Marian Downs Fraser and Secures Spot in Semifinals

Marian High School continued its reign as one of the state's top volleyball programs and will be heading to the final four for the fourth straight year.

The Mustangs (67-6-1), the state's top-ranked team, powered their way past Fraser High School to a four-set victory in the state quarterfinals. Playing on their home court, Marian defeated Fraser 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 25-19.

Marian head coach Irick Gardner said the two traditional powerhouses have a long history between each other and beating the Ramblers to get to the final four makes this year's run especially sweet.

"It was definitely harder (to make it to the semifinals) this year, I'll tell you that," Gardner said. "It was actually the first time we beat Fraser in the quarterfinals since I've been here. That was definitely in the back of my mind … the coaches know the history."

Senior Miss Volleyball candidates Alexandra Lovell and Alessandra Dietz led the team with 15 kills. Fraser head coach Melissa Criteser said containing Dietz and Lovell were a major focus of the Ramblers' game plan, but acknowledged that strategy is easier said than done.

"We knew Alex and Dietz were going to come out big and strong," Criteser said. "We specifically practiced defending them. They're going to get their kills and we knew we were going to get our blocks against them, too. It's just trying to maintain, whether they get that kill or not, trying to take the next ball away from them."

Junior setter Mary Henry led the Mustangs with 44 assists. Dietz had five kills, while defensive specialists Hannah Van Faussien and Erin Klosterman finished with 28 and 16 digs, respectively.

Klosterman, one of only four seniors on the Marian roster, displayed her leadership after the Ramblers strong performance in the second game.

"At this point, it's the quarterfinals, the games are close," Klosterman said.  "There's lots of energy (and) lots of excitement. I tried to calm everybody down and let them know if we played our game we would win."

Gardner said he was encouraged the Mustangs received a tough test from Fraser, after blowing through the district and regional portions of the state tournament with relative ease.

"I told them afterward, the best thing that could have happened was we win a close game against a good team like Fraser, because that's going to get us ready for the rest of the season," Gardner said. "If we would have played an easy team, I don't think that would really help us."

Marian will play East Kentwood, a traditional power from Grand Rapids at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Kellogg Arena in downtown Battle Creek. The winner will play the winner of Farmington Hills Mercy and Temperance Bedford at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Klosterman, who will be making her third trip to Battle Creek as a member of the varsity team, said this weekend will be bittersweet, marking both the last matches of her high school career and, hopefully, the second straight state title for Marian.

"It'll definitely be different than before," Klosterman said. "I think it just gets me a bigger drive, a bigger enthusiasm to win these last two games at the end of my high school career."