Marysville volleyball falls to North Branch in regional semifinal

IMLAY CITY — The Marysville volleyball team has taken plenty of steps forward this year. But the Vikings were stopped in their tracks Tuesday.

North Branch defeated Marysville in straight sets (25-17, 26-24, 25-20) of a Division 2 regional final at Imlay City High School. They finished the season at 31-12-0.

"I feel like defensively and serve-receive wise, the girls did exactly what we asked them to do," Marysville coach Kellie Kryscynski said. "(North Branch) is a really good team. We played solid defense and we had solid serve-receive — just a couple errors here and there were the difference in a lot of those plays. So I'm proud of them."

"We had some tough breaks and some really long rallies," said senior defensive specialist Kara Miller, who finished with 31 digs. "So each point could've gone either way, we just needed to finish a little bit more."

"When the odds were stacked against us, we didn't let it get to us," said senior setter Meghan Winston, who finished with 17 assists, 12 digs and three kills. "It didn't go the way we wanted it to. But that never stopped us (from battling) when we were down by the margins that no one expects you to come back from. I just think it shows who we are."

After falling behind early and losing the first set, the Vikings went toe-to-toe with the Broncos in the second.

There were eight lead changes in the set. Eventually, it appeared that North Branch would away pull away easily once again. But the Marysville erased a 19-14 deficit and clawed its way back to grab a 23-22 lead. It just couldn't finish the job.

The Broncos opened the third on a 14-5 run to quell the Vikings' budding momentum. Still, Marysville fought to the final point. After trailing 24-15, it went on a spirited 5-0 run to pull within four.

"This team is resilient," Kryscynski said. "Playing in the league that we played in, we've seen a lot of really good teams and we've played a lot of really close matches. And (our players) have come back before ... they know there's always an opportunity to win a game. They're going to fight with everything they have no matter what. They've done that all season."

This was a season full of adjustment for the Vikings, who moved up to the MAC Red. It features the highest level of competition in the Macomb Area Conference. While a 4-6 record in league play wasn't what they had in mind, the Vikings are looking at the big picture.

"Playing in the MAC Red really helped us throughout the year," Miller said. "It was really cool getting back to there — where Marysville used to be — and proving ourselves."

A difficult conference schedule paid off, as Marysville won its second straight district championship last week with relative ease.

"I know that next year, the team will take this (experience)," Winston said. "And they'll go as far as they can."

"I think that is going to springboard us going into next season as well," Kryscynski said. "We're playing faster competition and we're playing tougher competition. So when we hit a team like this, it's not a complete surprise. Because we've seen it before."

The Vikings will return nine players from this year's roster in 2023. But in doing so, they'll also say good bye to six seniors that've helped shape this latest area of Marysville volleyball

"I've had a hand in coaching this group pretty much since they were in third grade," Kryscynski said of her senior class. "So they're a very, very special group to me. The one thing I will say about them is that they are such team players. They always put the team first. They've always done whatever we've needed them to ... even playing positions that probably aren't the most comfortable for them."

Winston is the perfect example. Kryscynski needed her to play setter this season, a position she was originally unfamiliar with. But the senior had been practicing in her new role since June. Five months later, she finished this season with 993 total assists.

"The mark (the seniors) left on this program is going to be remembered," Kryscynski said. "Because those are the kids we want. We want those great teammates and those great leaders. That's what we're going to miss the most from them, is just how awesome they are for their team."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Marysville volleyball falls to North Branch in regional semifinal