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The Ramblers advanced to the finals with a strong performance in knocking off Kingsley, which was making its fifth straight appearance in the regionals, in three games - 25-14, 25-20 and 25-14.

But, the Ramblers, who won their first district title ever last week, didn't have the same fire in their eyes when they took the court for the first two games against McBain. And it cost them.

After losing the first two games, 20-25 and 21-25, the Ramblers rallied to take the next two games, 25-21 and 25-20. But they dropped the fifth game, 5-15.

It was a head-scratcher for Parker.

"We struggled with our passing and serving," Parker said. "We managed to pull it together for the third and fourth games, and cut down on our errors to win them.

"Going into the fifth game (which is only played to 15 points), we had all the momentum ... but we came out flat again."

McBain scored eight straight points to open the game, and the Ramblers couldn't recover.

Boyne couldn't get a good run off, as service errors again betrayed the Ramblers.

As a result, the Ramblers couldn't stay in the match.

"The girls worked too hard all season to have it end like that," Parker said.

Amber Kotalik was the Ramblers' pacesetter, finishing the day with 32 kills on offense, 21 digs and 35 service as well as 8 blocks on defense. Trisha Tomkins also played well on defense with 29 digs and 32 service receptions, and she pounded down 9 aces at the service line. Jessica Knysz had 23 kills and 8 blocks.

Stacey Spaniak contributed 18 digs and 20 service receptions, while Lindsay Clemens enjoyed an excellent day with 69 good sets for the Ramblers.

"I think perhaps the girls were a little nervous," Parker said. "This was the first time we'd played in the regionals, and I think the whole idea hit them at once maybe.

"We don't usually get too big of crowds at Boyne, and there were a lot of people at the regional. The noise was something different, too. I think it could have been everything.

"They were nervous, really, the whole day. We missed more serves than at any time this season. It was a good experience for them, though, and they deserved to be there."

Although the Ramblers will lose a lot of seniors this year, Parker will have the luxury of getting Clemens, her top setter, and Kotalik back. "Having the your setter coming back is like the quarterback in football," said Parker. "She'll be a junior next year, and she's set two whole seasons already.

"It really helps having an experienced setter coming back with a younger team. Kotalik, my middle hitter, is coming back, too. That's big."