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ESCANABA -- Bay College remained in a favorable position in the MCCAA North Conference title race, posting a 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-18) volleyball triumph over North Central Michigan College here Wednesday night.
The victory enabled the league leaders to improve to 13-6 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
Bay was trailing 17-14 following a service error in the third set, but surged ahead on back-to-back kills by sophomore outside hitter Ava Maki.
A service ace by sophomore defensive specialist/setter Audrey Franz gave the Norse a two-point lead and a net violation by the Timberwolves made it 20-17.
The Norse extended their lead to 23-18 on back-to-back service aces by sophomore outside hitter Ava Maki.
Freshman middle blocker Josie Mechling followed with a block, putting Bay up by six points and in position to conclude the match.
"These girls get along well and fight for each other," Bay coach Dan Porath said. "We lost to them in five sets down there (in Petoskey). It felt good to get this one. We were down by seven points in the first set. It could have been a letdown, but the girls responded just fine."
A kill by freshman outside hitter gave the Norse an 11-5 cushion, but a hitting miscue melted their lead to 11-8.
Freshman outside hitter Ava Johnson gave them a three-point edge before the Timberwolves surged to a 14-12 lead on a kill by freshman middle blocker Syerra Mills.
"It definitely got challenging in the third set," she said. "We took a time-out and talked about being ourselves. We definitely have a lot of strong players. Our freshmen have stepped up. Our two middle freshmen are fast. We're definitely stronger at the net this year and have momentum."
The Norse were trailing 15-8 in the opener prior to getting sideout on a kill by Johnson.
They got within 15-12 on an ace by freshman outside hitter Dakota Bridges, who was in the midst of a five-point run.
A hitting error by the Timberwolves brought the Norse within two points and kill by freshman middle block Haley Sterling shaved their deficit to 15-14.
Bay was still training 20-18 following a service error.
A kill by Maki gave the Norse a sideout and a four-hit violation by the Timberwolves tied the score at 20.
It was tied again at 24 when North Central committed blocking and hitting miscues, enabling the North to take the first set.
Bay took charge early in the second, building an 11-4 cushion on a kill by Maki and extending it to 14-5 on a kill by sophomore setter/right side hitter Hope Varoni.
"We're the kind of team that can do it," Varoni said. "We just had to bring up our energy. Our team chemistry is really good this year. We have each other's back. Our net play is real strong. We knew we had kind of a target on our back. We were ready."
Their lead ballooned to 23-11 on three consecutive kills by Maki. Freshman setter/defensive specialist Jasmine Jasenovsky added an ace and Mechling's kill sealed the second set.
"We're working on putting pressure on other teams," Porath said. "Lydia Schaal brings up the energy (sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist) and Ava did a great job blocking."
Maki served for five aces and collected 11 kills and two blocks. Johnson added nine kills and two blocks and eight digs. Varoni finished with 21 assists and 10 digs and freshman Kharman Loya had 12 digs.
Mills tallied seven kills and a block for the Timberwolves, who dropped to 5-19 overall and 3-6 in the league. Mills had seven kills to go with 12 digs. Hicks collected 22 assists and Downs contributed 17 digs.
The Norse host Gogebic Community College tonight at 6:30.
North Central Michigan -- Jones (two aces, six digs); Hicks (one ace, 22 assists, three digs); Mills (seven kills, one block); Goossen (seven kills, one block, 12 digs); Tornes (five kills, one assist, 13 digs); Kwiatkowski (four kills, six blocks, 13 digs); DuBose (one kill, two blocks, one dig); Hicks (two blocks, 22 assists, three digs); Downs (17 digs); Irwin (10 digs).
Bay College -- Franz (six aces, one assist, seven digs); Maki (five aces, 11 kills, two blocks, four digs); Loya (two aces, 12 digs); Johnson (one ace, nine kills, two blocks, one assist, eight digs); Mechling (one ace, three kills, two blocks); Varoni (one ace, two kills, one block, 21 assists, 12 digs); Bayer (one ace, one kill, one block); Schaal (two kills, four blocks, two digs); Kiviniemi (one kill, two digs).