Notre Dame Finishes Milestone Run
November 18, 2017
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – Betty Wroubel is closing in on 1,000 victories at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Victory No. 990 always will be special. It gave her a third MHSAA Finals title at the school since 2007.
The win came Saturday at the Class B Final against Lake Odessa Lakewood, last year’s runner-up to North Branch, in a 25-16, 25-17, 28-26 sweep at Kellogg Arena.
It was Notre Dame’s 53rd win in a row, as the team finished the season 64-2-2.
“If you noticed, the newspapers they stopped printing how many we had won in a row because the pressure was starting to get to the girls,’’ said Wroubel. “It is very impressive. They worked hard for that. If you had been at our practices this last week, we were working as hard as we did in August. Kudos to them.
“They are great kids. They are great volleyball players and better people. My two four-year seniors, Lauren Burnick and Gabby Shilling, suffered a disappointing loss their sophomore year. It was at that point they said it’s never going to happen again. We’re going to win a state title before we graduate. They led us.’’
The game featured two longstanding coaches in Wroubel, in her 24th year at the school but fourth decade on the sideline overall, and Kellie Rowland in her 23rd season leading the Vikings and with 1,028 victories under her belt.
When top-ranked Notre Dame defeated No. 2 North Branch in the Regional Final, many thought the winner would claim the Class B title.
It worked out that way.
With an athletic front line, the Fighting Irish established themselves early, building a 21-15 lead against the Vikings that was never threatened.
The loud pops heard throughout the arena were the sounds of the Fighting Irish hitters spiking the ball against the smaller Vikings.
Notre Dame’s lineup featured Shilling, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter; 6-2 outside hitter Madeline Chinn; 6-foot outside hitter and setter Natalie Risi and 5-11 Morgan Verheyen.
That trend continued in the second game as the Fighting Irish jumped out to a 16-10 lead, using its superiority at the net to frustrate the Vikings.
Facing elimination, the Vikings (47-6-2) were more competitive in the third game.
They extended a lead to 15-9 as the Fighting Irish were reeling for the first time.
But Notre Dame quickly turned matters in its favor, scoring nine of the next 11 points to retake the lead at 18-17.
Now trailing 21-19 Rowland had to take a timeout to regroup.
Lake Odessa fought to a tie at 23-23, forcing Wroubel to call a timeout.
The score would deadlock three more times before Risi killed the final two points of the match and this Michigan high school volleyball season.
Risi had 17 kills for Notre Dame Prep, and Shilling 12. Burnick had 42 assists.
“We went into every game thinking if we trusted the process, trust the basics, we’d come out with this win,’’ said Fighting Irish junior Maria Famularo. “Our two seniors that have been on the varsity for four years have done an amazing job welcoming us.’’
Seniors Breanna Wickerink and Alivia Benedict capped strong careers for Lakewood with 10 kills apiece. Senior setter Kayla Sauers closed with 32 assists.
PHOTOS: (Top) Notre Dame Prep’s Gabrielle Schilling (9) and Maddy Chinn (16) put up a strong block as a Lakewood hitter begins her swing. (Middle) The Fighting Irish’s Morgan Verheyen prepares to connect.
TC Central Upholding Program Standards with Eye on MHSAA Tournament Goal
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 8, 2024
Traverse City Central’s volleyball team is living the dream.
More aptly put, the Trojans are living the vision — that of third-year coach Emily Wilbert.
Central is 36-1-1 entering Saturday’s Division 1 District Final against Mount Pleasant and coming off a 25-22, 25-15, 25-13 win over crosstown rival Traverse City West. That was the Trojans’ fourth win over West this season and kept them on track to achieve perhaps their biggest goal – to advance in the playoffs farther than any volleyball team in the school’s history.
They are moving along living their vision clearly spelled out by Wilbert in a preseason letter to her team.
“I wrote a letter and read it to the 12 varsity players that made the 2024 varsity team the night we finished cuts,” Wilbert recalled. “In my letter I talked about standards. I talked to them about three things that were non-negotiable and that are all within their control – working hard, having a good attitude and supporting your teammates.”
Central wears a warm-up T-shirt every game with the words “WORK, ATTITUDE, SUPPORT.” The shirt was designed by captains Elyse Heffner and Marley Richmond, the only seniors on the squad, which is also coming off a third-straight Big North Conference championship. A third-straight District title is now in immediate site.
“We are starting to reap the benefits of our culture and our process,” Wilbert said this week as the Trojans entered postseason play. “We are committed to excellence in all we do. We are disciplined to the process and committed to the team – if we do these things, the results we want will follow.”
The Trojans will play one game at a time, but the result they really want is to win a Regional title for the first time. If they do that, they could get a chance to meet one of the teams that knocked them out of the playoffs the last two years – Rockford, which won its District again this year. Grand Haven, which knocked the Trojans out last year, already has been eliminated this week.
“We’ve made it to the Regional Final once before and our coach has told us our school, our volleyball team, has never won a Regional Final,” said Heffner, a dominating outside hitter for the Trojans. “We can’t look ahead. We have to focus on the games in front of us. We still have Districts.”
Heffner led the Trojans over West with 15 kills, 11 digs, one ace and one block. Richmond, the team’s setter, had 31 assists, 10 digs and two kills.
Central’s lone loss this year was to Rockford in an early-season tournament. While trying not to look ahead, a postseason win over the Rams would be special.
“I think it would be cool to get a chance to play Rockford again,” admitted Richmond. “Our previous times playing them, we haven’t been fully ourselves.”
The only other time Central was not victorious this year was in pool play of a tournament against Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Both teams took a game for a two-set draw, but Central advanced out of the pool play. The two teams met again later this season in another tournament pool play match, and the Trojans won both games.
Coming off an undefeated conference season, the Trojans are concentrating again on Mount Pleasant. They defeated Mount Pleasant 25-17, 25-20, at their home quad late last month. The District Final will be played back at Central. The Oilers defeated Cadillac in their semifinal at Cadillac. Central’s semifinal was at West.
The Trojans have won all of their matches at home this year. They’re excited to get back on the home court, where their coach also played for the Trojans. Wilbert enjoys coaching in the Trojans’ gym as much as she enjoyed playing there; it’s her favorite place to play.
“I love being a TCC Trojan alumni,” Wilbert proclaimed. “It feels special to have been part of this program, played four years on varsity and now to be coaching the varsity team.”
Wilbert started coaching JV volleyball at Central in 2010. When you add in the time watching her sister also play for Central, she’s been “connected to the program for over 25 years.”
During those 25 she also coached some JV at West and took a break to have twins, daughter Avery and son Grady, now age 6. She has hopes Avery will someday play volleyball for the Trojans.
Wilbert measures Central’s success by more than victories, although she’s quick to point out she’s a competitive person who likes to win.
“Coaching gives me the chance to unlock a young person’s potential to maximize their growth, teach them the skills and give them the tools to be successful as a student-athlete and beyond,” Wilbert said. “I encourage them and believe in them so they can believe in themselves and create memorable moments and memories they will cherish for a lifetime.”
Heffner and Richmond have provided strong leadership for the Trojans both on and off the court. Coming into District play, Heffner led the team in serving aces (70) and kills (456). She was also second in digs with 253. Richmond was tops during the regular season in assists with 889 and second in aces at 50.
Erica Heffner, a sophomore, came into the postseason with 252 kills and 230 digs. Junior Sydney Richmond was leading the teams in digs at 265. The Trojans were also getting strong serving from freshman Macaire Kudary.
Win or lose in the days ahead, the Trojans will hold their heads high and recall a fun season.
“We’ve had an incredible season,” Wilbert said. “It’s got to be fun. When your work hard and put in the time, the results sort of come.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central players, including Elyse Heffner (6), Adelae Nelesen (10) and Bella Hernalsteen (11) huddle before the start of a match this season. (Middle) Central’s Macaire Kudary (12) attempts to put a ball over a Cadillac block. (Below) The Trojans’ Marley Richmond (2) attempts a one-handed block against Gaylord. (Photos by Ryan Hernalsteen Photography.)