Going into this week, the Saline-Milan girls water polo team knew it was going to be a test to see where the Chickadees stood with the state competition.

The Chickadees entered the week undefeated, but their five matches this week were all against other state ranked teams, including a tournament at defending state champion Hudsonville this weekend.

While the results might not have been what Saline-Milan wanted with losing all five matches, the Chickadees played tough with every team they faced and showed that they are going to be a threat when it comes to state tournament time.

Saline-Milan opened the week by falling to Ann Arbor Skyline in a district matchup 10-6.

The Chickadees were forced to play catchup after a slow start with the Eagles taking a 4-1 lead after one period.

They cut the lead to 5-3 at halftime but could not move any closer as Skyline pulled away with a 4-2 run in the fourth for the win.

Kiera Luhrs scored five goals to lead Saline-Milan, while Dori Cook had a goal and assist. Hannah Bradley had two assists, while Alex Lillie and Lily McKenna had one each.

The Chickadees opened tournament play Friday against the defending champs and gave them all they could handle in a 10-6 loss.

The teams were tied at two after one period and Saline-Milan trailed just 5-4 at the half. Hudsonville scored the only two goals of the third period for a 7-4 lead that the Chickadees could not overcome in the fourth.

Six different Chickadees scored in the game with Kelsey Altevogt, Luhrs, Sara Mitchell, McKenna, Kamryn Stripp, and Cook scoring one goal each. Luhrs had two assists, while Laila Nemeth, Lillie, and Stripp had one assist each.

Saline-Milan then fell to state runner-up Rockford 11-9 in a tough match.

The Chickadees fell behind 4-1 after one period and tried to battle back but came up short in the end.

Luhrs had a big game by finding the net six times, while Mitchell scored twice and Brady once. Stripp and Cook had two assists each, while Mitchell and Hallie Thorton had one each. Altevogt made nine saves in net for Saline-Milan.

A late rally came up just short in an 11-10 loss to East Kentwood.

The Chickadees trailed 10-6 after three periods, but four goals in the fourth wasn’t enough as East Kentwood held on for the win.

Luhrs had another big game with seven goals. Lille, Stripp, and Cook scored one goal each for the Chickadees, while Annabelle Williams had three assists. Stripp and Lucy Hart collected one assist each, while Nemeth had five saves in net.

Saline Milan jumped out to a 5-3 lead in its final match, but Grandville outscored the Chickadees 5-1 in the second and pulled away for an 11-7 win.

Luhrs had three goals, while McKenna scored two, and Cook one.

Mitchell scored one goal and dished out four assists, while Nemeth and Lillie had one assist each. Nemeth made eight saves in net.

The Chickadees fell to 5-5 overall on the season.