Suttons Bay volleyball coach Mike Kelly knew this season could be special the day after the Norsemen were eliminated in the Class C playoffs in the spring.

ANN PRYOR (3), shown at the net against
Charlevoix in the District finals Saturday, is
Suttons Bay's all-time leader in assists for
the season and a career.
(Photo courtesy of Kevin Pryor)

Suttons Bay lost to Iron Mountain, 20-25, 22-25, 25-14, 25-20, 10-15 in a quarterfinal match in March. The next day, the players got together and started working on the next season.

“The girls were right back at it the next day, training, getting ready,” he said.

One leader for the Norsemen is senior Anna Pryor, a gifted athlete who has excelled at setter for the Norse. What she remembers most about the loss to Iron Mountain was a feeling that perhaps the team didn’t play to its full potential.

“One of the goals we set for ourselves when we started training again for this season is winning state. Since we set that goal, we have been working to achieve it,” she said.

Work included going to team camps, individual player camps over the summer and playing a lot of beach volleyball. “We really worked hard this summer and the result is we have much better team chemistry than last season. We know each other’s playing style and what each of us will do in any given situation,” she said.

All the work has paid off in Suttons Bay’s overall record, 50-8-4, and in winning its second consecutive outright Northwest Conference title, including going undefeated in regular season conference play. For Pryor, she has gained some individual recognition by passing Jessica Reidy as the school record-holder for assists in a career. As of the end of the match against Charlevoix Saturday, Pryor has 3,200 assists. Reidy’s old record was 2,806.

Pryor said while she had a good idea she would pass Reidy for the career record, she wasn’t so sure about the season record for assists. Pryor recorded her 1,269th assist Saturday, breaking Reidy’s record set in 2002 of 1,248 .

“I was shocked. That record set by Jessica seemed insurmountable, I wasn’t even aware I was close. It helps when I have players like Maggie (Walters), Charlotte (Stowe) and Fran (Belanger) to set to. It is a real honor,” she said.

She hopes her season is far from over, as Suttons Bay will compete in the Class C Regional at Kingsley on Saturday. Pryor isn’t thinking about records; all she wants are wins. “It doesn’t mean as much if we don’t at least get to the state finals,” she said.

Coach Kelly said Pryor has always had the skills, but this season is the first in which she has really stepped up to a leadership position.

“Anna is a great player, always has been. But, this season as it has gone on, I have seen a desire to win building inside her. There is a fire in her that spread to the team on Saturday. It is good to see that burning desire,” he said.

One reason for her success is the time she has put in with her hitters, especially Walters, a junior. Pryor said they have put in extra time learning each other’s moves and moods. “We put in time learning how to run a quicker offense and that has paid off. I think our speed, our team speed on offense, has really caught some opponents off guard,” she said.

Kelly said Pryor has done an solid job as the team’s quarterback. “Anna runs our offense. On every play Anna touches the ball. This season when our passing has broken down, I have seen her race to get the ball and make a good set to one of our hitters. The setter position is very important and if you need evidence of that, just look and see who is playing setter for Penn State (women’s volleyball team, Alisha Glass),” he said.

Pryor said she may not be very happy if the Norse fall short of their lofty goal of winning a state title, but she knows what it will take to get there. “Just five more wins.” she said.