Chemistry Super-Charges Valley Lutheran
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 14, 2020
Sydney Krause said she and her teammates on the Saginaw Valley Lutheran volleyball team don’t talk much about getting back to Battle Creek for MHSAA Finals weekend.
Even though it’s clearly the goal, the senior setter said when everyone is together, they’re more focused on the matches directly in front of them and respecting each opponent.
In private conversations, however?
“Between me and (senior outside hitter) Peyton (Bartnikowski) for example, we talk about it often,” Krause said. “We want to get back, and we’ll do anything to get back there.”
A year ago, the Chargers made their first Semifinal appearance, winning their first Regional title since 2011 along the way. A month into this season, they’re looking like a contender to do it again, as they are 19-2 and ranked No. 4 in the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association Division 3 poll.
“I've always had a lot of talent, and every year I feel like we’re in the running, but last year was the first year that I felt so confident about it that I told the girls, ‘This is what we’re going to do: We’re going to go to the Final Four, and this is how we’re going to do it.’” Valley Lutheran coach Jon Frank said. “This year, I told them we’re going to go to the Final Four, and then some. Hopefully.”
Frank said it took just one match this fall for him to realize his confidence in the team was well placed, as the Chargers have been able to get off to a flying start. Their two losses on the year came against perennial Division 2 power Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Birch Run, a team just outside the top 10 in the Division 2 rankings. Valley Lutheran was able to take a set off Notre Dame Prep.
That fast start is being fueled by strong team chemistry, despite the Chargers losing six seniors from last year’s semifinalist – several of which played a prominent role, including all-state second-team libero Kelsey Vittitow. Eight players from last year’s squad are back, however.
“The people we have coming back from last year are great players, and they came back even better,” said Bartnikowski, who was an all-state third-team selection a year ago. “Our chemistry was the same as it was last year at the end of the season, and we just picked up where we left off.”
That chemistry is most visible in the connection between Krause and Bartnikowski, who are entering their third year playing together.
“I’m so thankful for the chemistry we do have,” Krause said. “I think it honestly came from having so many reps together. We’ve worked a lot in practice, and also in club in the past year. This year, it’s even stronger because we have all those touches together over the club season. We’re friends off the court, so we trust each other a lot.”
Bartnikowski said their friendship actually started off the court, as they had classes together as freshmen while she was playing on the varsity team and Krause was on JV. As sophomores, the on-court connection began to blossom.
“I think it’s so important, because that’s what gets you the points,” Bartnikowski said. “If you have a setter and hitter that don’t have that chemistry, you can still get the points, but it’s so helpful to have that chemistry where she can do all types of sets, and I know exactly where each set is going.”
With the season shortened by a few weeks because of COVID-19, Frank believes that chemistry will be an advantage.
“It’s huge,” he said. “These kinds of connections come over years, not even seasons. It’s just like anything else, reps matter to build that chemistry. Especially in a short season, for them to have the background reps is huge.”
Another advantage is the depth in the Valley Lutheran attack this season. While Bartnikowski is the focal point, fellow outside hitter Lexie Peplinski and middle hitters Ashlyn Martin and Olivia Grimpo are keeping defenses honest. It’s also providing Krause with an abundance of options.
“She has a lot of places to go,” Bartnikowski said. “I think it’s harder (for defenses) than what it is if someone is just setting it outside all the time. It gives us an easier pathway to get a kill. If the other team is just setting up outside, it catches them off guard.”
With returning defensive specialist-turned-libero Kya Bellil leading the back row, the Chargers are strong front to back, and certainly have the makings of a team that can get back to the Final Four the week before Thanksgiving.
If they do, they hope the experience gained a year ago can help them take another big step.
“I think it will be helpful, especially since we have a lot of returners and we’ve all been there,” Krause said. “Last year we were all taking it all in. We were there to play, but it was also a completely new experience. I think it will help us to focus more on the task at hand.”
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) Sydney Krause sets up a waiting group of Valley Lutheran attackers this season. (Middle) Middle hitter Ashlyn Martin connects on a spike. (Photos by Sonny Medina.)
Yale's Dykstra Wasting No Time Showing Superior Multi-Sport Potential
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 28, 2024
Sadie Dykstra’s already long list of accomplishments from less than two years of high school – three all-state medals, multiple all-conference awards and a league MVP to name a few – may seem shocking.
And to most, it justifiably is.
But it’s come as little surprise for those in Yale who saw her grow up and do, well, anything.
“I’ve always known that she’s kind of special,” said Yale boys track coach and Dykstra family friend Brian Bearss. “She was that kid that, when other kids would be playing and learning how to ride their bikes, here comes Sadie and she’s yelling, ‘Look at this,’ and standing on the seat riding the bike. She’s always been exceptional as far as being an athlete.”
Dykstra is entering her sophomore track & field season at Yale and has already established herself as one of the best female athletes in the state. Want to argue against that? Check out this résumé:
Volleyball: Two years varsity, second-team all-Blue Water Area Conference as a sophomore.
Basketball: Two-time first-team all-BWAC selection, BWAC all-defense and BWAC MVP as a sophomore, BCAM all-state honorable mention as a freshman, sophomore all-state honors still pending.
Track: Unbeaten in the BWAC as a freshman with four league titles (long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 1,600 meter relay), three all-state finishes at 2023 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals (fourth in long jump, fifth in 100 hurdles, sixth in 300 hurdles).
Again, just a sophomore.
“I can’t believe that I get to coach her,” Yale girls track coach Ashley Garofalo said. “She has a drive and a mindset that I can’t teach somebody. Nobody can teach you to have this. She gives every single thing that she has in every single sport. I think it does help when you’re so good at it. It makes you want to do it more.”
Basketball gets Dykstra’s most attention and it’s the one she’d most like to play at the next level. The 5-foot-11 guard is getting interest already from Division I college programs.
But it wouldn’t be right to say her heart is with one sport or another.
“I enjoy all my sports,” Dykstra said. “I like all my teams. I have a different team for each one, and I get along with all those girls. I think each one, it flows into the next one, and helps strengthen things for my other sports. Volleyball helps my legs for basketball. In basketball, I’m getting in shape for track.”
You don’t have to look far to find where Dykstra gained her love for athletics. Her parents, Kerry and Brad, both played basketball at Calvin College. Kerry graduated as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer in 1999 and is still sixth on the all-time list. She also served as Yale volleyball coach for 10 years, just recently stepping down.
Brad was a two-sport athlete at Calvin, playing baseball as well. He also played baseball at Grand Valley State. He coached basketball at Yale from 2006-10.
“We’re a very sporty family,” Sadie Dykstra said.
So, when it came time to enter high school, there was never a thought of specializing.
“I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to play three sports each season and enjoy them, too,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want to be in them and have them be the most awful things in the universe. I came in with the mindset of enjoying all three sports.”
While basketball is her current collegiate goal, she did say that competing in basketball and track & field would be something she would consider if given the opportunity. Bearss said Dykstra has Division I potential in track & field, adding that heptathlon could best suit her.
But there are still two more years to figure that out. The next thing for Dykstra to enjoy is track, the sport in which she had the most early success. And while outdoor meets are still a couple weeks away, she’s already locked in.
“She’s just a natural leader, and I think that’s why she’s so disciplined,” Garofalo said. “(Tuesday), I was going over a workout with somebody else, and she just started her warm-ups on her own. She’s not afraid to lead 60 other kids, even though there are juniors and seniors.”
Dykstra has big goals for this spring, mostly based around performance marks. She’s eyeing the Yale school long jump record of 18 feet, 1¾ inches, which is less than an inch longer than her personal best of 18-1. She’d like to move that record closer to 19 feet.
Her 100 hurdle PR (personal record) sits at 15.59 seconds, and she’d like to knock that into the low 15s or even high 14s. For the 300 hurdles, where her PR is 47 seconds, she’d like to get down to 45.
“I have big goals, and I think I can get to them,” she said. “But that’s something for the end of the season to play out and see how that goes.”
Anybody who’s watched her wouldn’t doubt that Dykstra can reach those goals. And that list, along with those accomplishments, continues to grow.
“Last year we went to Ortonville Brandon, and we had really nice weather that day and the competition was really good – a lot of schools there,” Bearss said. “Even with all of those great athletes, you could just kind of see, people are pointing and looking, ‘There’s that girl from Yale.’ They’re taking notice. Every once in a while, you get kids that turn heads like that.”
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) Yale’s Sadie Dykstra launches into a long jump last spring. (Middle) Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. (Below) Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season. (Photos courtesy of the Dykstra family.)