Bronson Becomes 4th to Complete 4-Peat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 17, 2018
BATTLE CREEK – With one set standing between them and a fourth straight MHSAA championship Saturday, several members of the Bronson volleyball team spent the break doing the “Cha Cha Slide.”
They were very clearly comfortable in Kellogg Arena. And while a game Unionville-Sebewaing team made them earn it, the Vikings left their second home with that fourth title, defeating the Patriots 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 in the Division 3 Final.
“This team is totally different than our teams of the past,” Bronson coach Jean LaClair said. “They don’t get excited, and we just kind of play calm. We have that calm demeanor all the time, and that sometimes worries me. Even today, they weren’t excited, they just took care of business. That’s one of the things that makes them special.”
Bronson (58-6) became the fourth program in MHSAA history to win at least four volleyball titles in a row, joining Portage Northern (1992-95), Marysville (1997-2004) and Battle Creek St. Philip (1992-95 and 2007-14).
For this group of seniors, however, it started well before they were freshmen.
“I think it really makes you appreciate the team, because we’ve seen so many great players go through this program,” senior Ashton Wronikowski said. “Kiera (Lasky), Jolie (Smoker), me and Paris (Outwater) managed, so when we were 5th and 6th-graders we were on this team. We were riding buses everywhere, we were going to practices, we were in this family since we were in junior high.
“Seeing so many great players go through this program and how the team chemistry is, there’s no words for it. It’s incredible how so many people can just come together and unite for a common goal.”
Lasky and Wronikowski played in all four title victories, and as Lasky astutely pointed out during the post-match press conference, she doesn’t know any other feeling than winning at Kellogg – although there was something different about this one.
“This one is just really bittersweet, I guess,” she said. “Going out with a win and going out with my favorite people. It’s exciting.”
While the Vikings won in a sweep, USA (44-5-1) did make things exciting throughout the match, building multiple leads that required long Bronson runs to overtake. Bronson went on a 12-1 run to take a lead and pull away late in the second set, and trailed 12-6 in the third before gathering itself and putting the match away.
“I’m happy with the way we played; it just wasn’t our day today,” USA coach Teresa Rose said. “This is our first time being (in the Final), and maybe the atmosphere of it, we just couldn’t capitalize sometimes on getting to their attacks and defending as well as we could have. They played with their hearts, and I’m proud of the way they played.”
In the third set, LaClair didn’t have a chance to address her team after it fell behind 12-6.
Lasky took care of that.
While the senior libero didn’t want to repeat what she said in that huddle, it clearly worked.
“I kind of told (LaClair) ‘Just go away. I’ve got this,’” Lasky said. “We really came out of it, got a couple points back, and then after that we were like, ‘OK, next ball, that last play doesn’t matter.’ That got the job done.”
Lasky finished with 14 digs and five assists in her final match for the Vikings, while junior Keona Salesman led the attack with 19 kills. Smoker added 13 kills, Wronikowski had six, and Meagan Lasky had 35 assists.
Rylee Zimmer led USA with 16 kills and 10 digs in her final match for the Patriots. Nichole Schember had 28 assists, and Maci Montgomery had 14 digs.
“I think (the Finals appearance) will do a lot for our program,” Rose said. “I think there’s a lot of kids that want to come and play like Rylee and Nichole and Grace (Williamson), and they see them in the community and they want to be like them eventually. They want to be state champions or runners-up. I think it’s good for our program. Good for our community and our school.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bronson walls off the top of the net during its Division 3 Final win over Unionville-Sebewaing on Saturday. (Middle) The Vikings hoist a championship trophy for the fourth straight season.
Fear the Socks: Cadillac Volleyball Success Never Out of Style
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 22, 2023
Cadillac’s girls volleyball team is quite accustomed to getting flack from opposing teams’ student sections about their socks.
That’s not likely to continue much longer though, thanks to the Vikings’ performance on the court and major college teams becoming similarly equipped.
And their new warm-up shirts tell it all.
“My team has always worn knee socks,” said 23-year veteran Cadillac coach Michelle Brines. “So people will make fun of the team, or they’ll cheer ‘put your socks down’ and this kind of thing.
“This year we finally got shirts saying ‘Fear the Socks,’” she continued. “The knee socks were in back in the day, and we’ve always worn them.”
Now college powerhouse clubs like Texas and Nebraska wear knee socks. The Cornhuskers just went back to them last season — a year calumniating with an appearance in the national championship match. Nebraska and Texas regularly make runs to and beyond the NCAA Elite Eight.
Under Brines, Cadillac too is used to deep postseason runs including six MHSAA Semifinal appearances. The Vikings made their first appearance in the Division 2 Final last November, falling to North Branch.
Cadillac is off to a 17-3-2 start this fall preparing for Division 1 competition, as they moved into that division for this season. The Vikings have their sights on another Big North Conference championship too as they prepare for District play in Grand Haven at the end of October. Cadillac is 4-1 in league play.
The Vikings have been led again this year by all-state middle hitter Carissa Musta. The 6-foot-4 senior is handling the pressure well. Teams celebrating a block of Musta’s hit are quickly shaken off, according to Brines.
“It’s got to be tough when somebody gets all crazy because they just blocked you, but Carissa is very composed,” Brines said. “She never comes off the floor.
“She’s pretty darn good in the back row,” Brines continued. “I am very impressed with her growth and composure.”
Musta topped the 1,000-kill mark earlier this season and became the school’s career leader in blocks this week in a three-set win over Petoskey.
Senior Makenzie Johns, a 6-1 outside hitter, is also an offensive powerhouse for the Vikings. Senior setter Cassie Jenema comes through regularly with kills in addition to her strong defense and serving.
“We have 11 players on our team, and they all play an important role,” Brines noted. “Even though we have a few that really, really stand out, we are not going to be successful if we’re not all doing our job.”
The Vikings also regularly feature three sophomores: Ari Bryant, Grace Zubak and Sophia Clough. All three were on the freshman team last year because of the team’s depth.
Cadillac shared the Big North championship last year with Traverse City Central. They both suffered home losses to each other but picked up road wins. That trend has continued this year as Central handed Cadillac its lone league loss in five sets on the Vikings’ court. They will play again Oct. 4 in Traverse City.
Brines is pleased with her team’s progress at midseason. The Vikings host Alpena on Wednesday and then battle in the Portage Invitational.
“I have never had a season moving people around as much as I have,” Brines said. “I expect to see a lot of growth out of my team as we go into the second half of the season.”
Brines hopes the Vikings will make a run to the Final again this fall so she can become accustomed to a new routine.
“We finally broke through and won that (Friday Semifinal) night game and got to play the next day, which had never happened,” Brines recalled. “I didn’t really know what to do because usually I was going out for dinner with my team because we lost.”
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The knee socks are the Vikings' signature also at the freshman and junior varsity levels. “We have all of our levels wear them — it is kind of our thing,” Brines pointed out. “When we walk in we have knee socks, people know we’re Cadillac.
“It’s kind of fun,” she continued. “I am old school.”
Crew socks are allowed in practice, however. Brines and the Vikings seriously considered getting away from their long-standing tradition.
“I used to make them wear them in practice,” Brines said. “One of my players that went on to coach some college and be a head coach herself said ‘Coach, you can’t do (stop wearing them) because that’s what you kind of always done and nobody else wears knee socks.’”
A spokesperson for Nebraska said there’s no real reason Nebraska went back to wearing long socks beyond player preference, and that it seems like that trend is coming back in volleyball.
“Very cool,” Brines said with a smile when she learned of the Cornhuskers response. “So basically, we never went out of style.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Cadillac's McKenzie Johns unloads on an attempt during a match. (Middle) Cassie Jenema sets for a teammate during a match. (Below) Ari Bryant keeps the ball in play. (Photos by Marc Vieau/Cadillac News).