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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.)
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Tabit Twins Drive Top-ranked Team in B
September 1, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
MOUNT MORRIS – In the heat of an intense volleyball match, it could be easy to get the wrong impression about Hannah and Sarah Tabit of Mount Morris.
A raised voice or a stern stare isn't an alarming indication of discord between the two. They're not mad at each other. They're not being mean. It's just two highly driven twins who have learned over the course of 17 years together which buttons to push without hurting each other's feelings.
"Their chemistry is great," Mount Morris coach Jim Pender said. "I sympathize with them sometimes, because I'm an identical twin, too. Joe and I, when we competed, we got on each other. It wasn't anything we can't handle.
"Sometimes it seems like they're yelling at each other. It's just a different thing with identical twins. The kids now understand they're not yelling at each other. They're so competitive. They want the best out of each other. That's how they get it out of each other."
The tough-love approach seems to work.
The Tabits have been an integral part of Mount Morris' success over the past three seasons and to their fast start and No. 1 ranking in Class B as seniors this year. Sarah is an outside hitter who was second-team all-state after registering a school-record 867 kills last season. Hannah, an outside hitter and setter, made third-team all-state despite being limited by an injury.
Both are committed to play next season at Saginaw Valley State University, a short trip up I-75 from their hometown. Starting next fall, a new set of teammates will have to get accustomed to the in-your-face manner in which the Tabit twins motivate each other on the court.
Between twins, nothing that happens in the midst of competition is taken personally when they head home.
"I feel like I can be a little more firm with her and it's not like she'll cry or something," Sarah said.
"It's just because we've been playing together for so long," Hannah added. "We have a lot of chemistry together. If we mess up, we've got to figure out what's wrong. We have to fix it."
The Tabits have played volleyball together for quite a while, but not for as long as some high school teammates.
They became enthralled with the sport in elementary school when they went to Mount Morris matches to watch their brother's girlfriend play for the Panthers.
They couldn't wait to play volleyball themselves – but they had to.
Their father, Mount Morris assistant coach Pat Tabit, has witnessed many cases of burnout among athletes who have been playing the same sport from a young age. He didn't want that to happen to his daughters.
"Our parents actually wouldn't let us play until we were in sixth grade," Hannah said. "We kept trying to ask if we could. They'd say, 'Not yet, just wait it out.' They finally let us play. My dad didn't want us to get tired of it too quick, because it happens to a lot of girls who play now and start in third or fourth grade. He didn't want us to die out of it."
The Tabits enter their senior season very much energized about volleyball. It helps that they are on a team that could deliver only the second MHSAA championship in school history in any sport. The 1984 softball team won the Class B title, one year after Pender graduated from the school.
Mount Morris has won five district titles over the last seven years and nine overall, but has never advanced beyond regionals. The Panthers were strong before the Tabits arrived, but the program is at a different level with the twins leading the way.
"People come into the gym now and ask, 'When are those two going to be seniors?'" Pender said. "It seems like they've been on the team forever. They're noticed in the gym. Sarah got MVP of the first tournament and Hannah was on the all-tournament team. I haven't had too many players who could be a dynamic player for anybody in the state of Michigan. They know what's at stake and bring their game every time."
The Panthers didn't even make it out of their district last year, but it was understandable -- they lost to eventual Class B champion North Branch in the District Final. The teams have typically met in the regionals, with North Branch eliminating Mount Morris in that round in 2009, 2012 and 2013.
The teams are again in the same district this season. It will be played Nov. 2-7 at North Branch, the seventh-ranked team in Class B.
It's a testament to Mount Morris' returning talent that it earned the No. 1 ranking, despite its early exit last season and its history of never making it out of regionals.
"We're very happy about it, but we've still got to work hard every day," Sarah Tabit said. "That way we can maintain that No. 1 spot the whole season."
Mount Morris is off to a 16-1 start after three tournaments that have featured some of the best teams in the state. The Panthers beat Chelsea (No. 8 in Class B) and Birmingham Marian (preseason No. 9 in Class A) to win the first of two tournaments in Brownstown. They lost to Lake Orion (No. 2 in Class A) in the semifinals of the second tournament in Brownstown.
In their own tournament last Saturday, the Panthers beat long-time nemesis North Branch 25-13, 25-19 in the championship match.
In addition to the Tabits, libero Lauren Gibbs received postseason honors last year by making the all-region team as a freshman. Gibbs was injured and unable to play in the district, leaving the Panthers shorthanded against a powerful North Branch team it beat during the regular season.
Junior Summer Bruce, junior Mahogany Malone, sophomore Linda Allen, senior Kayla Sorensen and senior Madeline Clarke are other key contributors from last year's team.
"In the last six years, we've been ranked in the top 10 because of the tournaments we've been playing in," Pender said. "We've been playing some strong competition and competing with them. We graduated only two seniors, and they were basically in the same spot. We beat some really good teams last year. It puts a little more pressure on me, though, when they say you're that good. You have to have the kids to do what you need to get ranked. Now we have to put everything together. It puts a little added pressure."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. 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) Hannah Tabit works to get a ball past two opponents at the net during a match last season. (Middle) Sarah Tabit connects earlier this fall. (Below) The Tabit twins, numbers 12 and 16, lead the top-ranked team in Class B. (Top and middle photos by Greg Tunnicliff/Genesee County Herald; bottom photo courtesy of Mount Morris athletic department.)