The Wayne High volleyball team completed a sweep of the Mid State Conference regular-season and tournament titles, winning their first-ever tournament title with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-20 sweep of Battle Creek on Thursday at Battle Creek High School.
Battle Creek took early leads in each of the first two sets, but Wayne was able to bounce back with solid net play and an outstanding effort at the service line that saw Wayne commit just three errors in 70 serve attempts.
In the final set, Wayne staked themselves to an early 7-2 lead and kept the Bravettes from gaining any real momentum. Battle Creek got as close as 22-20 in the final set, but Wayne scored the last three points to claim the victory and their first Mid State Conference tournament trophy.
Lauren Pick had 17 kills and Emily Armstrong added 11 for the 27-4 Blue Devils. Sydney Redden had three kills while Kiara Krusemark, Emily Longe and Rubie Klausen each added one. Krusemark had 29 assists while Backer and Pick both had one.
The Blue Devils recorded seven ace serves in the match, four coming from Redden while Backer, Armstrong and Pick each had one. Armstrong was a perfect 12-for-12 at the service line, Krusemark was 8-for-8 and Erin O’Reilly was 7-for-7.
Frankie Klausen had solo block while Longe and Armstrong teamed up for a block. Backer led the team with 17 digs, Armstrong added 14, Pick had 12, Redden added nine, Frankie Klausen had seven, O’Reilly added two and Krusemark had one.
The Blue Devils are the top seed for the C1-7 subdistrict that begins Monday at Norfolk High School. They will face fourth-seed Pierce in a 6 p.m. game, with the winner advancing to Tuesday’s 7 p.m. matchup against either Battle Creek or Norfolk Catholic.
Wayne is in the fifth position in the last wild card point standings shown on the NSAA website, which guarantees them a spot in next week’s district finals. Final seeding, opponent and game location will be announced by the NSAA after subdistrict play, with district finals set for Saturday, Nov. 2.
