Gabriel Richard Savors Flawless Finish
December 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
All that the Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard volleyball team accomplished this season is still sinking in.
The Fighting Irish became the first Michigan high school team since Marysville in 1998-99 to finish as an undefeated MHSAA champion, rolling to a 42-0 record on the way to winning the Class B title. They achieved this milestone despite playing a schedule loaded with 21 teams ranked at some point in either Class A or Class B – including eventual Class A champion Novi.
And Gabriel Richard did more than just win every match – it dominated, with a set record of 102-6. The Irish won all eight of their MHSAA Tournament matches 3-0. For the season, they beat teams by an average of 9.5 points per set; during the tournament, that average margin of victory bumped up to 11 points.
The program, which last won an MHSAA title in 1991, in Class D, finished a solid 22-7-1 in making the Class B Quarterfinals in 2014. But the jump to history-making, and in this dominating fashion, was extraordinary – and in addition to other accolades, earned Gabriel Richard the honor as November's Applebee's Team of the Month.
“I’ve been thinking back to all of those matches that were really, really close, and easily could’ve gone the other way. There’s something very special about this group of ladies,” said Gabriel Richard coach Mayssa Bazzi, a former standout at Dearborn High and Wayne State who finished her third season coaching the Irish. “Every single one of them is very humble. First and foremost, they’re just good girls. And I just think that helps.”
Each month during the 2015-16 school year, Applebee’s will recognize a Michigan high school team or teams not only for performances on the field of play, but also in the classroom and community.
Over the last two weeks, Bazzi has received congratulations from coaches throughout the state, and especially Gabriel Richard’s Detroit Catholic League. An observation by one who saw her team multiple times has stuck with Bazzi most.
The Irish had plenty of star power – senior Emily Tanski and junior Jurnee Tipton made the Class B all-state first team, while seniors Sydney Burton and Rachel Dunlavy made the second. But that opposing coach noted that the Irish didn’t have one player "full of herself," but instead all of the players were “full of our team.” That selflessness was something Bazzi knew to be true, but this coach put it into words she’ll continue to cherish.
That quality showed as the Fighting Irish took the opportunity to cheer on a former opponent only hours before playing for the Class B title. After word got out that Novi’s fan bus was unable to make the trip to Battle Creek for the MHSAA Finals because of snowy weather, the Gabriel Richard players filled in parts of two rows of the Novi student section at Kellogg Arena to help root on the Wildcats during their match against Romeo.
The successes continue off the court. The Irish carry a grade point average of 3.68, which earned them academic all-state honors from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association, and three seniors earned academic all-state individual honors as well.
A number of Gabriel Richard players also are involved in athletic director Hally Yonko’s school health club that spreads awareness and education on health-related topics. As part of those efforts, they helped raise nearly $3,000 for the school’s annual cancer scholarship fund, led the prayer service after an all-school Mass and helped with the annual walk as well as participated in an activity for the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, which encourages smokers to quit.
“Their success brought us all together … our coaches, athletes, student body, parents, staff and community members,” Yonko said. “We would always say a prayer after each game as a team, and in the playoffs the whole student section began joining in – even during the state semi and finals behind the student section bleachers. It was great to witness and see our students supporting each other and the girls play for each other, their school, their families and God.”
Past Teams of the Month:
October: Benton Harbor football – Report
September: Mason and Okemos boys soccer – Report
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard celebrates last month's Class B Semifinal win over Goodrich.
Reese Volleyball Heroes Hope to Have Rockets' Hoops Firing Next
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 29, 2021
Reese girls basketball coach Josh Pickell had never been happier to have low turnout through the first two weeks of practice.
The Rockets were down to four varsity players and had to combine with the junior varsity to run full sessions as the school’s volleyball team was making its Cinderella run to the MHSAA Division 3 Volleyball Finals title two weekends ago.
“As a coach, I just have to realize that the girls are going to need some time after doing what they did,” Pickell said. “It’s an incredible feat. It was kind of good for our entire program, with some other girls getting the extra practice time and seeing how cool it is for a girls team like the volleyball team to go that far. It was good for our freshman team and our JV team getting that time.”
All but two of the 11 players Reese took to Kellogg Arena are basketball players, including returning all-state honorees Maddi Osantowski and Aydan Dalak, who were at the forefront of the Nov. 20 title win against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
“I’m just hoping the momentum we had in volleyball, because we have so many girls that play volleyball and basketball, that it would just shift into basketball,” Osantowski said. “Just having that many girls to be able to shift to different sports, I think it shows how athletic the whole team is.”
The multi-sport seniors are taking slightly different approaches to getting into basketball, but neither is taking much time. Osantowski planned to return to practice Friday, giving herself less than a week after recording 71 kills and attempting more than 200 attacks during the final weekend of the volleyball season. Dalak, meanwhile, was on the basketball court Monday. She had been at previous practices, too, just not participating.
“I just sat and watched sometimes. I just wanted to see how the team was looking,” said Dalak, who was the setter on the volleyball team and plays point guard for the basketball team. “I was a little tired (Monday), and I’m usually not. But I’m not used to running back and forth for 30 minutes. I did OK. It was fine.”
Playing multiple sports is the norm at Reese, a school with fewer than 300 students. It’s necessary to keep multiple programs strong, and the coaches work together to ensure that happens.
“I really encourage doing multiple sports,” Reese volleyball coach Angie Compton said. “Last spring, I called the basketball coach and said, ‘Let’s do our youth camp together.’ That way, hopefully more kids will do both of them. Then, hopefully, you’re keeping more girls thinking that both sports are great.”
What Osantowski – who also plays softball – and Dalak – who has played softball but plans to run track next spring – are doing in terms of success, however, is not normal anywhere.
Dalak was named second-team all-state by the Michigan High School Volleyball Coaches Association, a year after earning honorable mention in the sport. She was named honorable mention all-state in basketball as a junior.
Osantowski was a first-team all-state selection in volleyball this season and honorable mention in 2020. She was second-team all-state in basketball as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore, and she was named first-team all-state in softball as a junior, as well.
“If not all of the athletes are playing (multiple sports), the teams aren’t going to be as good,” Osantowski said. “I actually do not play travel. I did travel softball and basketball in middle school, and I did one year of travel volleyball. It’s kind of hard to transition (from sport to sport). I just focus all on one thing in the season, because I know I have to do it for my school.”
Neither Osantowski nor Dalak have made a college choice, but their mindset is pretty similar. Both are leaning toward playing volleyball collegiately, which is a change from years past when they thought basketball would be the route to the next level.
They will juggle that process with what looks to be a promising basketball season. The Rockets are coming off a 12-2 finish, and while their postseason run was ended in the District Semifinal, the loss came against eventual Division 3 semifinalist Hemlock. A familiar connection will lead the way, as the passes from Dalak to Osantowski that proved so successful on the volleyball court are pretty common on the basketball court, as well, with Osantowski’s role as a shooter.
“I’m like her little assister,” Dalak said with a laugh. “She stands in the corner and I’m good at driving and kicking it out to her.”
Just like in volleyball, they’ll be surrounded by a strong group of their classmates, including Josie Johnson. The Reese libero was an honorable mention all-state selection in volleyball, and is a standout guard on the basketball team.
“We’ve already talked about it, we think we can do this for basketball, too, but we have to work hard like we did for volleyball,” Dalak said. “We need to have fun and keep that energy going into basketball.”
But the volleyball title has sparked belief in more than just the players who won it. That's a new feeling for a school that had one Finals title prior to Saturday – won in boys cross country in 1964.
“I think even for the boys basketball team, I was talking to them today, and said, ‘You know, you guys can win a state championship, too,’” Osantowski said. “I think people can see now that we can do this, so they think it can happen more, or at least they can go farther.”
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) Reese teammates Maddi Osantowski (left) and Aydan Dalak are hoping to carry their volleyball success into basketball season this winter. (Middle) Osantowski serves during the Division 3 Final win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. (Below) Dalak sets up another teammate against the Kestrels. (Top photo courtesy of the Reese girls basketball program; volleyball photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)