34 Seasons of Volleyball Battles
October 20, 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.
Long Wait Ends For Lakewood
November 17, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – The Lake Odessa Lakewood volleyball team won the award Saturday at Kellogg Arena for most emotion shown after an MHSAA championship win.
Senior Emily Kutch was in tears as coach Kellie Rowland charged onto the court and grabbed her and senior Olivia Davis. Rowland and her assistants – husband Clair and former head coach Jeff Duits – then met for another hug as a few decades of almost-there dissolved into distant memory.
Those three – and a number of these players – have been at this championship chase for a while. But the Vikings finally got their title with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 victory over perennial power North Branch.
Rowland has brought Lakewood to the season’s final week seven more times during a 15-year career that has stretched over two tenures and includes 787 wins. But with four four-year varsity players on the court, she and a large group of fans and alumni finally got to celebrate ending with a victory for the first time.
“We worked so hard for this. Everybody’s been saying this was the year, this is the team to win it all. And we did,” Kutch said. “Just winning in three (sets), and dominating like that. All of us seniors; there are seven of us and we’ve been together forever. And I think that carried the emotion too.”
Lakewood finished 52-4 to cap its first trip back to Battle Creek since the final winter season, in 2007. The Vikings had played in one other championship game, in 1995, when they lost to Stevensville Lakeshore.
Lakewood thought for a moment that it had earned the first point of Saturday’s match, but a close call went North Branch’s way. The Broncos actually got off to a 2-0 start in that first set – but Lakewood would outlast them to take it, 25-20.
Both Kutch and Broncos coach Jim Fish agreed that first game was key. Lakewood seemed to build momentum in winning the second 25-18, and then closed out the title with a 25-17 win capped by a final kill by Kutch that touched just before the back line on the Broncos' side.
Kutch and Davis, two of those four-year seniors, had 18 and 14 kills, respectively. At 6-foot and 6-1 they had a slight height advantage on their opponents, and took advantage.
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t want it to go into a fourth game. The heart can only take so much, and I’m not very young,” Rowland said. “They just really executed and did what they needed to do to beat them.
“We have the size, we have the speed and we have the quickness. And Brooke Wieland, out setter, really felt it in warm-ups. Our hitters were like, ‘Just keep setting baby, because it’s right where we need it.’”
Wieland and libero Beth Tingley also were four-year varsity seniors. Weiland had 31 assists and 11 digs in the Final, and Tingley had 11 digs as she helped key a defensive adjustment meant to combat North Branch’s strong outside attack.
The Broncos (68-8-1) got 11 kills from senior Micaela Deshetsky and 13 digs from senior libero Rachel Fish, who were both contributors when the team finished Class B runner-up in 2010. This was its third trip to Battle Creek in four seasons – North Branch won the title in 2009.
“I couldn’t be here my freshman year because I was sick, but when we lost my sophomore year there was a bitter taste, so we were ready to be back,” said Fish, a daughter of the coach. “All our emotions, everyone’s heart was really in it. We wanted it bad. But they were really good. Lakewood played really well against us.”
And neither was able to dodge the other contenders. The Vikings were ranked No. 1 coming into the tournament and North Branch was No. 2. Lakewood then beat the Nos. 3, 6 and 7 teams to make it to the end, while the Broncos eliminated Nos. 4 and 5 plus two honorable mentions to get to this point.
“We had a rough road to be able to get here, and I’m extremely proud of what they’ve done,” Jim Fish said. “There is not a negative involved in this. It was very positive, a great run, what high school athletics is all about.
“It’s what we talked about. There’s always going to be a winner and always going to be a loser. Our team wants to win just as badly as you do. As long as you understand that and keep it in perspective, you’re a winner. And that’s what these kids are.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lakewood players Emily Kutch (2), Beth Tingley (10), Jordan Kietzman (17) and Brooke Wieland (6) celebrate a point during Saturday's Class B Final. (Middle) North Branch's Ally Ruhlman (2) sets up a teammate.