District volleyball: Selah Huizenga, Zeeland East aim for redemption in finals; Hamilton wins
MATTAWAN - A year ago, Selah Huizenga watched as her teammates survived a thrilling five-set win in the district semifinals, only to fall short of their goal of a district title.
Huizenga, an outside hitter and one of the top players for Zeeland East, had a knee injury take away her junior season.
She is looking forward to the opportunity to help her team made amends in the Division 1 district final. The Chix will face host Mattawan at 6 p.m. Thursday.
"You learn not to take things for granted," she said. "Coming back from this injury has been a huge accomplishment for me. I am trying to take advantage of the time I have now and live in the moment."
One round after rolling past St. Joseph, Zeeland East cruised past Holland in three sets, 25-13, 25-9, 25-11.
The Chix advanced to Thursday's Division 1 district final at 6 p.m. at Mattawan.
The semifinal win started with a huge service run by Huizenga.
Huizenga served the first 11 points of the match, including three aces and the Chix began the match with an 11-0 run and took the first set 25-13. Huizenga again was strong in the second set with four kills and the Chix won 25-9.
Holland led 9-6 in the third before the Chix rallied and took the set 25-11.
The Chix advanced to the district finals for the second year in a row. Last year, after an epic five-set win over West Ottawa, the Chix lost to Grand Haven in the finals.
"It is super important to just give it all we've got. We are going to have a competitor give us a run for our money. We have to focus on moving forward after point," Huizenga said. "It is exciting."
More: District volleyball: Energized West Ottawa tops Zeeland West; Zeeland East wins
Tough loss for Panthers in four
West Ottawa was eliminated in the other semifinal in four extremely close sets, falling to Mattawan 25-23, 25-20, 28-30, 25-22.
In the first set, West Ottawa rallied to lead 10-8 behind a kill from Jillian Garcia, followed by a kill, then an ace from Chelsea Overbeek. But the set remained close and Mattawan rallied for a 25-23 win.
In the second set, the Panthers trailed most of the way but rallied within 21-20 after an ace from Addy Scholten. But a couple of errors and Mattawan kills gave the Wildcats a 25-20 win and a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, the Panthers took a 16-13 lead behind a huge kill from Brooke Pedersen and a block from Magaly Lemus. It was point-by-point from there until the Wildcats went up 23-21 only to see the Panthers tie it 23-23 on a block by Lemus and Sami O'Connor.
A kill by Pedersen made it 24-23 Panthers but the Wildcats tied it once again. It was tied at 24, 25, 26, 27. Overbeek slammed one into the center of the court for a 28-27 lead and the Panthers hung on for a 30-28 set win.
In the fourth, the Panthers led 16-13 before the Wildcats rallied to lead 18-17. Overbeek tied it 19-19 with an ace. But a couple of shots went long for the Panthers and the Wildcats hung on for a 25-22 win.
Overbeek had 15 kills to lead the Panthers.
"We limited our errors in the third and there was an urgency that we could have used in the first two. That kept us together and they just needed one point to close us out a few times, so for us to keep our heads together was pretty good," West Ottawa coach Kaitlyn Lawton said. "That was the best four-set match we have put together all year, and the goal is to play our best at the end of the season, and that is what we did. We gave them a fight."
More: West Ottawa's Chelsea Overbeek the 'perfect storm' of a hitter at 5-4
Hamilton, Saugatuck advance to finals
Hamilton defeated Hopkins 25-14, 25-14, 25-7 in the Division 2 district semifinals.
Ally Kragt had 14 kills. Hannah Glupker had 14 digs and five aces. Joelle Boeskool had 30 assists and 12 digs.
The Hawkeyes will play the Grand Rapids South Christian-Wayland winner at 7 p.m. Thursday at Hopkins.
In Division 4, Saugatuck beat Black River 25-10, 25-16, 16-25, 25-13 to reach Thursday's final at home against Western Michigan Christian.
Niki McNeil had 12 kills and three blocks. Jenn Schock had 28 assists and 13 digs. Jacey Merkle tallied 24 digs.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Volleyball: Selah Huizenga, Zeeland East aim for redemption; Hamilton wins
