three digs and four kills. Claire Hurley had 13 kills. Harper Nausadis logged three kills and a block. Grace Mason added two aces, and Reese Muma contributed a block and four kills.

The Gladiators exited the playoffs in the opening round last year, falling to Elk Rapids in straight sets. This time around, the Glads knocked off No. 6-ranked Lake City, the Elks and Manton for a district championship, and now get Beal City for the regional title.

"They look like a really scrappy team," Mullet said. "We're excited to go in Thursday and give it all we have. Last year, we went out a little earlier than anticipated. We're ready to come back, and we're ready to take this region."

The one place where Shelby won was in the stands, with the Tigers bringing a vocal student section that sang songs while St. Francis served, although it didn't change much.

The section belted out nursery rhymes like their ABCs, and even sang "Happy Birthday" as TCSF served.

"I love it when we go into a gym and just take it over in the stands," Weirich said. "Unfortunately tonight, we didn't have it on the court."

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