By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
FENNVILLE—After finishing third in pool play at the Fennville Invitational, the Saugatuck volleyball team made sure it finished the day on a high note.
The Trailblazers defeated Gobles and Holland in bracket play on Saturday, Sept. 19, to capture the consolation championship.
Saugatuck opened bracket play with a 25-14, 30-28 victory over Gobles before taking two more tightly contested sets against Holland, winning 26-24, 26-24.
The Trailblazers had gone 1-1-1 during pool play.
Saugatuck split with Potter’s House, falling 21-19 in the opening set before responding with a 21-13 victory. The Trailblazers then swept Lawrence 21-5, 21-10 before dropping a 21-10, 21-8 decision to Zion Christian.
Jocelyn Johnson led a balanced Saugatuck attack with 14 kills for the tournament. Audrey LaLonde added 12 kills, followed by Charlee Gustafson with 11, Emmy Rodewald with 10 and Emma Gosler with nine.
Gosler served a team-high nine aces, while Gabbie Cochran and LaLonde each had eight. Marin Kierzek finished with five.
Nova DeGraaf led the Trailblazers at the net with nine blocks.
Defensively, LaLonde had 11 digs, Cochran finished with 10, Kierzek had nine and Johnson added eight.
Four days earlier, Saugatuck found itself on the other side of several close sets in a road match against Black River.
The Trailblazers fell 28-26, 26-24, 28-26, with each set decided by the minimum two points.
LaLonde, Johnson, Gosler and Cochran each served two aces in the match. Gustafson led Saugatuck with six kills, while DeGraaf had five and Johnson added four.
Kierzek had three blocks, with DeGraaf adding two. Johnson paced the defense with nine digs.
