Escanaba’s Grayson LaMarche (22) blocks Kingsford middle Kailey Sundquist’s (7) shot on Oct. 22, 2024 at Flivver Gym in Kingsford. (Sean Chase/Daily News)

KINGSFORD – While sitting on a folding chair next to the Kingsford training room near the end of the junior varsity match against Escanaba, Flivver senior Ellery Nash began to cry. Sob really.

It was Senior Night as the six Kingsford seniors – Nash, Anna Bortolini, Alyssa Larson, Jenna Viau, Kailey Sundquist and Maddy Kreider – were all set to walk with their parents and be recognized for their massive contributions to the Flivver volleyball program the last three-plus seasons.

The match was also the last regular-season game the Flivver seniors would ever play on their home court.

So with all that swirling around, plus a re-recognition of their late assistant coach Rita Huglin who passed last summer, Nash and her friends/teammates were starting to come to terms with the inevitable – that the end of their time as Kingsford volleyball players was starting to come into focus.

Interestingly, the Flivvers used their bubbling emotions to get off to a fast start against the Eskymos, but then seemed weighed down by things the rest of the night, though they fought off a poor set to defeat their visitors 25-15, 23-25, 25-11, 25-16.

“We talked about that afterward, like what happened in the second set,” Kingsford coach Jaclynn Kreider said. “The girls said they felt like their energy was down and so when our energy went down, our communication went down. We just were kind of on our heels the whole time.”

The second-ranked Flivvers scored seven of the opening eight points of the match, sparked by aces from Nash and Maddy Kreider and a kill each from Sundquist and Kreider.

Kingsford (28-4) led by 11 points at one juncture and cruised to the first-set victory.

“At the start, we kind of came out like ‘Let’s leave an imprint on them for districts,'” Nash said of a potential matchup with the Eskymos in the tournament. “So we definitely came out fast. And then I think we lost our momentum in the second set, which happens.”

Though the Flivvers stayed tight with Escanaba the whole set, there was a noticeable dip in their energy. The spark was gone, the legs looked heavy and before long, the match was knotted at one set each.

“I think emotionally tonight was hard,” senior Maddy Kreider said. “You know, for us six seniors, we’ve been on the varsity for three years now (four for Kreider). And for our time to come now, it came really fast.

“There were a lot of tears, but it was good.”

In the third set, the Eskymos seemed to lose their flow as well. As their player movement fell off and their passing suffered, the Flivvers steadied themselves. Three aces from Maddy Kreider, a tip and a quick-set kill from Sundquist and a kill from Viau helped stretch a 13-10 lead to a 21-10 lock.

Sundquist blocked an Escanaba overpass to end the set and put her team within one game of clinching.

Which is exactly what Kingsford did in the fourth, sprinting away from Esky with another mid-game run that broke a 9-9 tie and left the Flivvers with a 19-12 edge.

Shortly after, Larson served out the final five points of the match and the Flivvers clinched sole possession of the Great Northern Conference title with a 7-0 record with one match left at Marquette on Thursday.

Their nearest competitors, Escanaba and Marquette, both have two losses in the league at this point.

The Flivvers’ latest achievement just adds to a laundry list that has been compiled the last three seasons for the “Group of Six.” While getting vital contributions from their teammates along the way, the class of 2025 has stamped itself on Kingsford volleyball history.

With tournament play in sight and as the favorite to win their third consecutive district championship, it’s no wonder that the pride, the sense of accomplishment and the realization that it’s all within a few weeks of ending has provoked such passion.

“I was pretty emotional,” Nash said of her prematch mood. “We were talking that we were going to walk with our parents and we all got kind of emotional. One started crying and then the next.

“I think volleyball’s been such a big part of our lives. Now it’s surreal. It came so fast. It’s not real until it’s real.”

But their mentor and coach, who is also the mother of Maddy and sophomore Mylee, will be there to help them along until this historic group of senior volleyball players has played its final match.

“It’s hard because now you see that we’ve got one regular season game left, and from there anybody that shows up on the right night, especially in volleyball, and plays well can beat teams like us that have had a great regular season,” Coach Kreider said.

“So we know that … potentially that end is near. We’re hoping that we can go on a run and be together longer. But this is a neat group of kids. I love them dearly, each and every one of them. They’re just a group that has really left a huge impact on our volleyball program.”