Dakota Hammers Home First MHSAA Title
November 17, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – On one side of Saturday’s Class A Volleyball Final stood Temperance Bedford, with three MHSAA championships and led by the second-winningest coach in national high school volleyball history.
On the other sideline, Macomb Dakota prepared for its first championship game since the school opened in 1996, when most of the Cougars were just learning to walk.
That imbalance didn't end up deciding much on this day, but was certainly something Dakota considered before making its own history with a 25-22, 25-21, 26-24 win over the Kicking Mules.
It was truly a milestone run for the Cougars, who didn't give up a set during the entire tournament.
“We’d never played Bedford before. We'd never played (Semifinal opponent) Northville before. So I think it showed so much adaption for our team and so much depth that we could come in barely knowing anything about their teams, with 10 minutes of scouting video, and we can take them down in three,” Dakota junior hitter Carli Snyder said.
“It’s ideal for that to happen, but it doesn’t happen very often. Great teams drop games because they play badly, but we didn’t (through the tournament) because we kept playing tough the entire time. It’s incredible.”
Seemingly everyone in Battle Creek knew Snyder would be on the attack.
But that hasn’t helped opponents the University of Florida-bound standout all season. And it didn’t make much difference at Kellogg Arena.
Snyder, in just three sets, had 31 kills – third-most in an MHSAA Final since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004-05.
Bedford had survived the Semifinal against Grand Haven despite 20 kills by Miss Volleyball runner-up Abby Cole. But Snyder was unstoppable when it counted most.
She killed the final two points of the first game and the final point of the second. With Dakota trailing by three in the third, Snyder had three straight kills to make it 14-14. Her final attempt of the day was dug – but Bedford’s return went wide down the right side.
“We just had to adjust to her and learn from her and get better,” Bedford sophomore middle Nicole Rightnowar said. “She hit where we weren’t, and it was really hard to block her.”
The Cougars have learned a lot in short time. Only three seasons ago, Dakota finished 19-27-3 in coach Tracie Ferguson’s second year.
But the former Clinton Township Chippewa Valley standout (who later played at Wayne State) led the Cougars to a near reverse of that record in 2010 before guiding them to the first of two straight Regional titles last fall.
Dakota entered the District this season ranked No. 3 and finished 59-5.
“When I played in high school, it was Bedford and Jodi (Manore) was still coaching. And honestly, coming into tonight, I knew she was the coach and knew they had a great team, a very technical team … and I gave the girls that input that, ‘Hey, they know how to play volleyball,’” Ferguson said. “Bedford is a big volleyball school. But at the same time, we’ve come a long way. What we’ve accomplished and built on, we were right there with them.”
Bedford’s run was equally exceptional considering that although the Kicking Mules were ranked as high as No. 6 this fall, they entered the tournament an honorable mention.
Bedford finished 65-13-3, with Manore now 1,679-283-48 over an incredible 28-year career – and with four of Saturday’s starters set to come back next season.
“If you look back and ask a lot of the teams we played this year if we were going to be state runners-up, I don’t think too many would’ve picked us,” Manore said. “We came up a little short once we got here, but we beat two really good teams to get to the Finals in Mercy and Grand Haven. I think we came up against not only a team with the best player we’ve played all year, but her supporting cast stepped up I think a lot bigger than we saw (Friday).
“Give her 31 (kills). But there were some other kids there that had quite a few, and that was our problem.”
Dakota junior setter Megan Manuerski had 43 assists, good to tie for 13th on the MHSAA Finals record list. Snyder also had 14 digs and senior outside hitter Megan Downey had 19.
Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Gwozdz had 14 kills to lead Bedford and Rightnowar had 10. Junior setter MacKenzie Andrews had 37 assists and senior libero Ellen Hays had 18 digs. Senior Lexie Curtis added 10.
PHOTOS: (Top) Macomb Dakota junior Carli Snyder prepares to unload on a set during Saturday's Class A Final. (Middle) Temperance Bedford's Nicole Rightnowar puts down one of her 11 kills.
Despite Sad End, Christian Savors Run
November 16, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The Grand Rapids Christian volleyball team entered Tuesday night on the heels of an emotional high after upsetting top-ranked Rockford four days earlier in the Regional Final.
But the Eagles were unable to sustain it and saw their season come to a disappointing close with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 26-24) loss to No. 4 DeWitt in a MHSAA Class A Quarterfinal.
“We talked about how coming off such a big win on Thursday can sometimes be difficult and to stay up for the next match,” Grand Rapids Christian coach Tiffannie Gates said. “We addressed it, we talked about it, but I still feel that’s what happened. I don’t think that was the whole thing, but I think it was part of it.”
The defeat ended the Eagles’ hopes of a second trip to the MHSAA Semifinals in the last three years, while also ending the on-court mother-daughter career of Gates and her oldest daughter, Maddy.
Maddy Gates played four years on the varsity with her mother at the helm.
“We got along this season like we’ve never gotten along before, and it was definitely a bonding experience for both of us,” said Maddy Gates, who’s headed to Division I Purdue University-Fort Wayne to play volleyball next fall.
“Knowing that I will never play on a high school team again with her made it pretty hard (Tuesday) night as well, but it was good. We have a lot of memories from this season, and I really appreciate everything she did for me this year.”
Tiffannie Gates has coached her daughter off and on since Maddy was 10. That made the last match an emotional one.
“It was really hard because she really thought we were going to go all the way this year, and to see her kind of devastated was pretty heart-breaking,” Tiffannie Gates said. “But it was neat that we got as far as we did and had that extra time together in the gym – and also to experience that fun win on Thursday.
“Coaching your own daughter is hard, but it’s worth it – to have those moments together and to be able to spend so much time with her her senior year before she goes away to college soon.”
Tiffanie Gates actually had the opportunity to coach both her daughters for the first time. Jordyn Gates was a sophomore setter for an Eagles’ squad that went 43-7 and won the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold crown with a perfect 12-0 mark.
“It was awesome to be able to coach both of them,” Tiffannie Gates said. “I was a little nervous having them both fighting, but there was minimal fighting and it was really fun to enjoy the success of the team together and to see them interact with their teammates. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
The trio were a part of an instant classic that helped the Eagles reach the Quarterfinals.
Grand Rapids Christian pulled out a thrilling five-set victory over top-ranked Rockford, a team the Eagles lost to twice during the regular season.
“We just came out with nothing to lose and with the mindset of playing our best volleyball,” Tiffannie Gates said. “They did that, and it was a phenomenal match. It went five (games) and it was 19-17 in the fifth.
“It was super intense and I had literally 10 people tell me that it was the best, not only volleyball match, but high school sporting event they’ve ever been to. It was so fun, and you felt bad that anybody had to lose because the girls on both sides just fought to so hard.”
Maddy Gates said the victory was the highlight of her season.
“We had a lot of good wins this season, but that was probably the best because going into it, technically, we were not supposed to win considering the rankings but we played with so much heart and passion,” she said. “We would’ve done anything to win that game, so pulling it out and winning that was huge for us.”
Maddy Gates, and fellow seniors Anna May, Elizabeth Schierbeek and Emily Seven, helped lead a relatively young team that also featured junior Maria Bos and freshman Addie VanderWeide.
The Eagles lost their District opener to East Grand Rapids in 2016, but vowed not to look past anyone this time around.
“I think our seniors were diligent in making sure our team focused on each match and one point at a time,” Tiffannie Gates said. “They learned from last year.”
The success of the season made the Eagles’ last loss that much harder to swallow.
“It was pretty difficult for me, and not just because I’m a senior, but because the team chemistry was so amazing,” Maddy Gates said. “Having to say good-bye to all the girls and knowing it was our last time playing together was really tough. I think they caught us on a bad night, and I’m still wrapping my head around what happened, but it was definitely a learning experience.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM and WOODTV. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) From left: Anna May, Olivia Nedd, Jordyn Gates, Maddy Gates and Maria Bos ready for the start of play as Addie VanderWeide serves against Rockford in the Regional Final. (Middle) Gates serves during Saturday’s match. (Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Christian volleyball program.)