Kubiak Comes Back, Twice, to Lead Mustangs

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

September 20, 2016

PORTAGE — Mikaela Kubiak is a fierce competitor on the volleyball court. But the Portage Central senior setter had an even harder fight off the court her first two seasons.

Kubiak, who has been instrumental in the Mustangs’ run to a 23-3 start and No. 5 ranking in Class A, spent her first two seasons rehabbing from injury.

A starter on varsity as a freshman and sophomore, Kubiak tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, not once but twice, and endured two separate stints of grueling physical therapy.

Looking back, the personable Kubiak remembers every detail.

“It was our first home match against Kalamazoo Central and all my family and friends were here watching,” said Kubiak, who came to Portage from Central as a freshman and whose father Bob Kubiak had coached Kalamazoo Central football from 1993-2003.

But her first home volleyball match wasn’t even close to what she envisioned. 

“It was in warm-ups and the second ball I hit, I came down and I blew my knee,” she said. 

“Not a very good start. It was our first home varsity match, and I think it was the first or second week of school.”

Her first thoughts were that she could walk it off and continue to warm up.

“Then I was like, whoa, this is way more serious than I thought,” she said. “I couldn’t get up. I kept walking, then I just sat down on the ground. It was throbbing and I was in pain.

“I was just super mad, super mad at myself that it happened. Of course, that game it would have to happen to me.”

She had knee surgery and spent nine months in recovery, including physical therapy at least three times per week.

“I wasn’t surprised she came back (after the first injury). I was surprised she got hurt again,” said Dawn Jaqua, who has coached the Mustangs for the last 18 years. “I was actually surprised she got hurt the first time because she’s such a strong kid, physically, so that was a shock.

“She is hugely determined and loves the sport. You can’t help but beat yourself up when you’re a coach and any kid gets hurt on your watch.”

After missing her first season, Kubiak was raring to go as a sophomore.

The team’s setter was Madison Jaqua, who earned all-state first-team honors that year, so Kubiak was once again a hitter.

“Mattawan was like our big rival,” Kubiak said. “We were in the middle of our third set. It was a nitty-gritty, tight match. It was point after point after point, back and forth.

“Madison set me a ball and I came down and just overran it too much and I blew it out again. I knew right away because my knee moved on me.

“I was like, ‘Oh great.’ I think I was even more mad at that. It was like a pin dropped in the room and I was so frustrated. I technically tore it twice in the same year. I actually tore it on 9-11 my freshman year and 9-9 my sophomore year.”

Once again, Kubiak missed the rest of the season. But this time she knew what to expect from the physical therapy and did a lot of work on her own to supplement the workouts.

Giving up volleyball was not an option.

“I was more comfortable going back my junior season because I was back in my original position (as a setter with Madison Jaqua graduating) and I had a huge brace on. I didn’t have a brace my sophomore year.”

Dawn Jaqua said Kubiak’s role changed as a junior.

“She was setting for us,” she said. “The biomechanics are way different. We didn’t have her play front row last year. She set from the back row. We ran a kind of modified system for that.

“Then she started playing front row a little bit for us at the end of the season. We let her block in controlled situations, and by the end of the season last year, we were running a 5-1 with her.”

The coach’s daughter, senior Devin Jaqua, who has been playing volleyball with Kubiak since seventh grade, was not surprised she returned stronger than ever.

“She’s always been a strong leader, and she’s always worked really hard,” the senior said. “She has a really big passion for the game, so I knew she’d always come back.

“She leads almost like the team mom. You can always depend on her, and she always plays her best. She always knows what to do and when to do it.”

In spite of losing two seasons of both high school and club volleyball, Kubiak earned Class A all-state honorable mention last season.

In November, she will sign to play collegiately with Division II Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Dawn Jaqua said Kubiak is the complete package.

“It’s all the components: her athleticism, her consistency, her decision making,” she said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about her will to want to win. She’s a great leader.

“She is a great problem solver. She’s demanding, but she does it in a very calming way. She’s very controlled. When things aren’t going well, she does a great job figuring out a different way to win. That’s her job.”

Devin Jaqua said this is a special year for the seniors.

“There’s five seniors, and it’s our last year,” she said. “Mikaela and Janell (Williams) are the only two so far going to play in college, so the rest of us really want to make it a memorable last year.”

Williams will sign with Western Michigan University. Jaqua will play soccer collegiately at Michigan State.

Talking from experience, Kubiak offers some advice: “For any other volleyball players out there, work hard all the time because you never know when it can be taken from you.

“Cherish every moment you have on the court with your teammates because it really does fly by.”

Other seniors on the team are Rebecca Barnes and Maddie Goodman. Juniors are Maddie Wojcik, Sara Denison, Olivia Harning, MacKenzie Zook and Jessie Zesiger. The sophomore is Ryann Jaqua and the freshman is Maizie Brown.

Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Mikaela Kubiak tips the ball over the net during a recent match against Richland Gull Lake. (Middle) Kubiak and Portage Central coach Dawn Jaqua. (Below) Kubiak sets for teammate Janell Williams. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)

Italian Exchange Student Cerma Lends Big Swing, Enthusiasm to Escanaba

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

October 31, 2023

ESCANABA — Andrea Cerma is not new to volleyball.

Upper PeninsulaPlaying at Escanaba High School, this fall, however, was a new experience for the exchange student from Italy.

The senior left-handed hitter made the most of her opportunity while becoming one of the team’s leaders. Escanaba’s season came to an end Monday with a Division 2 District loss to Houghton.

“Andrea has brought a lot of passion,” coach Adam Lambert said. “She celebrates every point, which is something Escanaba has struggled with. Here, they celebrate the big points. I think some of it has rubbed off on the other girls. It’s contagious.”

There are no school-sponsored teams in Italy, where athletes instead play on club teams.

“The culture is completely different,” Cerma said. “We play outside. It would be warm over there for Michigan people. We also get a lot of wind. The wind has zero effect when you play inside, but it’s more of a factor outside.

Cerma is a left-handed hitter and said she believes that threw opponents off at first. Also an 88-percent server, she averaged five kills, three assists and three digs a game and had a 1.71 serve receive rating through the end of the regular season last week. She collected six kills in a 3-0 victory over Menominee and added seven kills and five assists in last Tuesday’s 3-1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22) loss to Marquette.

Cerma (13) ascends to kill the ball during a match against Manistique on Thursday.“Andrea is our leading scorer,” Lambert said last week.  “She’s very coachable and not afraid to ask questions if she doesn’t understand a drill or an assignment.

"Over there, they do more stretching. Here, teams shake hands and go home after the matches. Andrea does stretching after every match and leads the other girls in stretching, although it hasn’t really caught on here yet.”

“Andrea has brought a lot of excitement and new things to our team,” senior Aleaha Lambert added. “She has a great swing. We’re learning new ways to do things. Right now we need to work on reaching high and following through on our swings.”

Prior to last Thursday’s 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-14, 25-15) to Manistique, Cerma had 132 kills, 87 digs, 77 assists and 12 blocks on the season.

“Andrea has been real flexible,” Coach Lambert said. “We moved her to an outside hitter position which made it easier for her to get some shots. She had one perfect night where she didn’t have any hitting errors. She's a very accurate hitter. She had as many (as) 17-18 kills in one match. Other teams didn’t see that coming. She can see the court real well. Andrea has been a nice addition to our team.”

Cerma finished with three kills and three digs in Thursday’s regular-season finale against the Emeralds. She added two kills, an assist and three digs against Houghton in the closing 18-25, 18-25, 25-23, 23-25 defeat.

“(Manistique’s) energy is very high,” junior Lily Nelson said after that match. “They were paying attention to Andrea for sure. She’s a real good all-around player who brings a lot of energy to our team.”

John VrancicJohn Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

PHOTOS (top) Escanaba’s Andrea Cerma prepares to serve against Marquette on Oct. 24. (Middle) Cerma (13) ascends to kill the ball during a match against Manistique on Thursday. (Photos courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)