Bronson Bounces Back to Clinch Repeat

November 19, 2016

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

BATTLE CREEK – Last year, the Bronson volleyball team swept its way to the Class C championship.

The Vikings found out early Saturday that this would be different, as Brown City offered an early wakeup call by winning the first game of their MHSAA Final match at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena.

The Green Devils looked to have Bronson on the ropes again, leading for a good portion of the second set, including by three points late.

But behind the solid serving of sophomore libero Kiera Lasky, the Vikings fought back to win that second game with a late surge, on the way to claiming their second straight and third overall MHSAA championship, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-19.

Lasky had five straight service winners during the second set to help her team gain the momentum.

"Kiera is a great server, and she is a great libero," Bronson coach Jean LaClair said. "She is a competitor, she is a gamer and goes hard every game. She is not afraid of competition."

Luckily LaClair has a lineup full of gamers, including her two senior leaders, middle hitter Jill Pyles and outside hitter Allison Sikorski. They took control of the match after the Vikings got back into it at the end of Game 2.

Those two, along with freshman outside hitter Keona Salesman, hovered around the net and let Bronson cruise through the final two games.

Pyles said the early deficit was definitely a wakeup call, but still had confidence in her team.

"Sometimes we start out pretty slow, and I wasn't upset. I just said that game is over with, we have the next one," Pyles said. "I just knew all we had to do was play our game and get that first one out of our mind."

And that game is solid serving, passing and attacking the net. Sikorski led the team with 13 kills, followed by Pyles and Salesman with 12 each.

"We have such good passers on our team, it was just a matter of communication," Pyles said. "At the beginning we were struggling, but then we started talking to each other."

LaClair, whose team finished with a 50-9-6 record, knew it was a matter of time before her talented athletes started to play.

"I told the girls (after Game 1) that they were playing really well, and we hadn't shown up yet," LaClair said. "I don't think (the start) was shocking, because they are a good team. (Brown City outside hitter Becki Krause) had a great match against us. We struggled to stop her, and did I wish we would have dropped one? No, but it wasn't shocking to me, either.

"These kids play well from behind," she added. "I still feel the pressure was on them, not us, because we weren't playing for last year, we were playing for this year. We weren't worried about last year. We didn't care we were the defending champions."

Krause did have a great match for the Green Devils with 12 kills and 12 digs, but it wouldn’t be enough for Brown City, which took one step further this year after losing in the Semifinals in 2015.

"We just had a couple of mental lapses in that second game," said Brown City coach Jenna Welke, whose team ended its year 45-10-5 and was making its first appearance in an MHSAA Final. "We were rolling and feeling good at the end of (Game 1) there, but then we had a few service errors that got into our head a little bit. They are a great serving team, we knew that coming in, and we knew we needed to limit their runs. But we just got a little frazzled there at the (end of Game 2)."

A teary-eyed Krause was happy for her team's run to its first Finals appearance. She just wished the Green Devils could have kept building on that early lead.

"I'm really proud of how far we made it," Krause said. "It didn't end how we wanted it to, but like coach said, the program is going to do great things in the future."

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Bronson's Kiana Mayer (10) keeps a rally alive while Brown City's Becki Krause (3) prepares to receive. (Middle) Bronson's Keona Salesman (8) and Brown City's Alexia Mason meet at the net.

Story in Photos: 2023 Volleyball Division 2 & 3 Semifinals

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 16, 2023

BATTLE CREEK – Championship matches are set in Divisions 2 and 3 after Thursday’s MHSAA Volleyball Semifinals at Kellogg Arena, with a reigning champion set to continue a repeat pursuit and the other three finalists all earning an opportunity to play for a first Finals title on the volleyball court.

Saturday’s second two Finals will see the following face off at Kellogg Arena:

2:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Grand Rapids West Catholic (38-9-6) vs. North Branch (55-4-1)
4:30 p.m. – Division 3 – Kalamazoo Christian (42-6-3) vs. Traverse City St. Francis (38-9-1)

North Branch is the reigning champion in Division 2 and will be playing in the title match for the third-straight season. The Broncos will face West Catholic, a first-time finalist. In Division 3, Kalamazoo Christian will return to the Final after finishing runner-up a year ago, and both the Comets and St. Francis are seeking a first championship with the Gladiators also a past runner-up.

Division 1 and 4 Semifinals will be played Friday. Click here for more.

Hockey Weekly Action Photos captured the following from Thursday’s action.

Grand Rapids Christian’s Grace Goodyke smashes a kill attempt into a block of Clara Gyoromy (14) and Maci Kaake (17).

Grand Rapids Christian’s Grace Goodyke smashes a kill attempt into a block of Clara Gyoromy (14) and Maci Kaake (17). Goodyke had 16 kills for the No. 2 Eagles (35-13-1), but top-ranked North Branch prevailed 25-16, 25-16, 25-17 in a Division 2 Semifinal.

The Broncos’ Hailey Green (4) connects from her libero position; she finished with 12 digs for North Branch (55-4-1).

The Broncos’ Hailey Green (4) connects from her libero position; she finished with 12 digs for North Branch (55-4-1).

Grand Rapids West Catholic Ella Bernreuter (13) connects on a kill attempt during a 25-16, 25-13, 25-19 win in Division 2, with Milan’s Lauryn Parris (4) and Malea Wourman (8) blocking. Bernreuter finished with six kills for the Falcons (38-9-6).

Grand Rapids West Catholic Ella Bernreuter (13) connects on a kill attempt during a 25-16, 25-13, 25-19 win in Division 2, with Milan’s Lauryn Parris (4) and Malea Wourman (8) blocking. Bernreuter finished with six kills for the Falcons (38-9-6).

West Catholic’s Mia Henne attempts to tip the ball over the net with Mariah Stines (16) on the block for Milan (27-9-2).

West Catholic’s Mia Henne attempts to tip the ball over the net with Mariah Stines (16) on the block for Milan (27-9-2).

Traverse City St. Francis’ Tessah Konas (10) sets for an oncoming teammate during the Gladiators’ 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 Division 3 Semifinal win. Konas and Reese Jones both had 22 assists to lead St. Francis. 

Traverse City St. Francis’ Tessah Konas (10) sets for an oncoming teammate during the Gladiators’ 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 Division 3 Semifinal win. Konas and Reese Jones both had 22 assists to lead St. Francis. 

Cass City’s Josie Spencer contends for a ball at the net; she finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. The No. 10 Red Hawks finished 34-7-5 while No. 5 St. Francis advanced at 38-9-1.

Cass City’s Josie Spencer contends for a ball at the net; she finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. The No. 10 Red Hawks finished 34-7-5 while No. 5 St. Francis advanced at 38-9-1.

Kalamazoo Christian’s Makenna Ekkens (13) takes a big swing at the net during the No. 4 Comets’ 25-15, 25-10, 25-17 win over top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.

Kalamazoo Christian’s Makenna Ekkens (13) takes a big swing at the net during the No. 4 Comets’ 25-15, 25-10, 25-17 win over top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. She finished with nine kills and 12 digs as K-Christian (42-6-3) ended the Kestrels’ season at 33-9-1.

TOP PHOTO Comets including Lola Stecker (7) and Jovie Cochran (8) celebrate Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal win at Kellogg Arena.