FRUITPORT – The ultimate revenge comes at tournament time, because if you beat a foe that got the best of you in the regular season, that team is done for the season.

The Fruitport volleyball team did that to Spring Lake on Monday in a first-round match of the Division 2 district tournament at Fruitport High School.

The rivals met three times in the regular season with the Lakers taking two of the matches – both in five long sets- and the Trojans winning one.

But Fruitport turned the tables with a 3-1 victory, beating the Lakers by set scores of 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20.

“Spring Lake is a great opponent, and our plus-minus with them has been marginal,” said Fruitport head coach Nicole Bayle. “To be able to come out today on our home court and win in a crazy tight game like that was great.”

Every set was a grind, with the teams trading leads at multiple points in all four.

The Trojans were able to find momentum late in both of the first two sets to go up 2-0. They also led 19-18 late in the third set, but Spring Lake rallied, scoring seven straight points to capture the set and keep the match alive.

Fruitport finished off the Lakers in the fourth set, but it wasn’t easy. The final point of the match lasted nearly two minutes before a Spring Lake error finally ended the evening.

“We just know how to persevere through the tough parts, and we know we have each others’ backs,” said Fruitport’s Lauren Riedel, who led the team in aces with four. “We have a lot of confidence, so we just kind of keep rolling through tough situations.”

Leading the Trojans offensively was Sadie Haase with a team-high in 10 kills. Hope Straley also had a solid outing with eight kills, while Gracelynn Olson drove the offense with 36 assists.

Defensively, Kayla Kolberg led the Trojans with 24 digs while Olson and Kendal Kolberg each added 14.

Despite the loss, Kalli Lewkowski had a great game for the Lakers in their final matc  of the season, posting 20 kills and two aces. Other Lakers putting up solid numbers were Ella Andree, who had 15 kills and a team-high 31 digs, and Rylee Sabo, who steered the offense with 23 assists.

Fruitport now moves on to the semifinal round to play Whitehall at home on Tuesday. While their record may not show it – Fruitport is now 14-25 – Bayle said the Trojans are battle-hardened and ready.

“We have one of the toughest conferences in Division 2 volleyball,” said Bayle, referring to the O-K Blue. “Our record is not a good indicator of how good we are, and we’re ready to prove that.

“Whitehall is a really good team. We’ve lost to them in two out of three matches. We’re looking forward to it, hoping we can have the same outcome as we did tonight.”