SPRING LAKE – You can put them in separate conferences, but you can’t take away that heated determination to beat each other.

The realignment of the O-K conference moved archrivals Fruitport and Spring Lake – previously both members of the O-K Blue – to different divisions, with the Trojans going to the Silver and the Lakers to the Black.

That means they will no longer be playing each other for conference trophies.

But the two schools met again on Tuesday on the volleyball court in a multi-team event at Spring Lake High School, and it was still the most anticipated matchup of the evening.

The teams went at each other hard, as expected, and Fruitport emerged with a tough four-set victory.

It was Fruitport’s second victory over Spring Lake this season, after beating the Lakers at the recent outdoor Battle on the Boardwalk in Grand Haven

It turned out to be a two-wjn night for the Trojans, who also beat Saranac in their second match.

The Trojans improved to 11-6 on the season.

“Coming out on top, especially with this young team, helps us establish who we are,” said Fruitport Coach Nicole Bayle. “It’s a big positive.”

Fruitport dominated the first set, winning 25-14, then followed up with a 25-21 win in the second. Spring Lake fought back and took the third set, 25-22, then the Trojans clinched the match with a very tight 25-22 win.

The fourth set was tied at 22-22, then the Lakers won the last three points and the set to remain alive.

While the Trojans played well, there were times when they committed errors and allowed the Lakers to hang around.

“We can’t let the miscues rile us up,” Haase said. “We have to use it to rile us up in a good way. In the end we have to learn that not everything is in our control. We just need to adjust.”

“Spring Lake is better than they were during the Battle on the Boardwalk,” Coach Bayle said. “It was huge for us to get out to a two-set lead, our offense was jamming, we did a lot of good things, and then we just stalled a bit.”

Senior Sadie Haase had another big night for Fruitport, pounding 31 kills and serving up five aces in the two matches.

Emma Danicek and Addison Bordeaux each had four aces while Gracelynn Olson had 61 assists.

Defensively, the Trojans did a lot of diving to keep the ball in play, totaling 92 digs. Emma Fecher led the way with 23 while Izabel Hanson-Wilber added 20 and Ellie Stroup had 19.