Mid Peninsula superintendent Eric VanDamme poses for a photo with the team after their game against Big Bay de Noc on Sept. 25, 2025 at Mid Peninsula School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

ST. NICHOLAS — It was a big night for the Mid Peninsula volleyball as they faced off against the Big Bay de Noc. The Wolverines lost in four sets (25-20, 25-11, 18-25, 25-17) here Thursday. The Wolverines did raise $11,600 for their Superintendent Eric VanDamme who was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.

“It was awesome to see the community come out to support Eric tonight,” Wolverines coach Emily Kayser said. “We really appreciate everyone coming out to support the cause.”

In the first set, the Wolverines jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on a kill by senior Hope Brunngraeber.

The Black Bears answered, scoring five of the next six points to tie the game at seven on an ace by sophomore Cali Miller. The Black Bears found themselves tied again at 10 and took the lead on a kill by senior Caragan Thill and extended the lead to 13-10 on another kill by Thill.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy tonight,” Thill said. “They have Hope and she is a good server and we were getting caught on some short serves that gave us some issues but we were happy to get it done.”

Thill had her third kill of the first set late to put the Black Bears up 24-19. The Black Bears went on to win the set 25-20.

In the second set, Big Bay jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Wolverines cut the deficit to 7-4 on a kill by Madelyne Loftquist but the Black Bears answered scoring 12 of the next 13 points to extend the lead to 19-5 on back-to-back aces by sophomore Destiney Bleau as they rolled to the second set win.

“The Wolverines responded in the third set as they jumped out to an early 4-2 lead before the Black Bears tied the game at four. The Wolverines scored the next four points to take a 5-4 lead on an ace by Loftquist.

The Black Bears tied the game again at eight but the Wolverines continued to fight back the game was tied again at 14 on an ace by Brunngraeber.

“The whole night was a hard fought battle back and forth,” Kayser said. “In the second set we were down, our hits were going out of bounds but that is going to happen in this game at times.”

The Wolverines went on to score 11 of the last 15 points to take the third set.

In the fourth set, the Wolverines to an early 5-3 lead before the Black Bears tied the game at five. The game had a total of five ties and four lead changes during the set. The Black Bears put the game away scoring eight of the last nine points in the set.

“Our big focus this year has been our mental game,” Black Bears coach Angie Carley said. “That fourth set shows how hard we have been working on the mental game because they could have easily dropped the fourth set and keep the mentality from the third set but they focused and made the plays to get us the win.”

The Black Bears return to action Tuesday as they travel to play Maplewood Baptist. Mid Peninsula will be back in action Thursday as they host carney-Nadeau.