Romeo celebrates Coach Williams’ birthday with back-to-back district titles – Macomb Daily

Eleanor Williams and her Romeo volleyball teammates came up with the perfect birthday gift for their coach and Eleanor’s mother, Stacy.

It was the second consecutive Division 1 district championship.

Outside hitting from Eleanor Williams and Emma Rosenow, who combined for 30 kills, helped the Bulldogs to a 22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 victory over Dakota on Thursday in the district final at the high school level. Port Huron. .

“I still gave her another gift, but this one is the best,” Eleanor said.

It was a tough district that featured four teams from the Red Division of the Macomb Regional Conference.

“We knew we needed to be more urgent and aggressive. I just want it more than the other team,” Eleanor Williams said. “We needed this to get to where we are now.”

Dakota advanced to the championship game by defeating two Port Huron schools. Romeo advanced with wins over MAC foes Red Anchor Bay and L’Anse Creuse North.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a district with four MAC Red teams,” Stacy Williams said. “We knew we had a challenge ahead of us, but if we got through it, the win would be that much bigger because we knew we were going to have to play great teams and fight every night.”

The battle did not end with Mac Red’s finale.

In the first game, the Cougars overcame a 22-all tie with three straight points, a block by Katherine Stout and kills from Stout and Kimora Hansbrough.

After Dakota won the first set, it was time for some soul-searching for the Bulldogs.

“We said we weren’t going to lose,” said Rosenow, who had a team-high 17 kills. “We will not let this game be our last game. We love each other too much for this to be our last game. I think we just wanted it more. It all came down to this.”

A specific coaching strategy was also involved.

“We needed to beef up our defense,” Stacy Williams said. “There was a big difference between our defense in the first set and the second set. Once our defense gets going, our offense can get going too. Our defense did not allow us to play a good offensive game.

“This happened because of an insult to Dakota. They hit the ball. (Abby Wutka) was breaking the ball. She’s hard to defend.”

Dakota led 7-4 in the second set, but Romeo went on a 15-4 run to take a lead it never relinquished. The Bulldogs finished the game 4-0, picking up three points on Rosenow’s kills.

Scores of 5-0 and 7-1 helped Romeo win back the third set.

“Volleyball is a fast-paced game and we weren’t able to come back after scoring a few points,” Dakota coach Melissa Kreiteser said. “We couldn’t come back with the confidence, drive and push that you need.

“They are very competitive and strong in the game. Their pitching got the better of us tonight. Our transmission and reception went a little wrong. We knew it would be a difficult match against Romeo. They wanted it a little more than we did. They caught up with us a little this evening.

The Cougars weren’t going to go away without a fight and jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set.

The Bulldogs were then led by freshman Addison Bultink; She scored seven straight points, including two aces, and when Vutka’s kill ended the run, Romeo was ahead 12-11.

Stacy Williams called a timeout with the score 10-3.

“It’s time to refocus and put things into perspective,” she said. “Between the third and fourth sets we got a little nervous and looked too far ahead. We needed to refocus and say we still have work to do. There is no holiday yet. They responded very well.

“Addison Bultynk went behind the service line and got us going. She kept the pitching consistent and competitive so we were able to run. She is mentally strong. She doesn’t play like a freshman.”

It was not only Bultynok’s serve that played a decisive role in the decisive game. Late in the set, she hit back-to-back kills from her forehand and dove for a dig that led to a kill on Christina Rosenow.

“She’s amazing. She’s crazy good, incredible for a freshman,” Eleanor Williams said.

“It’s been exciting to watch her grow throughout the year,” added Emma Rosenow.

The fourth set ended with a kill from Ava Blomquist, the only senior in Romeo’s regular rotation.

“Kayla Liedke had a great defensive game,” Stacy Williams said. “Leyla Babich started playing volleyball only in July and in her first year she performed very well. Kristina Rosenow has become an integral part of our team.”

It was an uncharacteristic season for Dakota, which finished 14-22-1.

Photos from Romeo’s 3-1 district championship win over Dakota on Thursday.

“We’ve been dealing with injuries all year,” Kreiser said. “Our line-up changed every week. We looked at the districts as the start of the new season and were aiming to reach the district final. We came tonight full of energy. We studied cinema and knew what we wanted. I wish Romeo good luck in their run.

“I’m proud of my team. They worked hard all year. My seniors were huge. They gave us great guidance. They fought hard. They played hard. I’m very happy. I hate to see it end.”

Vutka led the Cougars with 15 kills and four blocks. Stout had seven kills and two blocked shots. Olivia Tamarus finished the game with five kills, two service aces and 13 digs.

The Romeos will travel to the Troy region to play either Chippewa Valley or Fraser on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.