Anytime a school has a chance to host a provincial event it is something special and Medstead Central School earned a bronze medal while hosting 2A senior boys' provincial volleyball on the weekend.
Medstead kicked down the front door to provincials, as they won conference and regional playoffs and continued the strong play on the weekend in front of hometown supporters.
Medstead started the tournament off with a bang beating Naicam in straight sets 25-9, 25-19.
Coach Greg Knot said his team played well out of the gate and fed off the packed gymnasium of local supporters. Tyler Long had a strong game at the service line while Tanner Martens, Brandon Lybeck, Scott Seidle and Nicky Hawrishok were strong hitting at the net. Carter Hill did a great job blocking.
Next for Medstead was Arcola, who took advantage of some Medstead nerves and won in three sets. After winning the first set 25-21, Medstead let it slip away and lost 25-21 and 25-17 to finish second in their pool after round robin play.
Because they finished second, Medstead had a longer way to the final and needed to win four games Saturday to win the tournament. They built some momentum and rode the crowd's enthusiasm, winning three-of-four games.
First Medstead played Davidson, and the home team won handily. Long served seven straight points to close out the first set 25-10 for Medstead. Coach Knot was able to get all his players into the game and rolled to a 25-17 win in the second set.
Medstead advanced to the quarter-finals and had a chance for redemption against Arcola. The nerves from their first meeting appeared to be gone, as the Mustangs played a strong game winning 25-13, 25-17.
In the semi final, it was anyone's game, but Kinistino's big hitter proved to be the key factor, as Medstead lost in straight sets 26-24, 25-19 and were bumped to the bronze medal match.
A familiar rivalry was renewed in the bronze game, as Medstead took on Maymont. The teams had played in conference, regional and provincial playoffs with each game going to a third set and Medstead winning the previous two times. This game was no different.
Chad Bernier gave Maymont some momentum early with a big hit, but Medstead's Martens answered back. Maymont led 13-8 at one point, but Medstead battled back to make it 19-19. Maymont refused to be denied the first set and won 25-20.
Medstead busted out to an 8-2 lead in the second set. Later, Solomon Rise went on a serving run and put Medstead up 22-12. They went on to win 25-17.
The third set was close again, and possibly the turning point of the game was a team block by Lybeck and Cody Drieschner for Medstead. The Mustangs continued on to beat Maymont 25-19 and take the bronze medal.
Knot said for his team, which is fairly young, had a great season and expectations will be high for years to come in Medstead.
Knot also said the support from the community was beyond what he thought it would be.
"Everyone did a great job and made it easy for me to focus on coaching," said Knot.
