MANTON - The Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators went the distance, erasing a two-set deficit to defeat Lake City in a thrilling district opening match 3-2 on Monday night.
The Gladiators and Trojans entered the match ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the latest MIVCA state rankings, with St. Francis having defeated Lake City in their final match of the regular season on Thursday, Oct. 26 in four sets.
On Monday night, the Gladiators jumped out to an early lead, but the Trojans were able to come back and tie things up. Both teams held leads late in the set, with Lake City pulling out a 25-23 decision in the end.
The second set was another back-and-forth battle, with the Trojans scoring a 25-22 win to take a two-set lead.
“They came out, and they were just having the game of their lives out there. We finished up those two sets, and we were like ‘Alright, this is the last chance that we’ve got’,” St. Francis senior Garnet Mullet said.
St. Francis responded in the third set, battling back from behind to defeat Lake City 25-23 to extend the match to a fourth set.
The Gladiators carried that momentum into the fourth set, holding off a late Lake City rally to even the match up with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth.
In the decisive fifth set, St. Francis would open up a 6-point lead midway through the set, only to have Lake City again fight back to pull within a point before the Gladiators scored the final two points to take the fifth set 15-12, and the match 3-2.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a team just absolutely refuse to lose. And that’s what they did tonight. And I’m just so proud,” Gladiator head coach Kathleen Nance said after the match.
“We gave everything we had, and it ended up in our favor,” Mullet said.
Traverse City St. Francis now earns a date with league rival Elk Rapids in a district semifinal at Manton on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.