Atlanta, Hillman set for regional volleyball clash
Coiurtesy Photo The Hillman volleyball team poses with its district title.
Coiurtesy Photo The Atlanta volleyball team poses with its district title.
Coiurtesy Photo The Hillman volleyball team poses with its district title.
Coiurtesy Photo The Atlanta volleyball team poses with its district title.
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ALPENA -- The Hillman and Atlanta volleyball teams have gotten used to playing one another this season.
But there will be a lot more on the line when the two squads face each other one final time in 2022.
Fresh off of district championship wins last week, the Huskies and Tigers will meet one another in a Division 4 regional semifinal in Bellaire tonight.
Game time is 7 p.m. and the winner advances to play either Leland or Gaylord St. Mary in Thursday's regional final.
Hillman is making its first regional appearance since 2018 and has already beaten Atlanta twice in matches this season. The two sides split games at two different tournaments, Hillman won the regular-season matchup and then topped the Huskies in the finals of the North Star League Championships for the Little Dipper title.
Previous matchups aside however, Hillman coach Kim Weiland knows the Tigers won't take their Montmorency County rivals lightly.
"We've played them at quite a few tournaments," Weiland said. "It's kind of cool. It's a neutral site. They're going to have a lot of fans, we're going to have a lot of fans and it's going to be a good game."
Atlanta is making a regional appearance for the first time since 2003 and for just the third time in program history. The Huskies' previous two appearances came in 2002 and 2003.
The Huskies' have been one of the biggest surprises in the North Star League this season, earning 23 wins as a team and a second-place finish in the league standings before they defeated Au Gres last week for a district title.
The Tigers won a district title in Weiland's first season as coach and have improved since then, thanks to a group of players that have played together for several years. The team's chemistry and camaraderie have been evident this season as Hillman worked through a slow start to work its way up in the league standings.
"We lost a couple of games (early) and I knew we could do better," Weiland said. "They won a few and knew they could get more. They wanted more. I told them 'trust yourself to do your best, trust your teammates to do their best, and trust me to do my best.'"
A win tonight could pit the Tigers in a rematch against Leland, a five-time state champion. The two teams met in a regional semifinal in 2018 with Leland getting the sweep.