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Gladstone Girls Make Semis At Marquette Tourney
 MARQUETTE---The Gladstone High School girls volleyball team advanced out of pool play Saturday before falling in the semifinals of the Marquette Invitational. The Braves lost to Florence, Wis., in the Final Four, and Florence went on to win the tournament for the first time. Gladstone opened pool play with a split against Gwinn, 1-1, (25-7, 17-25). And then the Braves won two tight games from Florence, 2-0, (26-24, 25-23). "We started off excellent," Gladstone Coach Liz Gendron said. "I changed two players to new positions, and it was running smooth. Tasi Martinez is our new Libero, and Caitlyn Gimler is our outside hitter. Both really excelled on the floor. They are both very strong communicators, and it really showed." Gendron said her team played well against Florence in that early-round match. "I was ecstatic," she said. "Finally, things were coming together." So, the Braves advanced to the "Gold Pool" for the second round of the tournament. And that's when things started to go bad for the Braves. Gladstone faced the host Marquette Redettes in the first match, and lost, 2-0 (17-25, 18-25). "Caitlyn left the game with a concussion in the first set," Gendron said. "We never recovered the rest of the day. We gave them too many points on missed serves." Gladstone then lost to Menominee in the next round, 2-0 (17-25, 14-25). "We couldn't or serve the ball in the court, for some reason," Gendron said. That moved the Braves into bracket play, and a rematch with Florence, who the girls beat earlier in the day. But this time, the Bobcats won, 2-0, (25-11, 25-20). "We tried to rally in the last set, but we gave them too big of a lead," Gendron said. The Braves played with heavy hearts on Saturday, as senior Chasey Williams mourned the death of her father, Justin. The girls have all rallied to support Williams, and Gendron says that she will return to the court in the next week. But one girl who will not play is Gimler, because of that concussion. "Someone will need to step up in her place," Gendron said. "Overall, I saw some others really improving their game, like Eli Lektzian and Kaitlyn Hardwick. Solid performances by Maddie Bailey, and Zoie Berg keeps things in check for the rookies." Gendron was also impressed with the contributions of two junior varsity players who she brought up to the varsity squad for Saturday's tournament: Lexi Winling and Courtney Carlson. The tournament ended with Florence beating Munising, 2-1. Gladstone hosts Marquette on Tuesday night. GLADSTONE BRAVES Marquette Invitational Statistics: Zoie Berg----22 assists, 1 kill, 3 aces, 11 digs Caitlyn Gimler----8 kills, 4 aces, 17 digs (in 4 1/2 sets before injury) Sydney Eagle----1 kill, 5 digs Macy Trudeau----1 kill, 1 assist, 5 digs Tasi Martinez----7 kills, 3 assists, 1 ace, 43 digs Harley Fornoff---1 kill Eli Lektzian----1 assist, 2 aces, 11 digs Kaitlyn Hardwick----3 kills, 2 assists, 3 aces, 4 digs, 5 block kills Amber Lenards----4 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs, 2 block kills Jenna Steinhoff----10 kills, 1 assist, 6 aces, 10 digs, 1 block kill Maddie Bailey----9 killsm 3 assists, 5 digs, 1 block kill Saige Sisson----4 kills, 1 dig, 1 block kill |
