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MIVCA Miss Volleyball Finalists Selected

October 1, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association has announced its finalists for this season's Miss Volleyball award, which will be given to a senior during the week of the MHSAA Finals, beginning Nov. 18.

This is the 12th year of the award. Battle Creek St. Philip’s Amanda McKinzie won the honor in 2012.

Find bios of each candidate and more at MIVCA.net. 

  • Krysteena Davis, 6-foot-0, middle hitter, Grand Haven
  • Alyssa Garvelink, 6-3, middle hitter, Holland Christian
  • Jami Hogeboom, 5-11, setter, Grand Haven
  • Sierra Hubbard-Neil, 5-9, outside hitter, Battle Creek St. Philip
  • Jessie Kopmeyer, 5-10, outside hitter, Birmingham Marian
  • Maeve McDonald, 5-6, setter, East Grand Rapids
  • Paige O’Connor, 5-11, outside hitter, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
  • Christina Porada, 5-6, libero, Dearborn Divine Child
  • Carli Snyder, 6-1, outside hitter, Macomb Dakota
  • Holly Toliver, 6-2, outside hitter, Berrien Springs


 PHOTO: Macomb Dakota’s Carli Snyder (right) prepares to receive a volley during last season’s Class A Final at Kellogg Arena. She led her team to its first MHSAA championship. 

Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball

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