Highlight Reel: West Ottawa/Jenison

November 7, 2014

The Holland West Ottawa volleyball team defeated Jenison 3-0 in a Class A District game Thursday. Click the headings below for MHSAA.tv highlights and the final link to watch the match in full. 

WEST OTTAWA'S BIG OPENING RUN - Holland West Ottawa scored the first five points of the first set against Jenison on its way to a 14-3 start. Sydney Zwghuizen gets the kill to make it 5-0.

JENISON RALLIES BEHIND FLAHARTY - Jenison would counter West Ottawa's opening run with 10-2 streak of its own. Megan Flaharty scores here for the Wildcats. West Ottawa went on to win the set, 25-19, on its way to a 3-0 Class A Semifinal win. 

RIETBERG KEEPS IT IN - In the second set of this Class A Semifinal, watch Jenison's Katie Rietberg knock it down just inside the line for a point. West Ottawa would win the set, 25-14, and the match, 3-0.

ZWYGHUIZEN EXTENDS THE LEAD IN SECOND SET - Sydney Zwyghuizen delivers a kill to put West Ottawa up in the second set against Jenison, 17-7. 

CLARK FINDS THE OPEN SPOT - Early in the third set, Jenison's Kayla Clark finds the opening in the West Ottawa defense to score. The Panthers, however, won this set, 25-17.

SEALED WITH AN ACE - Holland West Ottawa completes its sweep of Jenison in this Class A District Semifinal with a service ace.

Watch the entire match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

Title IX at 50: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 14, 2021

Nearly 100 years of MHSAA history have yielded plenty of multiple-generation coaching families, and a number of those have guided multiple generations of athletes to great success.

But what Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball coaches Sheila Guerra and her daughter Vicky (Guerra) Groat have accomplished is unmatched among coaching legacies – with their individual accomplishments also stacking up well with the rest of the state’s legends on the volleyball sideline.

Last season’s five-set win over Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in the Division 4 title decider gave the Tigers 21 Finals championships in the sport – more than twice the next program on the list. The championship match appearance was St. Phil’s 30th – also more than twice as many as the next most successful team.

Guerra took over the program to start the 1981-82 season (when volleyball was still played during the winter) and finished in 1997 with a record of 862-180-46, with those 862 victories still ranking 25th on the all-time MHSAA volleyball coaching wins list. She led the Tigers to nine Class D championships, including four straight from 1992-96, and two runner-up finishes.

Groat – who graduated from St. Phil in 1985 – followed her mom taking over for the 1997-98 season, leading that team to a Class D runner-up finish, but then stepping away after 1998-99. She returned a season later and has run her record to 1,179-275-93 heading into this fall – with the sixth-most wins in MHSAA history. She’s led 11 teams to Finals championships, 10 in Class D and last season’s in Division 4, plus six more runner-up finishes. The Tigers won a record nine-straight titles beginning with the final winter season of 2006-07 through the fall of 2014.

Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard

Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights

Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read