Lowell Prepared for 1st Trip to Final Week
November 18, 2019
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
LOWELL – The Lowell volleyball team has earned a trip to the season’s final week for the first time.
A beefed-up regular-season schedule helped pave the way toward school history – last week’s program-first Regional title and a spot in Tuesday’s Division 1 Quarterfinal at Jenison against No. 3 Mattawan.
Second-year Lowell coach Jordan Drake said strengthening the schedule was a focal point after bowing out in the District Final against eventual Division 1 runner-up Rockford last season.
“That was something I looked at with my coaching staff after losing to Rockford last season,” Drake said. “What can we change in order to not be in this situation again next year? I talked with my athletic director, and I said to put us in the hardest tournaments that we could.”
The No. 2-ranked Red Arrows haven’t shied away from playing against, and beating, the top teams in the state en route to a stellar 53-3 record. Lowell has wins over seven more of the top 10 in the final Division 1 coaches poll, plus the top two ranked teams in Division 2 and No. 1 team in Division 3. The Red Arrows early this season handed Division 1 No. 1 Farmington Hills Mercy its only loss (although, it should be noted, Mercy was playing without senior hitter Jess Mruzik, who was in Egypt with the U.S. U-18 national team and was back when Mercy won a rematch with Lowell last month).
“I knew we had a good team last year, but we just weren’t battle-tested,” said Drake, whose team also won the first conference title in school history last season.
“Playing Mercy, Grand Rapids Christian, Lake Orion, Hudsonville, Lakewood and Schoolcraft that are championship-contending teams, those are the conversations that you want to be in and the matches you want to be in throughout the whole season so when you get to this point you feel like you’ve been there before. I think it’s been a huge difference-maker for our kids.”
Senior middle hitter Meghan Meyer, who’s recorded 438 kills and 74 blocks, said the improved quality of their schedule has paid dividends.
“Coach put us in tournaments where we could be exposed to those good teams more so we would be experienced and ready for when it came to moments like this,” she said. “That really showed us what we’re capable of doing.”
Lowell defeated No. 4 Hudsonville 3-1 in the Regional Final. It was a gratifying win that accomplished a season-long goal, while also avenging two of the Red Arrows' losses this fall.
“The girls were ecstatic, and winning Regionals was obviously one of the goals we had set out for ourselves this season,” Drake said. “It’s right where we want to be, and we’re taking this thing one game at a time and we’re looking forward to a great competition with Mattawan. It’s going to be another tough battle like the road we’ve had. It’s been just a grind.”
Junior outside hitter Jenna Reitsma, who leads the team with 795 kills to go along with 379 digs and 82 aces, was thrilled to pull off another program first.
“We were all just really excited, and we worked really hard to get here,” Reitsma said. “We wanted to get past that milestone, especially since our school hadn’t done it before, so it was exciting to make history and work hard together to get that win.”
The Red Arrows returned eight players this fall from a year ago. However, experience alone wasn’t going to be enough to help the team meet heightened expectations.
The intangibles also needed to be developed.
“I definitely thought we could reach this level, but it was a matter of them wanting to put the work in,” Drake said. “There was a lot of things we still had to get better at from last year, and that included taking game by game and growing from our losses against tough teams.”
Still, the five-set loss to Rockford that ended their 2018 season provided perfect motivation.
“I know when we were playing different teams we kept that loss in the back of our minds,” Meyer said. “We used that as willpower to push through. It was hard losing to them, and we remembered that. We pushed ourselves harder.”
Other key contributors for the Red Arrows include junior setter Sophie Powell (1,446 assists) and junior libero Emma Hall (476 digs).
“We have never been this far in Lowell history, but we’re just going to work our hardest,” Meyer said. “It’s going to be a good game, and I believe we’re ready.”
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. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lowell hitters await the serve during the St. Johns Invitational on Oct. 5, where the Red Arrows went 6-0. (Middle) Meghan Meyer (5) loads up for a kill attempt. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Novi Seniors Go Out With 3rd Class A Win
November 18, 2017
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – Two of the greatest athletes ever to compete for Novi High School finished two of the most memorable volleyball careers in school and state history Saturday at Kellogg Arena.
Setter and Miss Volleyball Award winner Erin O’Leary and outside hitter Abryanna Cannon led the Wildcats as they captured their third straight Class A volleyball title with a 25-23, 25-9, 25-23 victory over a young Bloomfield Hills Marian team in their last match as high school teammates before they face off as Big Ten rivals at the college level.
O’Leary is signed with University of Michigan, and Cannon is signed with Northwestern. Cannon finished her high school career with 18 kills and 15 defensive digs, while O’Leary had 33 assists and 11 kills to conclude her fourth trip to the Finals and third title run.
“I came in a few weeks before the start of school (junior year) and I went into the gym and I knew these players were special,’’ said Cannon, who moved from Traverse City West midway through her career. “I couldn’t have asked for more. It has been a great experience. Erin is just an incredible setter. She made things easy for me.’’
The Wildcats finished 57-3 to run coach Jennifer Cottrill’s record to 286-24-2 in six years guiding the program.
“I don’t know if I or the team understands the gravity of what we have just done,’’ said Cottrill. “They are just really good student-athletes. They deserve it. It’s amazing that they have accomplished what they had set out to do.’’
Marian (45-12-1) actually led 12-10 in the first game before the Wildcats reeled off three straight points to take a 14-12 lead.
When it reached 17-13, first-year Marian coach Lauren Duquette was forced to call a timeout. Her team got the score to 20-20 but couldn’t gain the advantage. A Cannon dink shot over the net ended a two-point win for the Wildcats.
“It was the first time in the tournament we played under pressure, and winning that first game was the difference,’’ said Cottrill.
Novi came out swinging in the second game, scoring eight of the first 12 points to force Duquette to again call a timeout.
Novi continued on to build a double-digit lead (19-7), with the Mustangs having no answer.
Cannon and Kathryn Ellison (who will next play at Kent State) kept pounding winners at the net while O’Leary kept the motor running with her all-around game.
The lead eventually swelled to 21-7 before Marian scored another point. An ace by Cannon ended the second game as the beleaguered Mustangs faced the inevitable.
But it was a loose group at the other end as O’Leary danced to “Don’t Stop Believing” and hugged teammates as she zeroed in on her third title.
“It’s about the team,’’ said O’Leary. “What makes it so much easier is that we focus on each other as a team. We’re a family. Our parents are family, and we are all so close.’’
Hanging on, Marian trailed 10-9 in the third game, then led 14-12 before another ace by Cannon started a rally for the Wildcats.
A soft spike by O’Leary gave the Wildcats a 19-18 lead. Marian made one last push, getting to within 22-21. But a Cannon block put Novi back within two points of the title, and moments later the Wildcats clinched it.
Ellison added 12 kills and 14 digs for Novi. Junior setter Maddie Dowd had 18 assists for Marian, which advanced to its first Final since 2013 by avenging two losses to Farmington Hills Mercy in the Semifinal.
“They were just so much taller than us,’’ said Duquette of taking on Novi’s hitters.
But noting the run, she added, “This is my first year here, and what my team has been able to accomplish in 3½ months … I may look normal, but I’m crazy and I put them through a lot.’’
PHOTOS: (Top) Novi’s Jaeda Porter tries to put a kill between Marian’s Christine Audette (8) and Maggie DePorre (2). (Middle) The Wildcats’ Erin O’Leary serves during her final match.