The high school volleyball season is coming to an end, with the MHSAA District tournament in sight for most local teams.
Munising and Superior Central will both contend for the District 99 title, as the two schools will compete with four other familiar foes from October 30 through November 3 in Eben Junction to start what each school hopes is a long run in the MHSAA championship bracket.
“I think most teams in the district this year have a chance to advance despite regular season records,”Munising Head Coach Josh Cole said. “Each team can hit from the service line.”
In the opening round, defending district champions Mid Pen will host the new team to the bracket in Ishpeming. The Hematites have won all contests with District 99 opponents in preseason tournaments, but has struggled on and off with injuries all season. Munising defeated Ishpeming earlier in October, but many players were not available due to the U.P. tennis finals.
In the other opening round matchup, Munising will face off against Rapid River. Munising beat the Rockets in straight sets both times this season.
The Mustangs will spend the next couple of days preparing for Rapid River again.
“I think every team late in the season is making some type of adjustments, whether its injuries, lineup tweaking, etc,” Cole said. “Knowing your district draw definitely helps out that process of piecing together a game plan going into playoff week.
The host school Superior Central and Big Bay de Noc will both get first round byes thanks to the sixteam bracket. The Black Bears, who finished third in both the Northern Lights League regular season and the tournament, will face the Munising-Rapid River winner on Wednesday.
“It’s always that unique situation in districts where we don’t play Rapid in the regular season and we don’t play Munising in the regular season. We’ve been keeping an eye on them as we go, especially when we found out who we were playing,” said Angie Carlie, Big Bay de Noc Head Coach. “The biggest thing is keeping the communication up, keep our serving consistent and we’re finally at that right peak where our hitters are swinging freely.”
SC will face off against the Mid Pen-Ishpeming winners. According to SC Head Coach Kris Bray, the team is getting more accurate as the season progresses, but needs to move the ball well in the tournament.
