Brown City Aiming High Following 1st Final
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 15, 2017
Kendal Muxlow offered nothing but praise when asked about the Brown City volleyball class of 2017, which left the school as the most successful in program history.
She raved about her graduated teammates’ leadership, work ethic and ability to raise up every player around them as they led the Green Devils to three Regional titles, two Semifinal appearances and a Class C runner-up finish over the past three seasons.
But while Muxlow was certainly fond of playing with Becki Krause, Alexia Mason, Breigha Donnelly, Jasmin Bender and Haley Bandemer, she’s less fond of constantly being reminded they’re gone.
“I have. I have heard (they’re gone),” the Brown City junior said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “In practice, they held us to that standard, they expected state-bound team stuff during practice. We all got along well in practice and everything, and as much as they wanted to succeed, they wanted everyone to be a part of it also.
“Since I’ve been a freshman, we’ve been trying to get lots of girls in the gym to get them excited to want to be part of the program. We had a lot of people come up and want to get in the gym. It’s a lot easier to get to where you want to go when you have girls that are excited about the program.”
For Brown City, that destination remains the same in the short-term: Kellogg Arena for the MHSAA Class C Final. That’s where the Green Devils, who hadn’t won a Regional title before 2014, landed a year ago for the first time before falling to Bronson in four games.
Taking a longer view, however, this season represents a chance for Brown City to keep working toward a larger goal: showing it’s a program that can consistently compete at the level it has for the past three seasons.
“I think that if that wasn’t my goal, I should probably step down from coaching,” said Brown City coach Jenna Welke, who is entering her fifth season directing the varsity. “I’ve told the girls all about building the program – not just a team, but a program. We have to show those younger girls what Brown City volleyball is all about and set that standard.”
Welke and her players do realize what they’re up against. They’ll be replacing 65 percent of their kills from a year ago, 94 percent of their assists, 67 percent of their blocks and 78 percent of their digs.
But they’re welcoming the challenge.
“We’re definitely a different team from last year,” Welke said. “They’re young, and yes, they’re inexperienced, but they’re willing to work hard. I think any coach is going take a more inexperienced team if they’re willing to work hard.”
Muxlow and Ann Schlaud return with the most experience, both having played significant roles throughout 2016, and taking the floor in the MHSAA championship game a year ago. While the other names and faces may be unknown to those outside the program, those within are confident they’re ready to step up.
“We have a lot of great players that were kind of not playing as much last year because of the key seniors we had,” Schlaud said.
The players are also confident in their coach, who happens to be a 2008 graduate of their biggest rival, Marlette, where she was a dominant athlete. Muxlow said the players don’t give their coach any grief about that, but Welke laughed when asked if she received any from elsewhere.
“I had such a great experience at Marlette, so I’ll always respect them – I think they have great programs,” Welke said. “I teach at Brown City now. I coach at Brown City now. So now I’m a Green Devil, but I’ll always have respect for them.
“I think it’s a friendly rivalry. We always respect each other, yet you don’t want to lose to them.”
Brown City is certainly happy to have her, as Welke, also a four-year player at Oakland University, has amassed a 144-43-18 record in four years, winning four Greater Thumb Conference East titles, four District titles and three Regional titles.
With results like those, it’s easy to see how players have bought into Welke’s system and the belief that building a dynasty in this small town is a possibility.
“She’s one of those coaches that in practice will push you to your absolute hardest, but also one of those coaches that if you have to sit down and talk with her about something, she will listen,” Muxlow said. “Since Coach Welke has been here, we’ve only been going up. She came and we’ve just been hanging more banners than we ever had.
“It’s easier when we have all these girls wanting to be part of the program, because she’s done that for the program.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brown City’s Kendal Muxlow (7) unloads a swing during last season’s Class C Semifinal against Adrian Madison. (Middle) Ann Schlaud (8) puts up a block against Madison. (Below) Brown City coach Jenna Welke instructs her team during the trip to Kellogg.
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.)