Eagles End Phenomenal Fall as Repeat Champ
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2019
BATTLE CREEK – Tiffannie Gates couldn’t hold back the tears Saturday.
The Grand Rapids Christian volleyball coach had just watched her team win a second-straight Division 2 title, sweeping Lake Odessa Lakewood 25-21, 25-15, 25-16, which is emotional enough. She also had just finished her last game as coach of her daughter, Jordyn, who shined in her final game as an Eagle.
“It’s really bittersweet right now to think I’m done coaching her,” Tiffannie Gates said. “You couldn’t ask for a better ending. It’s been pretty neat.”
The Grand Rapids Christian program closed out an incredible run with another dominant showing at Kellogg Arena, sweeping the No. 2 team in the Final for the second straight year. The top-ranked Eagles actually swept both matches at Kellogg, also just like a year ago – defeating Kingsley in the Semifinal – and finished 46-3, dropping just 10 sets all season.
All while carrying around the target that comes with being the reigning champion.
“Every team came to play against us,” junior outside hitter Addison VanderWeide said. “No matter who they were, they came to play their best volleyball. We definitely felt that, but we were able to push through and stay on top.”
At the center of it was Jordyn, a Miss Volleyball finalist who will play at Arkansas next season. The 5-foot-10 senior setter came into the weekend with more than 1,000 assists on the season, and finished Saturday’s match with 39 assists, 13 digs and six kills.
For her, it was also a bittersweet moment.
“It was really emotional this morning, last time ever being coached by her,” Jordyn said. “She’s my biggest inspiration. Being able to play for her and having her coaching me and pushing me every single day. Even today she was still telling me things I needed to work on. It never stopped. She’s definitely my biggest inspiration, so it’s been awesome sharing this journey with her.”
Jordyn spread the ball around enough to keep Lakewood off balance Saturday night, as Ayva Kooistra and Evelyn Doezema each had six kills. But it was clear that VanderWeide was her main target, and she came through in a big way. VanderWeide had 28 kills on 55 attack attempts for a .436 attack percentage.
“I even knew before we even showed up that she was going to have the game of her life,” Jordyn said. “She was fired up and I knew to just dish the ball to Addi, she’s the girl on fire. Keep dishing it to her no matter what, she’s who we have to dish it to, and she was unstoppable tonight. I’m so proud of her.”
Lakewood (40-13) did come out strong, building a 13-9 lead in the first set. But Grand Rapids Christian responded to close out the set before controlling much of the rest of the match.
“Our strength this year has just been playing very evenly – not getting too high or too low,” Tiffannie Gates said. “I just said, ‘You know what, you’re fine. We’re just going to go out there and play defense and serve tough and pass well and focus on your game, one point at a time.’ That’s been our motto all season, one point at a time. Don’t project, ‘What if we don’t win? We’re supposed to win.’ So we’re really trying to focus on the one point at a time.”
Tiffannie Gates said the goal for the Eagles coming into the match was to try and slow down the O’Gorman sisters. While they did have some success, the plan worked for the most part. Aubrey O’Gorman led Lakewood with 11 kills on the night, while Maradith O’Gorman had 10 kills and 10 digs. Skylar Bump added 25 assists for the Vikings.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Christian’s Addison VanderWeide (14) launches a kill attempt during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Evelyn Doezema tips the ball over the block of Lakewood’s Jaizah Pyle.
Sarafa Among All-Time Marian Stars, Greatest Setters in MHSAA History
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 29, 2022
BLOOMFIELD HILLS – Mayssa Cook said she had a suggestion for then 11-year-old Ava Sarafa upon first seeing Sarafa training on a volleyball court.
Cook knew Sarafa already had the tools to be an elite volleyball player, given her height and skills, but put a figurative bug in her ear while watching Sarafa go from doing hitting drills to setting.
“At the time she was a hitter,” Cook said. “After she set a few balls, we just kind of had a conversation that, ‘you should maybe take setting more seriously.’ Obviously from that point on, she did.”
No kidding.
Now a senior for annual state powerhouse Bloomfield Hills Marian, Sarafa is more than just the latest Miss Volleyball Award finalist and future Division I college player to come through the program.
Taking it further, even a program like Marian’s hasn’t quite seen a setter like Sarafa.
Earlier this season, Sarafa surpassed 4,000 assists for her career to become the 16th player in state history to eclipse that mark.
As of Tuesday, Sarafa had a little more than 4,300 career assists and said she has a goal of eclipsing the 5,000 mark, although the state record of 5,790 set by Novi’s Erin O’Leary might be out of reach.
Sarafa was the main distributor for Marian’s Division 1 championship-winning team last year and next month plans to officially sign to play in college for Kentucky.
Cook said Sarafa’s high school career got going right away when she pulled off the rare feat of cracking the starting lineup as a freshman.
“Very few setters really start their freshman year on varsity and play the entire time,” said Cook, who is in her fifth season as Marian’s head coach. “Ava had a composure and a maturity about her as a freshman, and with skills to back it up, that allowed her to be able to take on that role, and do it very well. Four years later, she’s been that much better every year.”
After taking to heart the suggestion to become a setter, Sarafa said it did take a few months to adjust to the nuances of the position.
However, it didn’t take her long at all to fall in love with it.
“I think the thing I really love about being a setter is being able to help benefit your teammates and put them in a really good spot to score,” Sarafa said. “Also being able to touch the ball every single play. It keeps you very involved in the momentum of the sport, and being able to run the court and know what’s going on with everyone. Being able to know your hitters personally (and) what they appreciate on the court has really touched me in a way. Having that control, pressure and insight on the game made me love it.”
Sarafa also embraces the strategic thinking and anticipation required to be a setter, which differs greatly from the demands of being a hitter or a libero.
“Setting, you need to look with peripheral vision, you need to learn where the blockers are and if they are jumping with your hitters,” Sarafa said. “I think it does (require) excess training to develop and work on.”
Marian is the two-time reigning champion in Division 1 and up to 27-0 this fall as naturally the heavy favorite to make it a three-peat come November. Sarafa actually is one of two Miss Volleyball candidates on the roster; Ella Schomer also is in the mix for the award given to the state's top senior.
Sarafa admitted it’s been a bit different going for three championships in a row with the huge target on Marian’s back, especially since the Mustangs as of Sept. 22 were ranked No. 4 nationally in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Super 25.
“We need everyone to give 100-percent effort to succeed,” Sarafa said. “It’s not dependent on one person. It depends on everyone giving in to what we’re doing. When the playoffs start, we’re going to see teams that are very competitive and have a lot of great talent on their teams. Everyone just needs to realize that ‘this is it; what you’re doing right now matters.’ It’s just a big team effort, and we need to work for it.”
With one of the country’s top prep setters on Marian’s side once again, it will take one talented team to prevent a three-peat for the Mustangs.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Marian’s Ava Sarafa prepares to serve during last season’s Division 1 Final against Ann Arbor Skyline. (Middle) Sarafa, far right, celebrates a point with her teammates during the championship match win.