Michigan High School Athletic Association - Promoting Educational Athletics
Michigan High School Athletic Association - Promoting Educational Athletics |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 12, 2007 Battle Creek Lakeview, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary EAST LANSING , Mich. - March 12 - In an effort to promote educational athletics by showcasing some of the great teams of past years, the Michigan High School Athletic Association instituted a program called “Legends Of The Games” in 1997. This year, the 1982 Girls Volleyball Champions from Battle Creek Lakeview in Class B, and Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Class D will be honored on Saturday (March 17), prior to the start of the MHSAA Class A Girls Volleyball Final at University Arena in Kalamazoo. The presentation is scheduled to begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. The 1982 Class C champions from Berrien Springs have previously been honored, and the Class A champion from that year, Portage Northern, will be honored at a future finals as part of a group of multiple title-winning teams from that school. The text that follows was written by MHSAA historian Ron Pesch of Muskegon for the souvenir program for this year’s Girls Volleyball Finals: The 1982 season yielded once-in-a-lifetime memories for teams from Battle Creek Lakeview and Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary, two schools which earned their first and only MHSAA volleyball championships to date. Lakeview’s script included a storybook homecoming for its first-year head coach, while Seminary’s journey nearly hit a detour until its fans joined the team en route to the title. The 1982 season marked the return of Linda Marick to Battle Creek Lakeview. A 1977 graduate, Marick excelled in softball and volleyball for the Spartans, then took her talents to Kellogg Community College, where she helped lead the volleyball team to a National Junior College title in 1978. She continued her college and athletic career at the University of Miami, playing volleyball for the Hurricanes. She returned home and accepted the challenge of turning her alma mater's volleyball team into champions. “Based on personal experiences gained from playing volleyball in my college days, I tried very hard to instill in my players the importance for each of them to believe in their ability to be the best,” said Marick about the 1982 season. “The school administration had high expectations for us to win the state title, and we needed to believe in ourselves in order to make great things happen.” Marick and Assistant Coach Dale Carney pushed the squad hard to achieve that goal. “Practices were non-stop and exhausting,” remembered Ann Jereck, one of the few sophomores on the team. “Even the best players were put to the test.” “We had so much fun,” recalled Ann's sister, Jeanine Jereck. “It was exciting to win throughout the season – and we usually did – but we worked really hard! Linda and Dale pushed us every practice and it paid! Lakeview was ranked No. 1 for much of the season, finishing the year with a 40-3 record. The Spartans cruised through the early rounds of the MHSAA tournament with relative ease and advanced to the final day of tournament play, hosted at Howell High School. Early in the day, the team quickly dispatched Dearborn Heights Crestwood, 15-11, 15-6 in the Semifinal. In an era when the final two rounds of the tournament were played on the same day, Lakeview had to wait five and one-half hours before taking the court for Final against defending champ Stevensville Lakeshore. The effect of the long layover was apparent in the first game as the team played flat and quickly fell behind, 14-3. The Spartans rebounded to knot the score at 14-14 before ultimately dropping the first game, 14-16. “We tried to tell 'em that it wasn't Lakeshore that was beating us, but it was us making errors,” said Marick at the time. The Spartans opened up a 5-1 lead, but then watched as Lakeshore rattled off seven straight points to grab control, 8-5. Marick called for a time out to guide the team's focus. After Lakeview tied the game 8-8, Lakeshore regained the serve, and notched three straight points for an 11-8 advantage. Facing elimination, Jackie Campbell, who had led the Spartan offense earlier in the day, again took charge. Campbell buried a pair of sets from Michelle Marz to pull the team within a point, 11-10. Following a handling violation that tied the game at 11-11, Campbell continued the assault, scoring the go-ahead point with another spike. Cheryl Barea upped the Spartan lead to 13-11 with another blast, followed by a service point by Kris Lundstrum. Lundstrum's next serve was returned long by Lakeshore, and after a moment of silence, pandemonium struck Spartan fans as they realized the game was won. “I remember the game winning point,” said Jeanine Jereck. “Not how it was scored, but how it felt after it happened. Everything seemed to stop – almost like there was this extended moment of complete silence and disbelief – then, the whole place erupted with excitement. It remains one of my most hard-earned and proudest achievements. I'm happy to have shared it with my sister, and so many wonderful friends.” “We really enjoyed each other and we made a great team,” added Marcy Mason. “It built some really strong friendships; we loved playing as a team, and we loved playing for Linda – she was a great coach!” Jenny Sims, praised for her defensive work in the title game, recalled the squad's chemistry: “We all worked so well together and supported one another.” “We were all great friends and teammates, and had a fabulous season together,” noted Barea. “My volleyball memories, especially my senior year, are very precious to me.” In the Class D title game, played at Battle Creek High School, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary earned its first MHSAA crown with a 15-7, 15-12 victory over traditional power Leland. “The championship game was so easy compared to the Semifinal game we played earlier,” remembered Coach Joann Hart. We lost the first semi game (to Ottawa Lake-Whiteford, 8-15) and were in the process of losing the second game when our fan bus finally showed up.” “As soon as we saw them walk in, we started to turn things around” recalled Patricia Long, one of the team's hitters. Indeed, with the arrival of the fans and a shrewd substitution by Coach Hart, the tide quickly turned. “We were down and coach was desperate,” recalled Sue Carter. “My role that year was basically front row sub. However, coach subbed me in for my sister Betty – something she had never done. Playing front row, I rarely served, but I was sent to serve when that rotation came up. Talk about pressure! I ended up serving several times, which was enough to turn the momentum.” “It turned out to be a crucial change at a perfect time in the game”, continued Hart. “If I remember correctly, I never got back in that game,” laughed Betty Carter, one of the regulars on the squad. “There was no need to sub me back in.” Indeed, Seminary rallied back to win, 17-15, then took game three with relative ease, 15-7 to advance to the Final. “Our coach, JoAnn, was exceptional,” stated Barbara Fisher, a setter on the team. “She led us not only in athletics, but also in morals and values.” With a student body comprised of kids from throughout the state and the nation, the situation at Seminary was unique. “My sister and I were from East Jordan,” said Betty Carter. “The school had a dormitory for high schoolers, and there were kids from all over. The school was run by our church, and there were a number of students who lived in the Saginaw and Bay City area, but I can remember kids in the dorm from Ohio and Detroit. I believe there was one kid whose father was a missionary in Africa.” For Laura Jankens, the only sophomore on the team, being part of the varsity squad was a huge honor. “I learned so much from the upper class girls, and I absolutely loved being able to play for Coach Hart,” said Jankens. “I did not have much time on the court during the championships, but I still remember the excitement of being in Battle Creek that year. And MLS won the state title on my 16th birthday!” -0- AT&T, Farm Bureau Insurance, Henry Ford Health System and MEEMIC Insurance |