They’ll long remember the buzz created by their string of victories. And the sting their left by their final loss. Essexville Garber’s historic tournament run ended with an epic defeat as the Dukes saw a 2-0 lead vanish in a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss to No.
7-ranked Tecumseh in the Division 2 state semifinals at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena. With its backs against the wall, Tecumseh (48-1-1) showed why it has lost just one game all season, delivering a colossal comeback for the 18-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 15-13 victory. “Being so close, it’s frustrating because they wanted it so bad,” Garber coach Kim Kokaly said.
“But the experience they created for themselves is pretty powerful, too. “We kept saying ‘We just want one more game, we just want one more game.’ But more than anything, I just wanted to show up and show how good we are.
You don’t want to lose, of course, but we wanted to show how good Garber volleyball is, and we did that.” The Dukes celebrate during the Division 2 high school volleyball semifinals between the Tecumseh Indians and the Essexville Garber Dukes at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich. on Friday, November 22, 2024.
The Indians won the game, 3-2. Charlie Nick | MLive.com The Dukes (43-13-2) had never won a regional championship prior to this season.
And after finishing third in the Tri-Valley Conference Red and never cracking the Top 10 rankings, few had this year’s squad pegged as a history-maker. But the squad seemed to find.