34 Seasons of Volleyball Battles
December 13, 2011
BATTLE CREEK – There’s a good deal of talk that goes around Battle Creek’s volleyball community every fall. And with a significant amount of talent concentrated in such a small area, there’s plenty to say.
Starting in 1979, the last words for a season often have come at Battle Creek’s All-City Tournament.
Battle Creek Central, Lakeview, Pennfield, Harper Creek and St. Philip played in the 34th All-City on Oct. 15 at Pennfield High. All five schools have won the event multiple times, and St. Philip became the latest champion with a 25-22, 25-5 win over Lakeview in this fall’s final.
“It’s a big deal because there are rivalries everywhere,” said Pennfield senior Cassie Pelloni, who played in her fourth and final All-City. “It’s who wants to beat who, and that’s what it comes down to.
“You want to beat the certain teams that have been talking all season.”
A field of five teams from the same town is the basic starting point of this tournament’s charm. Those teams also represent three leagues and three of four state classes. Battle Creek Central and Lakeview are Class A – both 
with nearly 1,400 students total -- while Harper Creek and Pennfield are B. St. Philip is Class D and has an enrollment of 120.
What adds most to the intrigue is the combined success of Battle Creek’s volleyball teams. Three of the five have won state titles (St. Phil has 16, Pennfield two and Lakeview one), but only 10 of those 19 state championship teams also won the All-City during those respective season. This fall’s tournament included standout individuals like Pelloni, a 6-foot-1 hitter who will sign with Oakland, and returning St. Philip all-staters Amanda McKinzie and Sierra Hubbard-Neil. McKenzie, a 6-0 junior hitter, has committed to sign with Virginia Tech; Hubbard-Neil is a 5-9 sophomore hitter and getting similar college attention.
St. Philip is ranked No. 1 in Class D again and Pennfield is tied for first in the Kalamazoo Valley Association heading into Tuesday’s match against Class C No. 1 Delton Kellogg. Harper Creek is coming off of a Class B district title last season and Lakeview and Central both have won Class A district titles at least once during the last five seasons.
Part of the mystique of Battle Creek volleyball dates directly to the leader for whom the championship trophy is named – former Kellogg Community College coach Mick Haley, who led KCC from 1973-79 and guided the Bruins to junior college national championships in his final two seasons. He then moved on to Texas and then Southern California and has won a combined four NCAA national titles with those schools. He’s in his 11th season at USC.
The All-City has been part of St. Philip coach Vicky Groat’s volleyball seasons going back to her own high scho
ol career. She graduated from St. Philip in 1985 and was a senior when the Tigers won the All-City for the first time since 1984. She’s also led St. Philip to six All-City wins as its coach.
“It’s the bragging rights for the year, and a lot of these girls are friends with others on the teams,” Groat said. “Win it, (and) we’re the best in the city. I don’t care what class it is, it’s nice as a player to be able to win one, and as a coach to win a few. And being the only Class D team in the city, it’s kinda nice.”
St. Philip has won the event 11 times – including the last four seasons – followed by Lakeview with eight titles, Pennfield with seven, Central with six and Harper Creek with 2. There’s little secret that these days, St. Philip is the team to beat.
“Oh yeah, we know. We kinda like that. We’re just encouraged to do better,” McKinzie said.
“I feel like it’s a lot different (than other tournaments we play) because we know a little better how everyone plays. We know what we have to do.”
Pool play
Pennfield d. Central 25-11, 25-7
St. Philip d. Harper Creek 25-17, 25-13
Lakeview d. Harper Creek 25-25, 25-18
St. Philip split with Pennfield 25-18, 24-26
Harper Creek split with Pennfield 25-20, 30-32
Lakeview d. Central 25-11, 25-12
Lakeview d. Pennfield 25-23, 25-23
St. Philip d. Central 25-14, 25-17
Harper Creek d. Central 25-16, 26-24
St. Philip d. Lakeview 25-22, 25-12
Semifinals
St. Philip d. Harper Creek 25-9, 25-8
Lakeview d. Pennfield 25-23, 25-20
Final
St. Philip d. Lakeview 25-22, 25-5
Battle Creek Enquirer event coverage
PHOTOS
(Top) Fire away: Battle Creek Lakeview’s Lydia Drikakis serves against Battle Creek St. Philip during pool play of this fall’s All-City Tournament at Pennfield High.
(Trophy) Serve it up: The Mick Haley award, named after the former Kellogg Community College and current Southern California coach, is given to the champion of the annual Battle Creek All-City Tournament.
Set it up: Battle Creek Harper Creek’s Megan Gwathney (6) and Lexi Latshaw (9) prepare to hit while teammate Olivia Black (10) readies at the net during a pool play game against Battle Creek Central.
Yale's Dykstra Wasting No Time Showing Superior Multi-Sport Potential
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 28, 2024
Sadie Dykstra’s already long list of accomplishments from less than two years of high school – three all-state medals, multiple all-conference awards and a league MVP to name a few – may seem shocking.
And to most, it justifiably is.
But it’s come as little surprise for those in Yale who saw her grow up and do, well, anything.
“I’ve always known that she’s kind of special,” said Yale boys track coach and Dykstra family friend Brian Bearss. “She was that kid that, when other kids would be playing and learning how to ride their bikes, here comes Sadie and she’s yelling, ‘Look at this,’ and standing on the seat riding the bike. She’s always been exceptional as far as being an athlete.”
Dykstra is entering her sophomore track & field season at Yale and has already established herself as one of the best female athletes in the state. Want to argue against that? Check out this résumé:
Volleyball: Two years varsity, second-team all-Blue Water Area Conference as a sophomore.
Basketball: Two-time first-team all-BWAC selection, BWAC all-defense and BWAC MVP as a sophomore, BCAM all-state honorable mention as a freshman, sophomore all-state honors still pending.
Track: Unbeaten in the BWAC as a freshman with four league titles (long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 1,600 meter relay), three all-state finishes at 2023 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals (fourth in long jump, fifth in 100 hurdles, sixth in 300 hurdles).
Again, just a sophomore.
“I can’t believe that I get to coach her,” Yale girls track coach Ashley Garofalo said. “She has a drive and a mindset that I can’t teach somebody. Nobody can teach you to have this. She gives every single thing that she has in every single sport. I think it does help when you’re so good at it. It makes you want to do it more.”
Basketball gets Dykstra’s most attention and it’s the one she’d most like to play at the next level. The 5-foot-11 guard is getting interest already from Division I college programs.
But it wouldn’t be right to say her heart is with one sport or another.
“I enjoy all my sports,” Dykstra said. “I like all my teams. I have a different team for each one, and I get along with all those girls. I think each one, it flows into the next one, and helps strengthen things for my other sports. Volleyball helps my legs for basketball. In basketball, I’m getting in shape for track.”
You don’t have to look far to find where Dykstra gained her love for athletics. Her parents, Kerry and Brad, both played basketball at Calvin College. Kerry graduated as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer in 1999 and is still sixth on the all-time list. She also served as Yale volleyball coach for 10 years, just recently stepping down.
Brad was a two-sport athlete at Calvin, playing baseball as well. He also played baseball at Grand Valley State. He coached basketball at Yale from 2006-10.
“We’re a very sporty family,” Sadie Dykstra said.
So, when it came time to enter high school, there was never a thought of specializing.
“I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to play three sports each season and enjoy them, too,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want to be in them and have them be the most awful things in the universe. I came in with the mindset of enjoying all three sports.”
While basketball is her current collegiate goal, she did say that competing in basketball and track & field would be something she would consider if given the opportunity. Bearss said Dykstra has Division I potential in track & field, adding that heptathlon could best suit her.
But there are still two more years to figure that out. The next thing for Dykstra to enjoy is track, the sport in which she had the most early success. And while outdoor meets are still a couple weeks away, she’s already locked in.
“She’s just a natural leader, and I think that’s why she’s so disciplined,” Garofalo said. “(Tuesday), I was going over a workout with somebody else, and she just started her warm-ups on her own. She’s not afraid to lead 60 other kids, even though there are juniors and seniors.”
Dykstra has big goals for this spring, mostly based around performance marks. She’s eyeing the Yale school long jump record of 18 feet, 1¾ inches, which is less than an inch longer than her personal best of 18-1. She’d like to move that record closer to 19 feet.
Her 100 hurdle PR (personal record) sits at 15.59 seconds, and she’d like to knock that into the low 15s or even high 14s. For the 300 hurdles, where her PR is 47 seconds, she’d like to get down to 45.
“I have big goals, and I think I can get to them,” she said. “But that’s something for the end of the season to play out and see how that goes.”
Anybody who’s watched her wouldn’t doubt that Dykstra can reach those goals. And that list, along with those accomplishments, continues to grow.
“Last year we went to Ortonville Brandon, and we had really nice weather that day and the competition was really good – a lot of schools there,” Bearss said. “Even with all of those great athletes, you could just kind of see, people are pointing and looking, ‘There’s that girl from Yale.’ They’re taking notice. Every once in a while, you get kids that turn heads like that.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Yale’s Sadie Dykstra launches into a long jump last spring. (Middle) Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. (Below) Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season. (Photos courtesy of the Dykstra family.)