Brown, Brines End Cadillac Careers Among School, State's All-Time Elite
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 28, 2023
Macy Brown in 2020 and Renee Brines in 2021 completed two of the most prolific careers for one of the state’s most consistently-successful programs at Cadillac.
Brown’s 962 kills in 2020 rank fourth for one season, and her 2,349 over four seasons and 553 games rank 11th on that career list. Brines 4,295 assists over 561 games and four seasons rank ninth, and she made aces lists with 119 as a senior and 324 for her career.
Brown is playing at University of New Haven in Connecticut, and Brines is playing at Northwood.
See below for more recent additions to the volleyball record book.
Volleyball
Evelyn Karamon made her career-high assists match count as a senior in 2021. She put up 48 in Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s five-set win over Ubly in a Division 4 Quarterfinal as the team advanced to the Semifinals for the first time.
Corrie Wisser capped her Hopkins career last fall with a series of record book-worthy achievements, including two that made career lists. She was added for 3,184 assists and 400 aces both over four seasons and 479 games, and with the aces tying for 12th-most all-time. She also made the list twice for 10 aces in a match and twice for single-season aces including a high of 143 as a junior. She has signed with Ferris State.
Fenton’s Eva Long earned her first record book entry last fall with 12 aces in a three-set match against Holly on Sept. 15. She will be a sophomore this upcoming season.
Despite a tough five-set loss to Novi, Brighton’s Abby Mainka enjoyed a career night Sept. 13 when she had 32 kills to make the record book. She’ll be a senior this school year.
Three Rivers’ Miley Southland reached the record book in just her first season of high school. The then-freshman posted 47 assists in a five-set comeback win over Edwardsburg last Aug. 31.
Gianna Sager picked the perfect night for a record book-worthy performance during her junior season at Utica Ford, as she set 63 assists in a five-game 2021 District Semifinal win over Sterling Heights Stevenson. Those assists are tied for ninth for one match, and Ford went on to win its District title.
Recent Boyne City grad Morgan Deming capped her career last fall with two of the most impressive performances, with her 52 kills Nov. 2 against Kingsley third-most in MHSAA history and her 44 kills the next day against Cheboygan tied for seventh on the list. She also made the single-season kills list with 606 over 117 games. Teammate Ava Tarsi made the single-match assists list twice with 68 against Kingsley and 65 against Boyne City. Deming has signed with Lake Superior State, and Tarsi will be a senior this season.
Saginaw Swan Valley then-junior Marli Robinson also joined the single-match assists list, posting 46 in her team’s Division 2 Regional Semifinal against Frankenmuth on Nov. 8.
Nearly two decades later, Ashlee Mosley was added for two performances while a senior at North Adams Jerome in 2005-06. She made the single-match blocks list with 11 in a five-set match against Camden-Frontier, then finished her high school career with 17 against Adrian Lenawee Christian that March 4 in postseason play. The latter remain tied for fourth on the list.
Despite playing an abbreviated senior season in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, Farmington Hills Mercy’s Julia Bishop finished that fall with a few more than 1,000 assists – and a four-season career total of 5,575 assists, good for third all-time and coming in 521 games despite playing only 95 as a senior. Bishop plays at Michigan State.
Mt. Morris’ run to the Division 2 Quarterfinals last fall was boosted in part by a strong 1-2 punch of setter Alisiya Boedecker and hitter Blair Wilson. Boedecker, then a sophomore, was added to the record book five times including with a high of 61 assists in a match against Clio, 1,389 assists over 159 games for the season and 2,595 assists for her career after just two years of high school. Wilson, then a senior, was added five times including for 17 aces in a three-set match (tied for 10th all-time), 42 kills in that Clio match (tied for 11th), 615 kills for the season and 2,128 for her four-year career. Additionally, then-freshman Destany Clymer was added for 140 aces last season and then-sophomore Callie Quackenbush for 121, as well as single-game ace totals.
Birch Run’s Kalliann Cook capped her four-year varsity career in the fall with 427 aces – 10th-most in MHSAA rally-scoring history. She made the single-season list with 121 as a freshman and 127 as a junior. She’s signed with Austin Peay State.
PHOTO Cadillac's Macy Brown (6) rises above the net during the 2020 Division 2 Semifinals.
P-W's Miss Volleyball Smith Shows What's Possible, But More Goals Await
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 21, 2023
Don't get Taylor Smith wrong: Volleyball is, without doubt, her greatest passion.
It's just that Smith's ultimate goals for herself include far more than being defined by athletics.
The Pewamo-Westphalia senior, named the first Lansing-area winner of the state’s Miss Volleyball Award, said her work in a variety of areas outside of volleyball is as equally rewarding as excelling on the court.
"I just want to be known as an all-around good person," Smith said. "That's what makes me feel real good. If you work hard at something, that's what makes you feel good about yourself."
In addition to becoming the 20th Miss Volleyball, Smith is a three-time all-stater and the foundation of an outstanding Pirates program which has won three league titles over the last four years, four Districts and Regionals, the Division 3 championship a year ago and finished with a 53-2 record this season.
The remarkable team success aside, it comes as no surprise to P-W coach Jon Thelen that his star setter wants to be known for more than athletics. Smith works in special needs and peer mentoring programs within the school district. She carries a 3.98 grade point average and will continue her volleyball career next season at Eastern Michigan.
"She's the type of kid who just wants to give of herself," Thelen said. "She works her butt off on everything she does. She'll be one of those kids that you'll want to hire as an adult. She's a driven kid who has been a blessing to coach."
Smith's journey from fledging sixth-grade volleyball player to receiving the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association's highest honor is a bit unconventional.
She began her volleyball career as an 11-year-old, moved on to the December-to-July club volleyball season where Smith estimates she's played in 50 tournaments over her career, and finally became the cornerstone of the P-W program.
A four-time all-conference and three-time volleyball all-stater, Smith said she gave up a moderate interest in basketball to throw herself into volleyball. She was a varsity starter as a freshman, began gaining notice from college coaches as a sophomore, and committed to Eastern Michigan in April of her junior season. She also considered Gannon University (Pa.) and Wright State among others.
Smith is the first to admit she was no immediate volleyball sensation. Smith believes her game has improved in increments since the sixth grade. The last two facets of her game to fall in place were improvements in attacking and location in setting the ball. Those finishing touches transformed Smith from an excellent high school player to one capable of playing at the Division I college level.
A connection can easily be made, Smith said, from her love of the game to the sport providing a sense of community pride.
"Volleyball means everything to me," she said. "But it's not just playing volleyball, it's the sense of school and community I have from playing. I think that's helped my life in general. Overall, volleyball is fun and I love playing. But there is also that connection you have with community. That's important to me, too."
Smith said she began thinking playing volleyball at the next level would be possible after her freshman year of high school, That's when word began spreading that a school of 300 students possessed a 6-foot-1 setter who could help a college roster. But when Smith completed her own self-evaluations as a high school player, college seemed only a sketchy possibility lurking just over the horizon.
"Only because people told me I had a chance," Smith said of a college scholarship. "My game definitely needed work, and it wasn't just one thing. There were a lot of little things that came together for me."
The work has paid dividends. Smith's 165 points in the Miss Volleyball voting were 22 more than runner-up Zoey Dodd of Grandville. Smith said she considered herself a longshot in winning an award that recently has been dominated by Metro Detroit honorees. The last four played for Division 1 contenders.
This season’s Miss Volleyball ballot was filled mostly by candidates from the Grand Rapids area and also included representatives from Oakland County and the Thumb.
"I'm not kidding you; I didn't really think I had a chance. I was just happy to be in the top 10," she said. "When you see the (nominations), you see that there are a lot of good volleyball players in the state. I'm in a state of shock that I won."
Thelen said Smith winning the award is a statement about what players from smaller schools can accomplish. It's not about bigger always being better, he said.
"The neat thing is someone from a smaller school won it," Thelen said. "I think now those kids can go, 'I can do this.' You don't need to be at a bigger school to be represented on the big stage."
PHOTOS (Top) Taylor Smith (11) sets to her teammates during Pewamo-Westphalia’s 2022 Division 3 championship win at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Smith accepts her medal.