PORT HURON – Sophomore setter Paige Elliott (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Country Day) made history by becoming the fifth Monarch to eclipse 1,500 career assists and Macomb Volleyball went the distance in a five-set thriller at St. Clair County Community College in Wednesday's (Oct. 30) regular season finale. The Monarchs held a 2-0 lead in the match, but the host Skippers battled back to take the five-set contest in an instant classic as the Blue & White dropped the tilt by set scores of 26-24, 25-23, 15-25, 18-25 and 16-18.
 
With a postseason spot already clinched, the loss sent the Monarchs to the NJCAA Division II Great Lakes District B bracket as the fourth seed out of the MCCAA Eastern Conference. With the East No. 4 seed, the Monarchs will begin the double-elimination Great Lakes District B Tournament against the nationally ranked Raiders of Grand Rapids Community College.
 
The lone team ranked in Region XII Division II Volleyball, the Raiders wrapped up the regular season as the No. 12 team in the country after sweeping MCCAA Northern Conference play at 12-0 and posting a 19-2 overall record.
 
The Great Lakes Districts will be hosted by St. Clair County Community College Nov. 7-9.
 
To view the full bracket and for links to tickets and live stream coverage, please visit: https://njcaaregion12.org/tournaments/wvballB/2024-25/index
 
As for Wednesday's season finale, Elliott paced the Monarchs in the thriller with 45 assists, ending the night at 1,531 for her career. Jordan Pflaum (Shelby Twp., Mich./Lutheran High North) slammed down a team-best 17 kills on a .231 hitting percentage and was followed in double-digit kills by Kaley Eller (Utica, Mich./Utica) with 14 and Kara Beeker (Warren, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) with 11.
 
Mariah Anderson (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Enterprise) had five kills on 10 attempts with no errors for a .500 hitting percentage and Grace Amoe (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) hit .500 as well with three kills on an error-free six attempts. Amoe also posted six block assists to complete a well-rounded night on the court.
 
Alexis Cunha (Richmond, Mich./Anchor Bay) led four Monarchs in double-digit digs with 19, and was followed in the category by Elliott with 15, Sophia Kulaga (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon) with 14 and Eller with 11.