New Coach, Same High Standard at Calumet
October 12, 2017
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA – A new coach is at the helm, but the tradition of excellent volleyball has carried on at Calumet High School.
The Copper Kings (27-6-2) are ranked sixth in the Class C state coaches poll this week as Matt Laho has added to the success established over the past 20 years by Lisa Twardzik. Calumet was Class C runner-up in 2008, a semifinalist in 2007 and 2016 and has won the past five Regional titles.
Calumet is the heart of a powerful volleyball program in the Copper Country, the northern-most region of the state. "We're not at the hockey status, but in the fall volleyball is a pretty big deal," said veteran Houghton volleyball coach John Christianson.
"Volleyball has become the in thing to do at schools up this way."
The two programs set the pace throughout the Upper Peninsula. They met recently with Calumet taking the decisive fifth match 15-11, and they meet again Tuesday at Houghton. They will also play in the Houghton tournament Saturday.
Laho, an assistant to Twardzik last year after spending several coaching and teaching in Wyoming after his graduation from Finlandia University, has put some of his own touches into the program while building on the foundation established by Twardzik.
"I soaked up as much as I can. She built Calumet into a volleyball powerhouse, and I want to continue that and try to keep that tradition alive," the Calumet fifth grade teacher said of trying to fill Twardzik's huge shoes.
He runs a middle-middle defense but said the emphasis is in different areas. "I have principles and philosophies and I build offense and defense systems around the players," Laho added.
Laho said Twardzik coached the "whole athlete, volleyball and academics and coached young women with fundamentals.
"Lisa always did a great job focusing on positive reinforcement. I do that too, but then I tell them here is where we go next," he said. His approach "lets them know things will be different. I let players know I will be open-minded."
The Copper Kings won an early-season tournament in Kingsford and last weekend won their pool at a 16-team tournament in Suttons Bay. "I'm very happy where we are at this point of the season," Laho said. "We have exceeded where we want to be at this point."
Laho said the team's strong suits are ball control, transition passing, defense and serving. "Our attacking, while not a weakness, can be more effective," he said.
Laho prefers everything "to be as simple as possible. I want things to become natural rather than to think about it on the floor."
Meanwhile, he takes a technical approach and gets a lot of individual feedback. "I have given them tiny tweaks to help them get better," he said.
"One thing they are noted for is defense, extremely disciplined defense," said Christianson. "Trying to find holes in their defense is difficult. And they are fundamentally really, really sound. They play with a mental focus, and they focus on the task at hand. And they have been blessed with some big, athletic girls, competitive girls."
A key player has been senior power hitter Lea Bjorn, "your prototypical hard-working athlete," said Laho. "She is a six-rotation player."
Other key players are seniors Ninia Anderson and Brea Johnson and juniors Celia Kiilunen and Brooke Kariniemi.
That group is following in the footsteps made by current Northern Michigan University spikers Janie Torola and Hailey Wickstrom.
This is also a tough team for opponents to dislike. "Their players are really nice people," said Christianson. "Their parents have raised them to be really nice ladies. It is a very good program with very good people."
Their reputation has spread across the Upper Peninsula and downstate as well.
"No doubt any place they go in the U.P., they are the standard bearer," said Christianson. "They set the bar, and the rest of us try to get there."
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Calumet celebrates winning the Kingsford Invitational in coach Matt Laho’s debut. (Middle) A pair of Calumet players puts up a block against Lake Linden-Hubbell last month. (Photos courtesy of Calumet’s athletic department.)
Young Broncos Ahead of Schedule in Hunt for Division 2 Crown
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 9, 2021
The thought of the North Branch volleyball program being ahead of schedule when it comes to success is difficult to fathom.
North Branch has been among the top programs in the state for 15 years, including an incredible 10-year run that included eight trips to the MHSAA Semifinals, four runner-up finishes and three Class B Finals titles (2009, 2014 and 2016).
The Broncos have won 17 straight District titles and are 53-0 over four seasons as members of the Blue Water Area Conference. They have arrived, and stuck around.
But this year’s results and roster indicate even more success is on the way, and it could be happening very soon.
“I wouldn’t even know what to think about it, to be honest with you,” North Branch’s lone senior, Gracie Hyde, said of the possibility of getting back to the MHSAA Finals this season. “I guess it would be shocking because we’re such a young team.”
Half of North Branch’s 16 players are sophomores, and when you add in the two freshmen, underclassmen make up the majority of the team. Despite that, the Broncos are 42-8 heading into the Regional tournament, which begins Tuesday night in Mount Morris, and they didn’t drop a set in conference play. The eight losses came almost exclusively to ranked teams, and the only losses outside of Division 1 were to the No. 1 (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) and No. 3 (Detroit Country Day) teams in Division 2.
“I knew we’d have a really good team, but we’re still very, very young,” North Branch coach Jim Fish said. “Many times, we’ll have five sophomores on the floor at the same time, but they’re so skilled that I don’t even look at them like that. We’ve won three state titles, but this will be my most talented team. Next year, we’ll be extremely talented. Now, that doesn’t mean that we’re going to win anything.”
The key stat leaders for the Broncos are almost exclusively from the Class of 2024. Three sophomores – Alana Deshetsky (first with 287 kills), Clara Gyomory (third with 216) and Kaela Chingwa (fourth with 182) – are among the team’s top four attackers. Chingwa leads the team in blocks with 97, Haily Green leads the team in digs with 720, and Adrienne Greschaw leads the team in assists with 1,043.
Add in junior attackers Bailey Gormley (264 kills) and Natasha Bickel (177), and Hyde’s defensive prowess and skill at the service line (92.1 percent success, 88 aces), and the Broncos are every bit the threat their No. 5 ranking in Division 2 would suggest.
“I definitely think we’re ahead of schedule,” Deshetsky said. “We had a couple bumps in the road, like injuries and girls being sick, but we have five great hitters on our team, and you can’t just shut down one girl.”
For the players, the speed of the success may come as a bit of a surprise, but it’s something they’ve long thought was possible.
“We’ve always known that the grade below me and our grade has always worked well together,” Bickel said. “We grew up playing AAU ball, and watching them all grow has been amazing. We've all improved so much through the years.”
As they came up through the youth ranks in North Branch, they not only grew together, but also watched as Fish’s program was, for the most part, dominant. He took over in 2000, one year after the Broncos had won a single match, and well before any of the current players were born.
The District win streak began in 2006, and by 2007, North Branch had made its way to the Class A Finals weekend, starting the 10-year stretch of consistent trips to Battle Creek.
“They were like my idols,” Bickel said. “I always loved watching them play. Coach asked me to be a ball girl when I was in the fifth or sixth grade, and it was like a dream come true.”
While the program has remained strong, 2016 was the last time North Branch won a Regional title, with Notre Dame Prep ending its season each of the past four years in the Regional Final. The 2020 team was the first since 2007 that didn’t feature at least one player who had played in the Semifinals.
Last year, with multiple freshmen on the floor, the Broncos came as close as they have in the past four years to knocking off the Irish, losing 16-14 in the fifth set to end the season. Now, they find themselves on the opposite side of the Division 2 bracket from Notre Dame Prep, and if they were to meet again, it would be in the Final.
“I want to get there so bad,” Green said. “Last year, in the Regional Final, that game was so much fun. I keep thinking that I want to get back to a game like that.”
There’s plenty of work left for both teams to do in order to make that happen, but Fish does know that getting to Battle Creek this year, even if it doesn’t result in a title, would help put the program on schedule to accomplish its goals in the near future.
“Nobody has been down there,” he said. “They’ve seen their sisters play there, and they’ve seen pictures and heard about it, but it’s really important to get down there. If we can get there and compete – I'm not going to say never, because why not us – but, realistically, if we can just get there, that will really fuel their desire to get back.”
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) Broncos sophomore setter Adrienne Greschaw and sophomore middle Kaela Chingwa put up a block during a match this fall. (Middle) North Branch sophomore Alana Deshetsky sends a kill attempt toward the other side. (Bottom) Senior Grace Hyde digs with junior Paige Hurd backing her up. (Photos courtesy of Krystal Ann Photography.)