ESSEXVILLE, MI – The notion of 1996 doesn’t compute for the Essexville Garber volleyball players.

And not just because it was 10 years before they were born.

But just since they were in middle school five years ago, they witnessed the program win five Bay County titles, four district championships and a regional crown. So surely – surely – the Dukes had won a league title since 1996.

“When we’d look up at those banners, we’d go ‘Oh, wow! The last one was ’96?’ That’s hard to believe,” Garber senior Ella Kokaly said. “Last year, we won district and regional titles and got to the final four, but we didn’t get the conference.

“So that was a big goal for us. We wanted this year to be our year.”

With a gritty 25-20, 26-24, 17-25, 25-21 victory over Saginaw Swan Valley, the Dukes clinched

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