Cheboygan volleyball wins outright SAC title, goes unbeaten at conference tournament
RUDYARD – A year ago, the Cheboygan volleyball team delivered a perfect 4-0 day and earned a share of the Straits Area Conference title.
This past weekend, the Chiefs came up with the magic once again in their conference tournament.
This time, they were crowned outright SAC champions by finishing 4-0 for a second consecutive season at the SAC tournament in Rudyard on Saturday.
The Chiefs (19-9-1, 7-1 SAC) claimed the outright title by defeating Sault Ste. Marie, Rudyard, Newberry and St. Ignace. Sault Ste. Marie was tied with the Chiefs for first until the final match of the day, but the Blue Devils suffered a loss to Rudyard, which gave Cheboygan the title outright.
"From the beginning of the day, the girls had the right attitude coming into the SAC tournament,” said Cheboygan coach Darcie Mlynarchek. “They were confident that they had the ability to come out with an SAC championship and they did just that. They covered the floor well and they were fast offensively. The communication on the floor was key. There wasn't one person not talking on the floor.”
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Bella Ecker’s 21 kills lifted the Chiefs, who received 19 kills apiece from Amelia Johnson and Tessa Lake. Olivia Patrick tallied 17 kills. Makaela Steiner had a solid all-around day, recording 71 assists, 46 digs and 10 aces. Presley Chamberlain had 31 digs and Ava Bury registered 25 digs.
“It was a great day for Cheboygan volleyball, and Coach Karla (Werner) and I are so proud of them,” Mlynarchek said. “We are coming towards the end of volleyball season and the girls have remained positive and are having fun out there, which is a great accomplishment. They are looking forward to the last remaining games of the season and how far they can go."
On Thursday, Oct. 19, the Chiefs suffered a home loss to Manistique (22-25, 12-25, 25-20, 16-25).
Johnson and Ecker paced the Chiefs with nine kills apiece, Steiner added 27 assists, and Patrick and Bury chipped in with 14 digs each.
“They played against a very strong state-ranked team and held their own, but unfortunately it was not enough to come up with a win for senior night,” Mlynarchek said. “This loss gave us some things to work on as a team in order to prepare for the postseason.”
Cheboygan hosts Pellston in its Volley for a Cure match on Wednesday night.
Maybank golfs at state, finishes off Cheboygan career
ALLENDALE – Cheboygan senior Katie Maybank completed a terrific high school golf career by finishing 24th individually at the MHSAA Division 3 girls state finals at Grand Valley State University’s The Meadows on Saturday.
Battling difficult weather conditions throughout the finals, Maybank posted a 93 in Friday’s opening round, then recorded an 86 in her final round on Saturday, making it a two-day total of 179.
During Maybank’s career, she broke Cheboygan’s individual 18-hole scoring record by carding a 74 as a junior. She also helped the Cheboygan girls break the team school record, and competed in the state finals in each of her four years as a varsity player.
KATIE MAYBANK: Cheboygan’s Maybank set to cap off remarkable girls golf career at fourth state finals
Winning the D3 state title was Macomb Lutheran North’s Lauren Timph, who tallied a two-day total of 141. Grand Rapids Catholic Central won the team state title with a two-day score of 673.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan volleyball goes 4-0, wins Straits Area championship outright
