SCOTTVILLE – A battle of conference goliaths and newly formed rivals, didn’t go the way Shelby volleyball expected as the Tigers fell to North Muskegon in the WMC Rivers conference tournament Saturday, Oct. 26.
Earlier in October, Shelby and North Muskegon faced off in a regular season meeting that would decide the top seed in the conference tournament. Shelby defeated the Norsemen in three sets, claiming the No. 1 seed and owning their destiny the rest of the way.
The Tigers looked primed to roll through the tournament on Saturday, as they spent a majority of the day in the stands watching others compete to take them on in the finals.
Shelby’s lone qualifying match came against MCC and saw the Tigers steamroll the Spartans. Brylee Friedman was electric in the first set between the two, building Shelby a 10-0 lead at the service line before the Spartans were able to answer. That allowed them to take a 25-8 win in the first set before closing it out with a 25-14 win in the second.
The Tigers were led in that match by Navea Gauthier who recorded 21 kills and three aces. Friedman added five kills and three aces while Audrey Horton had 27 assists and seven digs. Janya Burmeister added 11 digs and Kylie Brown had one block.
With their win over MCC, the Tigers secured themselves a spot in the championship match with their opponent yet to be determined. As many expected, North Muskegon cruised through the competition they faced, setting the scene for a rematch between the best two teams in the conference.
There was no room for error for either team in the first few sets. Back-and-forth battles saw Shelby fall 26-24 in the first set, only to come back and claim a win in the second by the same score. Needing a third set to decide a winner, it was North Muskegon who shocked the Tigers, taking a 15-11 win and muddying the waters in the race for conference champs.
Though Shelby lost, they still owned the top record in the conference and a head-to-head win over North Muskegon. The Norsemen winning the tournament made it necessary to split the crown, giving both teams a share of the 2024 WMC Rivers title.
While it was a disappointing day for the Tigers, some solace can be found in the fact that losing a contested game now should set them up for district play next week.
The Tigers will host the district tournament and are slated to take on MCC Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m.
