Onekama Seeking to Take Next Step After Back-to-Back Trips to Regional Finals
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
October 11, 2024
Over the past few seasons, the Onekama Portagers have demonstrated they have the right skills to consistently win high-profile volleyball matches.
And they are hoping to carry those skills into another postseason rematch with Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart has stood in the way of Onekama reaching the Quarterfinals – winning their Regional Finals matchups the last two seasons.
Anticipating winning a fifth-straight District title, the Portagers can’t help but look ahead to another possible Regional meeting with the Irish, the current top-ranked team in Division 4. Onekama is listed as honorable mention in coaches poll.
The Portagers improved their record to 23-8-1 overall Thursday with a Northwest Conference title-clinching sweep of Benzie Central. It was the first championship for Onekama since returning to the conference during the 2016-17 school year.
With the conference title and another trophy from winning their own invitational this fall, the Portagers have a fifth-straight District championship in their sights.
“We’d like to make this five, and the girls are looking forward to it,” Onekama coach Linda Elo said. “Winning the conference is special because it has been a competitive conference for a lot of years.”
The key to Onekama’s success has been the play of setter Elizabeth McKeough, libero Ava Mauntler and outside hitters Hailey Hart and Delaney McCarthy.
McKeough, McCarthy and Mauntler, a member of the all-Region team last year, are sophomores. Hart is a junior. The Portagers also have a host of support players who posses defensive prowess.
“The strength of my team is a strong setter, my libero and two outside hitters, and they do a really good job,” said Elo, now in her ninth season as the Onekama coach. “Defensively, I am a coach who pushes a lot of defense – it’s an important part of the game.”
Heading into the conference clincher, Hart was leading the team with 251 kills, McCarthy had 200 and senior middle hitter Leah Gary – also the team leader in blocks – had 101. At 5-foot-9, Gary and McCarthy are the team’s tallest players.
Also prior to the Benzie match, Mauntler had 70 serving aces and 379 digs, both team highs. McCarthy and McKeough are right behind Mauntler in aces, and McKeough leads the team in setting at eight assists per game.
During the sweep of Benzie, McCarthy racked up a 19-point service run and Hart added a 13-point service run. Hart added 16 kills, while Gary chipped in with eight kills and McKeough collected 30 assists in the 25-9, 25-4, 25-4 dominating performance.
“The girls have really good systems play, and they get better all the time,” Elo said. “We are not the tallest team, but these girls get good touches blocking to start our defense and we have people in the back line that are willing to go on the floor if they need to.”
While acknowledging most coaches love their own squads, Elo is quick to say her team is special. She notes her Portagers are fun to watch, and she gets frequent compliments from opponents and their supporters.
“When they get going and get up to speed, they don’t quit,” Elo said. “And they do a good job being great teammates. When you add that all in, it’s a good formula.”
Eight of the team’s 13 rostered players came into the season with previous varsity experience.
District play for the host Portagers will get underway on their home court in early November. Bear Lake, Brethren and Frankfort are the other teams in the District. Frankfort also is a Northwest Conference opponent, and Brethren will join the league next year.
The Portagers have a Quarterfinal appearance on their minds. But if the Portagers get out of the District, Sacred Heart will likely be an obstacle again in the Regional.
Onekama first appeared the rankings Sept. 16. The Irish, on the other hand, have been listed among the top five all season, moving into the top spot this week.
They’ve met once this fall, on Aug. 24, with Sacred Heart winning a two-set match 26-24 and 31-29.
“You’ve always got to look down the road,” Elo said. “We faced Sacred Heart last year in Regional Finals with three freshmen on the team. We lost, but they learned the pressure of those high-profile games.”
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) Onekama players including Elizabeth McKeough (3), Maddie Gunia (10), Hailey Hart (11) and Ava Mauntler (20) huddle during a match. (Middle) Leah Gary (3) works to get the ball past an opposing block. (Below) The Portagers pose for a team photo following their home invitational championship. (Photos courtesy of Meredith McNabb.)
After 2021 Runner-Up Finish, North Branch Ends 2022 Back On Top
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2022
BATTLE CREEK – Natasha Bickel had an up-close look the last time North Branch won a Finals volleyball title. As a ball girl, she was able to watch the Broncos take home a championship at Kellogg Arena.
On Saturday, Bickel got to experience being on the court to win one.
“I remember when I was a ball girl one of the years we won states (2016) and one of the years we didn’t,” Bickel, a senior middle hitter, said. “Except for last year, we haven’t really came this far. Coming back here, being in the Finals and winning it? It put the cherry on top.”
Bickel and the Broncos defeated Cadillac 31-29, 25-18, 25-17 in the Division 2 Final. It was the fourth title for the program, and first since 2016.
“We put a lot into this,” Bickel said. “We’ve poured our lives into this sport. It’s really awesome. This was our goal since we were little. As we were going up every year we were pushing for it, and last year we came so, so close to doing it. We added a freshman and she’s amazing, and everybody is healthy this year. It was just really, really awesome.
North Branch was the Division 2 runner-up a year ago, losing to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in the Final. The Broncos downed the Irish in the Regional Final this year, and didn’t drop a set the rest of the way, sweeping Mount Morris in the Quarterfinal and Grand Rapids South Christian in the Semifinal.
So it may have caught some off guard when Cadillac had some early success Saturday night.
Cadillac had North Branch (53-7) on the ropes quickly, jumping out to a 16-9 lead in the first set and forcing the Broncos to take a pair of timeouts over a five-point span.
Vikings middle hitter Carissa Musta, who stands 6-foot-4, was a major reason for that. She had three straight blocks, four total, and two kills during a 10-point run.
While North Branch scrambled to find a way to hit around her, it struggled to get into its offense, and went down 10 before starting to dig out.
“I just said, keep battling guys, keep battling,” North Branch coach Jim Fish said. “That’s the mark of a good team that they’re not going to give up. We didn’t panic, which was good. That’s a huge comeback.”
When the Broncos did dig out, it led to an epic end of the set. North Branch fought off eight Cadillac set points before finally taking the lead back at 29-28.
Freshman Aubree Deshetsky, who kept the Broncos alive initially with four straight high-pressure serves, had the final three kills of the set to put it away. She had eight kills total in the set.
“Aubree Deshetsky’s a stud,” Fish said. “She’s a stud, she does a lot for our team. We had everybody back, and she forced her way into our lineup. She’s just a great player. She’s going to be heard for the next three years.”
While the first-set defeat could have been a back-breaker for a Cadillac team looking to pull an upset, it did not wilt. The Vikings stood toe-to-toe with the Broncos in the second set, despite playing from behind for nearly all of it.
Cadillac (34-11-4) even tied the set at 18 before Bickel helped North Branch rattle off the final seven points to take it. Bickel had three kills in the final stretch, showing off power and finesse in the process.
The Broncos flexed their muscle in the third set, building a 20-8 lead with eight straight points – seven on Bickel’s serve. Her block then put North Branch a point away, and the match was won on a service error.
“If we could have just gotten one of those set points (in the first set), who knows what would have happened,” Cadillac coach Michelle Brines said. “I was really proud of my team, because I don’t know that people gave us much of a chance at all. And, we just played really tough. We played pretty tough for the first set and a half, then it kind of seemed like we were running out of steam a little bit and they were asserting their will.”
Deshetsky finished with 13 kills and 14 digs for the Broncos, while Clara Gyomory had 12 kills and Bickel had 11. Alana Deshetsky finished with nine kills and 22 digs, Hailey Green had 25 digs and Adrienne Greschaw had 45 assists for the Broncos.
Musta led Cadillac with 16 kills and seven blocks. Brooke Ellens had 23 digs, and Cassie Jenema had 30 assists and 17 digs.
PHOTOS (Top) North Branch celebrates its Division 2 championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) The Broncos’ Adrienne Greschaw (1) sets as Cadillac awaits the kill attempt. (Below) Cadillac’s Carissa Musta (9) powers a hit toward a North Branch block.