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.
Everest Collegiate Begins Championship Era as Another Ends for Leland Legend
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 18, 2023
BATTLE CREEK – With the biggest serves of her volleyball career in front of her Saturday, Sarah Bradley did what she always does – took a deep breath and came through for Clarkston Everest Collegiate.
The junior served out the final three points of the Division 4 championship match, including a match-point ace to give the Moutaineers a five-set victory and their first Finals title.
“I believe very much in taking a deep breath when I’m serving and zoning everything out,” Bradley said. “In my head, I’m like, ‘All for you, God. All for you.’ Then I take a deep breath and I serve. Every single time. So I was very confident, and I went out there and did it.”
Bradley’s final ace put an exclamation point on an improbable comeback, as Everest trailed 2 sets to none, and 10-3 in the fifth before winning 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-13.
It also capped off a historic season for the 10th-ranked Moutaineers, who hadn’t won a Regional title prior to this season, let alone compete in Kellogg Arena. They more than made their mark in their first trip, with a pair of 0-2 comebacks, including a Semifinal win Friday over top-ranked Adrian Lenawee Christian.
“I’m blown away by these girls,” first-year Everest coach Danielle Walker said. “To come back two days in a row from two sets down. It’s just amazing.”
Playing five sets twice certainly wasn’t the plan for the Moutaineers, but they didn’t shrink in the moment despite having never been on this stage.
“We knew we had done it before, we knew it’s been done in the state Finals before, and we trust in ourselves,” said junior Madelyn Krappmann. “We trust in our ability as a team and in each other. We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses and we know how to adapt to the other team’s strengths and weaknesses. We really just dug in, took a deep breath and said, ‘All right, we did it yesterday, we can do it today.’ And that’s what we did.”
It looked early in the fifth set that the rally in sets 3 and 4 may have been for naught. Leland jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and had stretched it to 10-3 before Everest was able to find its way back in.
The Comets took a 13-11 lead when Kelsey Allen and Abby Hicks teamed up for a block of Bradley. She came back immediately with a kill, however, and then served out the match.
“Honestly, it got me even more motivated,” Bradley said. “They blocked me, but I just kept going. I believe in myself, and I trust myself to get over it. Me and (junior setter Erica Walker) talked about what we were going to do different. It just all fit together. I got out there with all the confidence I can, because that’s how I know I can play my best.”
Bradley finished with a match-high 31 kills, tied for sixth all-time in a Finals match. Walker finished with 57 assists, tied for second all-time. The 64 team kills for the Mountaineers (32-4-2) are tied for fourth all-time.
“My little thing is, I want to succeed so my hitters can succeed,” said Walker, who didn’t start playing volleyball for Everest until this season, and was also a Finals qualifier in cross country. “I want them to have the spotlight, and in order to do that, I have to have good sets. I play with three of the best hitters that I’ve ever seen. To be able to set them up and see them succeed makes me so happy.”
While this weekend served as an introduction to the rest of the state for Everest – the Mountaineers are set to bring back all six starters in 2024 and graduate one senior – it was goodbye from a legend on the other side.
Leland coach Laurie Glass, who has amassed more than 1,100 wins and three Finals titles in her 29 years leading the Comets, announced after the match that it was her last, and that assistant Travis Baker would be taking over.
“I’ve known all along that I wanted to see this group through and be there with them in this moment,” she said. “I’m proud to be from Leland. I’m proud to have coached at Leland, and I couldn’t have gone out in a better way. I wanted the season to be about them, 100 percent. I didn’t want to have big farewells and have a farewell tour of Laurie Glass’ coaching career. I wanted them to have their season. It’s time. It’s time to move on and pass the torch to Travis Baker, who really is the reason this season has gone as well as it has.”
The Comets finished Glass’ final season 41-17-2, and did so fielding a team of just seven players, five of whom were seniors.
While they didn’t know Glass was stepping down until after the match, they very nearly sent her out with a fourth title. Getting to raise a runner-up trophy wasn’t a bad way to go out, though.
“There’s a lot of teams out there that would give their eye teeth to have this moment, even if they were crying,” Glass said. “There were only two teams left in the state, and we were one of them. I don’t think that’s a horrible thing.”
Fiona Moord led Leland with 17 kills, while Shelby Plamondon and Allen both had 12. Olive Ryder had 10 kills and 21 digs, Hicks had 45 assists and Mallory Lowe had 18 digs.
Krappman had 20 kills for Everest, while Addison Pearce added 11. Krappman and Bradley both had 18 digs, while Samantha Pietras had 15.
PHOTOS (Top) Clarkton Everest Collegiate’s Sarah Bradley takes a big swing on a kill attempt during Saturday’s Division 4 Final at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) The Mountaineers’ Madelyn Krappmann sends a kill attempt toward a pair of Leland blockers. (Below) Everest sets up its offense. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)