Cougars knock off Broncos in five-set thriller

Bark River-Harris junior Kaiya Davis (22) attempts to make a play at the net against Superior Central senior Kate McGee (6) during a Skyline Central Conference volleyball match on Sept. 19, 2024 at Bark River-Harris High School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

HARRIS — A thrilling five-set match found Superior Central volleyball back in the win column, defeating Bark River-Harris 15-25, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 16-14.

“This is the team I knew I had,” Cougars coach Kris Bray said. “They setup well, they hit well and we did a good job of playing with confidence.”

The lead went back and forth with each team going on scoring runs in the winner-take-all fifth frame. The Broncos scored the first point of the stanza. However the Cougars rolled off five points in a row to take a 5-1 lead.

The Cougars extended their lead to 8-2 on a pair of aces and a kill by senior Kate McGee.

“I usually don’t have good serving nights. It felt good to have one,” McGee said. “This win does a lot for our confidence going forward.”

The Broncos made a small run to cut the deficit to 8-5. However, Cougars’ freshman Kylie Stuer delivered a pair of kills to extend the lead to 10-5.

The Broncos scored seven of the next eight points with a pair of kills by junior Dakota Bridges to put the Broncos in the lead at 12-11.

The Cougars battled back scoring five of the next seven points taking the set.

“You have to give the credit to Superior Central,” Broncos coach Brooke Anderson said. “I was proud of the way our girls fought. Even though they didn’t win they didn’t give up and did a good job against a good team.”

Stuer totaled 19 kills with six coming from the back line. Stuer also had five blocks and three aces. Stuer had a pair of kills late in the second stanza to help the Cougars take the set.

“It felt good to come back from the loss Tuesday night,” Stuer said. “We got behind, but we knew we could beat them so we just worked hard and made plays.”

McGee also had a good game for the Cougars with seven aces, five kills and one block with three of her seven aces coming during a eight-point scoring run early in the second stanza.

Kaet Erickson totaled nine kills and one block while producing an eight-point scoring run in the first set to lead the Broncos to the set win.

“They were a good team,” Erickson said of the Cougars. “They are a scrappy team and their play in the middle is really good.”

The Cougars return to action Tuesday to host Norway. The Broncos host Manistique Thursday.