Miley Kreider, 5, of Kingsford University, flies the ball past the outstretched hands of Chloe Seraphine, 10, and Helen Rinkinen, 5, of Houghton College. It was held on October 10th at Friver Gym. (Terry Reich photo)
Editor’s note: Daily News correspondent Jerry DeRoche followed the Kingsford Flibers volleyball team throughout the 2024 season, observing practices and conducting interviews from the preseason through the day after the final game. This is the second part of a two-part series.
KINGSFORD — Even before the 2024 volleyball season began, a core group of Kingsford Frivers seniors had clear goals in mind.
One is to have a memorable, fun, and successful final season in their eyes, which meant repeating the MHSAA Division 2 District 33 championship and the Great Northern Conference title for the second year in a row. do.
Another incident surfaced earlier this summer when longtime assistant coach Rita Huegren passed away on July 9 after a long battle with cancer. To show their love and appreciation for their coach, the players decided to dedicate their season to Huegren.
Senior players like Anna Bortolini, Maddie Crider, Alyssa Larson, Ellery Nash, Kylie Sundquist and Jenna Viau were especially close with Huegren, having worked together throughout high school.
They often gathered at Hugren’s home in the early summer to spend time with the ailing coach.
Each player took a photo with Huegren, seven of which were used in the team’s Senior Night program later in the season. The players also helped build a ramp in Huegren’s garage as her athletic ability declined.
“Rita has always been like a grandma to me and to everyone in the program.” Senior Maddie Crider said after preseason practice. “She gives us so much love and always celebrates us, so this season is definitely for her and where we can celebrate her accomplishments.”
Teams did it in different ways during the season. The first home game “Purple Out” as a way to remember Hugren’s love of color.
Players also wore gun ribbons during the season, had a hummingbird (Huegren’s favorite bird) in warm-ups, and had her favorite Bible verse on the back of her warm-up jersey.
Additionally, Hugren’s daughter Carrie also sang. “The Star-Spangled Banner” At some of the Friverse’s home games.
Hugren’s influence extended beyond the players.
“She strengthened my faith and really helped me how to deal with different situations.” Head coach Jaclyn Crider said. “She always had a very positive mindset. She could get overwhelmed and down sometimes, but she always said the right thing.”
The team entered the season with high hopes, high expectations, and pressure to match and extend that success in 2023, when they won their second straight district championship and advanced to the district finals.
With these lofty accomplishments, Coach Kreider and his players knew that in 2024 they would be as much the hunted as the hunter.
“We have high expectations for ourselves and we know that people want to play against us and beat us so we have a target on our back so to speak. I know there is.” Mr Kreider said
At several points during the season, coaches mentioned communication on social media between players on different teams regarding free-versus schedules.
What is their message? “We’re coming for you.”
And those teams did, but the Flivars fought back against them all. Kingsford started the season with a four-set win over rival Escanaba and won his own invitational match on August 24th, winning all 10 sets.
After that, the team participated in high-level matches. “The Beast of Tohoku” The event was held at the Community First Champion Center in Appleton. The Flivers played well against some of the best teams in the Fox Valley area and finished the weekend with a record of 4 wins and 3 losses.
When the Flivars returned to their dual match schedule, they were ready. Kingsford started with a decisive 25-25, 25-12, 25-15 victory over Menominee on enemy territory. “Purple Out” Evening of September 17th.
Two nights later, the Flivers dominated Marquette at home 25-20, 25-17, 25-20, letting future opponents know they’re not just the same as they were in 2023, but better.
Vieau, who had a great game against the Sentinels, spoke about the team’s mindset after the win.
“I think it’s about attacking first and then getting up and setting the tone.” Mr. Vio said. “Let the other team catch up to our energy and speed.”
Outmatched in size for almost every match, Viau and his teammates used aggressive serves to corner their opponents and prevent them from exploiting their height advantage on the outside and middle.
Flivver players have developed different types of serves, from floating knuckleballs to deep hard serves. He also received cues from assistant coach Jamie Moment before every offer during the match, identifying six zones in which to aim for his serve.
They had amazing success with this approach.
“They served us very hard, which made it difficult for us to get into the system and as a result, we didn’t pass very well on serve-receive.” Calumet coach Kate Bonaccorsi said after her team’s four-set win against the Frivers on Oct. 1 in Kingsford.
This game was the only loss for the Flivars against UP all season.
Kingsford swept Negaunee two nights later and ended the season with seven straight dual match wins. The Flivers recorded sweeps in six of those wins and finished the regular season with a record of 29-4.
Along the way, several juniors came forward and provided significant help to the core six seniors, especially junior middle Kathy Olson and sophomore Miley Crider. 
Juniors Adeline Normand, Carly Trevilyan and Chloe Blaser and sophomore Maia Brunswick also received playing time and improved their skills and understanding of the game at the varsity level.
Looking back on the regular season just before the district opener against Houghton, Coach Crider summed up the team’s year so far.
“I think it was a special season.” she started. “You guys set goals and obviously we accomplished most of them. It would have been nice to win against Calumet, but in that case we would have lost to a really good team, so looking at that and really I don’t think you will be disappointed.
“At the end of the day, it was a really, really fun season. It was very special and I think we learned a lot and grew a lot as individuals and as volleyball players, so in the end it was is important.”
Frivers got off to a district start, the sixth grader’s last, with a tense performance against Houghton on Nov. 6. Playing at home and feeling the weight of expectations, the Flivars won four straight sets.
Any concerns about the team’s performance in that game disappeared early in the final match against Escanaba the next night. The Frivers won the first set 25-8 against the Eskimos, who pushed Kingsford to four sets twice during the regular season.
The Flivars continued their outstanding performance in the second set, winning 25-15. The third set was a celebratory one, with Kingsford winning 25-18 and winning the district for the third consecutive year.
Another goal has been achieved.
“Three years in a row is definitely very exciting.” Larson said after the win. “We played very well. And it wasn’t just one of us, it was all of us together as a team. We all did our part.”
“Without a doubt, as a team as a whole, this is the best we’ve played all year.” Coach Kreider added: “Everyone contributed. And it’s unbelievable to see this group of seniors have the energy that they have and just the desire to win tonight for the last time on their home court. I am very proud of them.”
The win also offset the pressure on the seniors during the season, which seemed to get stronger as the season progressed.
“It’s really rewarding.” Maddie Crider said. “And also a sigh of relief. It’s over because we were under pressure. Now we can go out and enjoy the rest of the season, for sure.”
That fun carried over, at least for the first two sets, into the Friverse regional semifinals against Kingsley in Manistique. free from everything “We have to win in the district.” Despite some trepidation, the Flivars came out of the gate against the Stags, winning the first two sets 25-17, 25-22.
With an inspired play, the Flivars looked set to advance to the regional finals for the second year in a row. But after a few match points, the bottom fell out.
A few uncharacteristic mistakes cost Kingsley the third set 27-25. The Stags won the fourth set 25-23, establishing a winner-take-all fifth set. Once again, the Freevers came within one point of victory, but Kingsley fought back to take the fifth set 16-14, leaving Freevers players, coaches and fans stunned.
It was a painful defeat.
“It’s still difficult to know what happened.” Coach Kreider said this two days after the season-ending loss. “We started off clicking on all cylinders. I’m not really sure what necessarily changed, but they just gained a little more momentum as the set progressed.”
Further in the conversation, Coach Kreider talked about the emotional reaction to what his players are experiencing on the court when Kingsley begins to change the course of the game.
“We had a chance to win in the third set, but when we didn’t win, I think we went a little crazy and got more nervous.”
Maddie Crider felt the same way.
“I think I lost confidence after losing the third set.” she started. “The fourth set too. We were doing really well, but then they came and took the third set. Then the panic started, which we’re not used to.
“We weren’t in a situation where we were leading and playing from behind. And in those last few points of those sets, we couldn’t settle.”
And as the game drew to a close, the Flibers were one rotation away from moving Maddie Crider back to the hitter position, a position she has grown into over the past two seasons.
Indeed, it was the most brutal defeat the 6th graders had ever suffered.
There was never going to be a Hollywood ending for the KHS volleyball class of 2024. In their final season together, there was no regional finals with a chance to advance to the state quarterfinals. That dream came to a heartbreaking end…
We all know that sports can be cruel. We also know that sports can be exhilarating. And, as the Frivers seniors now know, some sports have value.
Even with so much at stake, no loss can replace the monumental impact these players have had on the Kingsford volleyball program, and indeed on volleyball throughout the Peninsula.
For the Flivars underclassmen, it will give them another opportunity to dream and compete.
For the sixth-year senior, the loss at regionals marked the end of an illustrious journey that began several years ago and changed the Flivver program for years to come.
“I think we left a legacy.” Bortolini said. “surely.”
