TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City Central Trojans wrapped up an unbeaten Big North regular season run with a three-set sweep of archrival Traverse City West on Wednesday evening.
The Trojans jumped out a quick lead in the first set, scoring the first five points, but the Titans would battle back, tying the set at 7-7 and 10-10 before the Trojans again took control to finish off a 25-16 first set.
The second set was by far the best of the match. Again, the Trojans grabbed an early lead, racing out to a 10-3 advantage before a TC West timeout. After the timeout, the Titans went on a run, catching and passing the Trojans, building a five-point advantage of their own. But Central regained their composure and were able to battle their way back into the set, eventually taking it by a 26-24 count.
The Trojans then carried that momentum into the third set, taking it 25-14 to complete the sweep.
“It was electric. It was awesome,” Central senior Natalie Bourdo said. “Everyone showed out, like they were covering the stands. It was probably one of the most attended volleyball games we’ve had at Central, which was fantastic.”
“We came out ready, fired up, good energy,” said Trojan head coach Emily Wilbert. “We never got down our ourselves, or our teammates, and you could really see that through all three games, that we were ready to play, and I was very proud of how we came out to play tonight.”
The two teams also used the marquee volleyball matchup to raise funds for the Munson Hospital Cancer Patient Needs Fund, with both teams wearing pink jerseys, and the teams selling t-shirts and holding competing bake sales to raise money for the fund.
With the win, Traverse City Central concludes the regular season a perfect 10-0 in Big North Conference play. They now await their opponent in a district semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 1. That opponent could again be the Titans, if Traverse City West can defeat Alpena in a district opening match on Monday night.
