FREMONT – It can be a pretty dramatic emotional swing for high school athletes to deal with.

One minute your team is in a roll, one victory away from the state Final Four, then just a little while later the season is over.

For Fruitport seniors Sadie Haase and Tara Sweet, that experience was even worse, because it meant a sudden end to their careers, just as things were getting really exciting.

Their volleyball team had ripped through the state tournament, winning four matches in a row, and Haase and Sweet had dreams of going out on top.

The Trojans cruised past Whitehall and Montague in districts, and beat very good teams from Forest Hills Eastern and St. Johns in regionals.

But then the Trojans ran into Essexville Garber in the Division 2 state quarterfinals on Tuesday, and nothing went as planned.

Garber turned out to be really good, the Trojans did not play well, and their tournament run was extinguished in a shockingly quick 3-0 loss at Fremont High School.

Haase, a four-year starter and powerful middle hitter, emerged from the locker room after the match with a few tears in her eyes, and gave her uncle a long, emotional hug – but she was realistic about the disappointing turn of events.

She thinks the Trojans could have played a lot better, but let their nerves get the best of them at the worst possible time

“We went in with a plan and we didn’t execute,” said Haase, who will move on to play college volleyball at Grand Valley State University. “That’s what happens when you don’t execute. I feel bad, but mostly I’m proud of what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished. I’m proud of what this program has come back from, and we’re leaving it in good shape.

“We left with a good run.”

The Trojans’ great run put them back where they are used to being, among the top high school volleyball programs in the state.

Over the last quarter century, Fruitport won state championships three times, in 2005, 2010 and 2011. The Trojans were state runners-up in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and advanced as far as the state semifinals in 2006, 2008 and 2017.

They took a detour in 2022 and 2023, finishing with losing records, but rebounded this season with a sparkling 36-12 record, an O-K Silver Conference championship and Division 2 district and regional titles.

The future is also very bright, with everyone but Haase and Sweet returning next season to carry on the winning.

Fruitport volleyball is definitely back, and Tuesday’s loss can’t erase that.

“I thought the girls played hard tonight, and we had a fantastic run,” said Fruitport head coach Nicole Bayle, who has led the program since 2007. “I told the girls, there is no reason to hang our heads. Only two of them leave us, and the rest of us have an opportunity to learn from this experience, to learn what the big moments feel like. This type of pressure is a real thing.”

The pressure came quickly for the Trojans on Tuesday, because Essexville-Garber had a couple of big hitters who scored with repeated kills, and a great defense that handled nearly everything that the Trojans threw at it.

The first set was close in the early going, with Essexville-Garber leading 9-7, then the Dukes won eight of the next 10 points and grabbed an important 25-20 victory.

The second set started out very badly for Fruitport, with Garber grabbing a quick 5-0 lead and cruising to a 25-15 win.

Garber pulled ahead in the third set, as well, and led 18-13 at one point. Fruitport continued to fight to the end, narrowing the score to 21-19, 22-20, 23-21, 23-22 and 24-23.

Garber won the final point, however, and clinched the match with a 25-23 win.

Haase led Fruitport with 13 kills and Gracelynn Olson had 24 assists. Defensively, Izabel Hanson-Wilbur and Emma Fecher each had 14 digs.

“Garber is a good team,” Bayle said. “They did some things to take us out of our flow, and we didn’t do a good enough job of taking advantage of the opportunities we had. I was very proud of the way we played in Game 3. We did not give up.

“We needed a few more balls to bounce our way. We’ve been a notoriously slow starting team this year and sometimes against a good team that can bite you in the butt.

“The important thing for me, the alumni and the kids in the stands, and the kids on the bench, is that this moment is an expectation for us. A tournament run is the expectation, and we are going to be more ready for this moment next year because of this season.”