Eleanor Williams and her Romeo volleyball teammates came up with the perfect birthday gift for their coach and Eleanor’s mom, Stacy.

It was the second consecutive Division 1 district championship.

Outside hitting from Eleanor Williams and Emma Rosenow, who combined for 30 kills, helped lead the Bulldogs to a 22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 victory against Dakota on Thursday in the district final at Port Huron High School. .

“I bought him another gift anyway, but this is the best one,” Eleanor said.

It was a tough district with four Macomb Area Conference Red Division teams in the field.

“We knew we had to be very urgent and aggressive. I just love it more than the other team,” Eleanor Williams said. “We needed that to get to where we are now.”

Dakota reached the championship game by defeating both Port Huron schools. Romeo advanced with wins against MAC foes Red Anchor Bay and L’Anse Creuse North.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a district with four MAC Red teams,” Stacy Williams said. “We knew we had a challenge ahead of us, but if we overcame it, the victory would be much greater because we knew we had to play against great teams and fight every night.”

The battle did not end with the all-MAC Red final.

The Cougars broke a 22-all tie in the first game with three straight points, a block by Katerina Stout and kills by Stout and Kimora Hansbrough.

After Dakota won the first set, it was time for some soul-searching for the Bulldogs.

“We said we weren’t losing,” said Rosenow, who had a team-high 17 kills. “We are not going to allow this to be our last game. We love each other too much for it to be our last game. I think we just wanted it more. “It all came down to that.”

There was also some training strategy involved.

“We needed to shore up our defense,” Stacy Williams said. “There was a big difference between our first set defense and our second set defense. When our defense gets going, our offense can too. Our defense prevented us from playing a good offensive game.

“That was because of Dakota’s offense. They were hitting the ball. (Abby Wutka) was smashing the ball. It is difficult to defend.”

Dakota led 7-4 in the second set, but Romeo went on a 15-4 run to take a lead he never relinquished. The Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run with three of the points coming off kills from Rosenow.

Runs of 5-0 and 7-1 helped Romeo win the third set.

“Volleyball is a high-momentum game and we didn’t do well coming back after they scored some points on us,” Dakota coach Melissa Criteser said. “We couldn’t come back with the confidence, the drive and the push that you need.

“They are very competitive and great on the net. His serve beat us tonight. Our service and reception pass was a little off. We knew it was going to be a difficult match with Romeo. They loved him a little more than us. “They had us a little bit behind us tonight.”

The Cougars weren’t going to go out without a fight and took a 10-3 lead in the fourth set.

Freshman Addison Bultynck then replaced the Bulldogs; She served up seven straight points, including two aces, and when a kill from Wutka ended the streak, Romeo was up 12-11.

Stacy Williams called a timeout with the score 10-3.

“It was time to refocus and put things in perspective,” he said. “Between the third and fourth set we got a little excited and looked too far ahead. We needed to refocus and say we still have work to do. There is no celebration yet. They responded very well.

“Addison Bultynck went behind the service line and got us going. She kept her serves consistent and competitive so we could run. She is mentally strong. “She doesn’t play like a freshman.”

It wasn’t just Bultynck’s serve that made the difference in the deciding set. Late in the set, she had back-to-back kills from the right side and dove in to get a dig that set up a kill by Christina Rosenow.

“She is incredible. She’s incredibly good, absolutely amazing for a freshman,” Eleanor Williams said.

“It’s been exciting to watch her grow throughout the year,” added Emma Rosenow.

The fourth set ended with a kill from Ava Blomquist, the only senior in Romeo’s regular rotation.

“Kaylah Liedke played a great game defensively,” Stacy Williams said. “Layla Babich started playing volleyball in July and has been very good as a freshman player. “Christina Rosenow has become an integral part of our team.”

This was an unusual season for Dakota, which finished 14-22-1.

Photos from Romeo’s 3-1 district championship win over Dakota on Thursday

“We’ve dealt with injuries all year,” Criteser said. “Our lineup has been different practically week after week. We considered the districts starting a new season and pushed to reach the district finals. We arrive tonight with energy. We studied cinema and we knew what we wanted. I wish Romeo the best of luck in his career.

“I am proud of my team. They worked hard all year. My elders have been enormous. They have given us great leadership. They fought hard. They played hard. I couldn’t be happier. “I hate to see it end.”

Wutka led the Cougars with 15 kills and four blocks. Stout had seven kills and two blocks. Olivia Thamarus finished with five kills, two service aces and 13 kills.

Romeo advances to the Troy regional, where it will play either Chippewa Valley or Fraser at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.