BATTLE CREEK, MI –– Before Mendon volleyball’s biggest match of the season, Jadyn Samson gave Lashell Blair a half-joking ultimatum: Samson better get a great deal of celebratory chest bumps, or there’d be some problems.

Blair, a freshman, did not disappoint.

The rising phenom took over at the net in a pivotal second set, delivering four straight points –– and four consecutive triumphant chest bumps –– that sparked top-ranked Mendon’s three-set dominant sweep over Ubly in a Division 4 state semifinal at Kellogg Arena on Thursday.

For the first time since 2019, Mendon (38-6-1) will play for a state championship on Saturday. The Hornets will take on second-ranked Fowler (35-8-2) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, aiming for their sixth state title in program history.

“I told her that I better be ge

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