Performance: Hudsonville's Kaylee Maat
October 11, 2019
Kaylee Maat
Hudsonville senior – Volleyball
The fourth-year varsity setter had 35 assists – including the 4,000th of her high school career – to lead the No. 2-ranked Eagles past No. 9 Grand Haven 3-1 in a matchup of top Division 1 teams, earning the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.” Maat became the 12th Michigan athlete to surpass that 4,000 milestone, and with 4,183 she’s up to seventh in state history for career assists since the introduction of rally scoring during the 2004-05 season.
Maat is averaging 7.6 assists per game this season and also has 22 aces for a Hudsonville team that is 36-2 as it pursues its first MHSAA championship in this sport. Two days before the Grand Haven match, Maat and the Eagles got past Division 2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 3-2 to avenge its most recent of two defeats this fall. (Hudsonville also has twice avenged its first loss of this season, to Division 1 No. 3 Lowell). In addition to joining the varsity lineup as a freshman, Maat is a three-time team captain and earned all-state honorable mention last season to go with a number of other accolades during her career.
After growing up playing softball as well, Maat turned her full athletic attention to volleyball in high school and has helped the Eagles to District titles the last two seasons. She also carries a 3.3 grade-point average and will continue her academic and athletic careers at Ferris State University, where she plans to study sports communications in pursuit of a career in event planning for a sports franchise or athletic program.
Coach Teresa VanDerSchaaf said: “It has been a true honor to coach Kaylee over the last four years. She has developed into such an amazing leader that genuinely cares for her teammates and their success. She shares credit with her team and loves watching them succeed. Kaylee has time and time again stepped up in big matches as well as stepped up in leadership roles. She handles pressure situations really well. We place a lot of ownership on our captains, and for Kaylee to rise to that opportunity and care about her development, as well as her team’s, is something that is so amazing to see.”
Performance Point: “I've put a lot of work in. But my team gives so much back to me, whether it be feedback or great passes; it comes mostly from them,” Maat said. “I had kind of an idea (I was close to 4,000). Some of my favorite teachers were chirping about it, but I didn't know exactly where I was at. I think it's a milestone. … It's something I've been striving for for a while.”
A better way: “When I was a freshman, I was kind of a hot head. … That comes from just being super passionate about what I do. I want to win in everything that I do in life, whether it's in school – like I want to beat someone else out for a better grade – I'm always competitive about everything, and that's kinda where that came from. But it's directed in a better way now that I've grown up. Learning not everyone responds well to someone jumping in their shoes about something – through the coaches, through Hudsonville, I've learned that.”
Learning to lead: “When I was a sophomore, we went through a leadership book, all the different keys of leadership, and I think I really bought into that and every aspect of it. My sophomore year, I really grew that year because of going through that with my coaches and the other captains. … At the beginning of the year, it’s always a little rocky getting to know the new girls and talking about seeing how people respond to different things – that’s always something to learn. Always giving other people what they want is my top priority.”
More than a game: “I've gained so many friendships through (volleyball). Like yeah, we all love the game, but the relationships you gain through it is what I feel keeps everyone together and supporting each other. That's what I love – the game brings so many people together. Through high school, in my community, and other high schools, and during club I've met a lot of girls from different states. They're people that are exactly like me and love what they do every day.
Creative outlet: “I've always been super-organized – that's my thing – and creating stuff. I've always been into crafts, like when I was a kid I was always making something with my dad outside or in the kitchen with my mom or doing something fun with papers and crafts with my grandma. In my free time, I do a lot of journaling. … Writing all this stuff down in a creative way helps me process all of this stuff.”
– Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Past honorees
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudsonville setter Kaylee Maat (5) celebrates with her teammates. (Middle) Maat, in her fourth season starting for the Eagles' varsity, sets for one her team's hitters. (Photos by Robert McCulfor Photography.)
Pioneers Conquer Title Territory
November 23, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – The East Grand Rapids High School trophy case is so full, it’s reserved for awards celebrating only those teams that win MHSAA championships.
There are more than 120 trophies already in the case. And the Pioneers’ volleyball team finally can claim a spot among them.
In what was nearly the closest a three-set match could go, East Grand Rapids claimed its first MHSAA title by edging Bloomfield Hills Marian 25-22, 25-22, 25-20 in the Class A Final on Saturday at Kellogg Arena.
The Pioneers twice had made MHSAA Semifinals – in Class B in both 2010 and 2011 – and then last season, when seemingly on the verge, moved into Class A. But instead of being disappointed, East Grand Rapids relished the new opportunity.
“Moving to Class A, a lot of people didn’t expect a lot from us. A lot of people took the scary, ‘Oooohh, you’re going to Class A.’ But we didn’t take it as scary at all. We embraced it,” Pioneers outside hitter Caroline Knooihuizen said.
“Knowing we were even going to states, we had made history. But the job wasn’t done yet. ... It’s just crazy knowing we added on to our state championships at our school. It wasn’t any other trophy; it was our first volleyball championship.”
East Grand Rapids entered the tournament ranked No. 8 in Class A and finished 50-5-3. The Pioneers beat No. 4 Rockford and No. 6 Northville on the way to Saturday before surviving repeated challenges from No. 3 Marian, which finished 50-16 after advancing to its first championship game since 2010.
Coach Christine Grunewald also improved her career record this weekend to 351-60-4, and had plenty of experience to draw upon in bringing the Pioneers back to Battle Creek – she not only coached the second of those Semifinal teams but Lakewood’s winter 2007 semifinalist as well.
And it couldn't have hurt that East Grand Rapids had faced, and swept, Marian in a tournament match this fall.
“I think this whole year has been a little bit different in our approach. We’re really focusing on controlling the volleyball when it’s on our side of the net, becoming really skilled at the out-of-system ball ... and I think we did a really good job this year on doing that,” Grunewald said.
“We wanted to be the best defensive team in the state, and I think we are, and I think we’ve proven that. We have a few big girls, but the rest of us are just scrappy. That was one of our goals, to be the best defensive team and wear those other big teams out.”
Aside from the first point in the first set, East Grand Rapids never trailed in that game or the third. The Pioneers did get down five points midway through the second set before outscoring Marian 10-4 to turn the game’s direction in their favor.
It’s no coincidence the team’s three statistical leaders were seniors. Knooihuizen led East Grand Rapids with 15 kills to go with nine digs, and Miss Volleyball finalist Maeve McDonald had 27 assists, eight kills, 13 digs and three blocks. Senior Jordan Clappison added nine kills. Together, they kept the ship steady.
“They stayed in the moment. They didn’t get ahead of themselves,” Grunewald said. “And when we needed some big plays from other players, they did it. And I just can’t believe we’re here in three.”
The Mustangs also were keyed by their set of experienced leaders – senior hitter Jessie Kopmeyer had 10 kills and seven digs and senior hitter Paige Carey added seven kills.
But they were two of only four seniors, and the majority of the team’s other top contributors Saturday should be back in 2014 – including junior setter Meghan Cotant (26 assists, 11 digs), junior hitter Alannah Barash (seven kills, seven digs) and sophomore libero Delaney Backonen (18 digs).
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids players celebrate their first MHSAA volleyball championship at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Marian’s Alannah Barash prepares to smash a potential kill Saturday. (Below) East Grand Rapids libero Jamie Wolffis connects on one of her 14 digs in the Final.