The 2024 Big Bay de Noc volleyball team poses for a photo with its Northern Lights League championship trophy and medals on Oct. 19, 2024 at Brimley High School. (Courtesy photo/Angie Carley)

BRIMLEY — Tournament time is rolling around across the upper peninsula.

Saturday was no exception with the Northern Lights League’s volleyball conference tournament hosted by Paradise school’s in Brimley.

Big Bay de Noc, the No. 2 seed on Saturday, walked out of the gym Saturday with extra weight thanks to conference championships medals and a new trophy, knocking off Beaver Island and Mackinac island to win the 2024 NLL title.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the work these girls put in this year,” Black Bears’ coach Angie Carley said. “We have one regular season game left against Superior Central next Thursday and then we’re off to MHSAA Districts.”

First came a semifinal matchup with the No. 3 seeded Islanders. Big Bay cruised to take the first two sets 25-17 and 25-15. The third set, however, was not recommended for those with blood pressure issues.

The Black Bears fought tooth and nail and clawed their way to victory with a 30-28 win in the third set over the Islanders.

“It’s such an amazing thing to see the mental transformation this team has made this year,” Carley said. “A year ago, they would have given up and handed that last set over to Beaver Island. The team we are now, we fight until the end and don’t give up. We focus on communication and fundamentals and that really helped us secure this first win of the day.”

Caragan Thill tailed 13 kills, nine digs, two aces and two blocks in the win. Macy Peterson produced 24 assists, 15 digs and an ace. Dixie Morris had 23 assists, four digs and an ace.

Payton Pederson earned 13 digs, nine kills and a pair of aces. Destiny Bleau finished with 12 digs and a pair of kills. Tatum Harvey earned 13 digs and Lila Morris had six digs, four kills and a pair of aces.

Then came a matchup with the Lakers, a team which BBdN split with during regular season play. This time, however, the Black Bears proved to be too much, winning the championship match 25-22, 25-18, 25-23.

“Our net play today was unbelievable,” Carley said. “We were blocking, covering, playing the tips and capitalizing on kills when we could. When we made a mistake we moved on and adjusted what we needed to and that in itself was what led us to victory.

Thill had 10 kills, 10 digs, three blocks and three aces in the win. Pederson totaled nine digs, six kills and six aces. Peterson racked up 19 assists, 13 digs and an ace. Dixie Morris produced 19 assists, four digs and four aces. Harvey churned 19 digs. Lila Morris totaled six kills, a dig and an ace. Bleau had eight digs and two kills.