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Preview: Mix of Familiar and Hopeful
November 16, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three reigning champions will return to MHSAA Volleyball Finals weekend beginning Thursday at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena. Also making the trip are eight teams that have never won an MHSAA title.
And it's guaranteed at least one of those hopefuls will get the chance, as Class C semifinalists Brown City and Adrian Madison open the final three days of this season in a match to determine which will play for a championship Saturday for the first time.
Click for the schedule in full plus information on live broadcasts of all 12 matches on MHSAA.tv and MHSAANetwork.com. Below is a glance at all 16 contenders, with statistics through last week's Regional Finals.
Class A
FENTON
Record/rank: 46-5-3, unranked
Coach: Jerry Eisinger, third season (124-32-16)
League finish: First in Flint Metro League.
Championship history: Three runner-up finishes (most recent 1992).
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 2 Clarkston in the Regional Final, 3-2 over No. 10 Utica Eisenhower in the Regional Semifinal, 2-0 and 2-0 over Class B No. 10 Frankenmuth, 2-0 over Class C No. 6 Brown City.
Players to watch: Kiley Aldred, 5-6 sr. S (1,132 assists, 381 digs); Jessica Warford, 5-11 sr. OH (640 kills, .320 hitting %, 403 digs); Chloe Idoni, 5-11 soph. OH (433 kills, .390 hitting %, 107 blocks, 64 aces).
Finals forecast: Fenton has been building toward this during Eisinger’s three seasons, adding a second league and third District title during his tenure this fall. Fenton opened 10-1 and never really slowed down; the Tigers also went 4-1 against Class B honorable mention Goodrich and have won 11 straight – highlighted by the upset-filled Regional title run. This will be their first Semifinal appearance since 1992. Warford and senior defensive specialist Taylor Mowery (566 digs this season) were all-region picks a year ago and are two of senior seniors.
NOVI
Record/rank: 52-1, No. 1
Coach: Jennifer Cottrill, fifth season (230-21-2)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Central, Kensington and overall.
Championship history: Class A champion 2015, runner-up 2014.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 7 Farmington Hills Mercy in the Regional Final, 3-0 over honorable mention Bloomfield Hills Marian in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 (District Final), 2-1, 3-0, 3-0 over No. 6 Northville; 2-0 over No. 9 Grand Haven, 2-1 and 3-0 over Class B No. 3 North Branch.
Players to watch: Erin O’Leary, 5-10 jr. S (1,305 assists, 209 kills, .472 hitting %, 70 aces, 363 digs); Ally Cummings, 5-11 sr. RS (418 kills, .348 hitting %, 54 blocks, 302 digs); Abryanna Cannon, 6-1 jr. OH (403 kills, .388 hitting %, 65 aces, 387 digs).
Finals forecast: The reigning champion Wildcats are an incredible 157-10 over the last three seasons, with their only loss this fall to No. 2 Clarkston. Cummings was a finalist for the Miss Volleyball Award, and O’Leary no doubt will be a heavy favorite next season and is nationally-renowned for her age group. Novi’s run this fall also has included multiple wins over Class A honorable mentions Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and one each over honorable mentions Saline, Macomb Dakota and Class D No. 1 Plymouth Christian. The Wildcats have given up only six sets in 53 matches, and more than one only in that 2-1 loss to the Wolves. Junior libero Claire Pinkerton (555 digs this season) joined all-state first-team O’Leary and second-teamer Cummings with all-region honors a year ago.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 47-8-1, No. 5
Coach: Kelly Delacher, 12th season (461-217-12)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red.
Championship history: Class A champion 2011.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 4 Portage Central in the Quarterfinal, 3-2 (Regional Final), 3-1, 3-0, 2-0 over No. 9 Grand Haven; 3-0 over honorable mention Lowell in the District Final, 3-0 over No. 6 Northville, 3-0 over No. 8 Grand Rapids Christian, 2-0 over Class B No. 1 Lake Odessa Lakewood, 2-0 over Class B No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Players to watch: Hailey Delacher, 5-5 jr. S (1,489 assists, 261 digs); Kendra DeJonge, 5-11 sr. OH (445 kills, 62 aces, 277 digs); Cassandra Smigiel, 6-0 sr. MH (314 kills, .320 hitting %, 70 blocks).
Finals forecast: The Rams played many of the best across the Lower Peninsula, defeating Portage Central on Tuesday after falling twice to the Mustangs during the regular season. This fall’s run also has included two wins over Class B No. 8 Grand Rapids South Christian, another over Class B No. 7 Cadillac, one each over Class A or B honorable mentions Richland Gull Lake, Ada Forest Hills Eastern and Fruitport, and an early-season 2-0 over Temperance Bedford. Hailey Delacher made the all-state second team last season, DeJonge earned honorable mention, and now-junior middle Olivia Rademacher (274 kills 75 blocks this season) joined them as all-region. Junior Sara Majerle is another big hitter with 435 kills plus 266 digs and 65 aces this fall.
TEMPERANCE BEDFORD
Record/rank: 56-13-3, unranked
Coach: Jodi Manore, 32nd season (1,927-325-55)
League finish: Second in Southeastern Conference.
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2005), five runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-2 (Regional Final) and 3-2 over honorable mention Saline, 3-0 over Class B No. 7 Cadillac, 2-0 over Class C No. 6 Brown City, 2-0 over Class B No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2-0 over Class B No. 6 Battle Creek Harper Creek.
Players to watch: Heidi Fausze, 5-11 jr. OH (468 kills, .350 hitting %, 96 aces); Erika Wilt, 5-9 sr. OH (435 kills, .373 hitting %, 506 digs); Levi Lennard, 5-9 soph. S (1,400 assists, 259 digs).
Finals forecast: The Kicking Mules have won 14 of their last 15 matches as they travel to their fourth Semifinal over the last six seasons. Manore is the state’s winningest volleyball coach all-time, and as evidenced by the program’s 23-0 record in Quarterfinals, few know better how to win at this stage. Wilt and now-senior libero Taylor Haberland (1,065 digs, 65 aces this fall) were all-region selections a year ago, and they and those also mentioned above have plenty of help. Four others in addition to Fausze and Wilt also have at least 150 kills this season, with 5-10 junior middle Mackenzie Fuleky hitting at a .426 clip with 96 blocks and seniors Jaycie Harris and Brynn Duvall combining for 504 kills and 141 blocks.
Class B
BUCHANAN
Record/rank: 49-6, No. 5
Coach: Lisa Holok, 13th season (501-183)
League finish: First in Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red.
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1991.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 9 Grant in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 (Regional Semifinal) and 2-0 over No. 6 Battle Creek Harper Creek, 2-0 over Class C No. 2 Bronson, 2-0 over Temperance Bedford, 3-2 over Class D No. 2 Mendon.
Players to watch: Franki Strefling, 5-10 sr. OH (351 kills, 214 digs); Britta Mollberg, 5-7 sr. S (356 digs), Alex Tobler, 5-9 sr. OH (588 kills, 349 digs).
Finals forecast: Buchanan vanquished annual nemesis Harper Creek during the Regional and has made the Semifinals for the first time ever in Class B – its previous two trips were in Class C in 1991 and 1978. The Bucks also have shined despite losing Eastern Michigan-bound and 2015 all-state third-teamer Strefling with an injury for part of the season; she’s back and heads a seven-player senior class that has been part of three league and three District titles. Mollberg and senior libero Taylor Strauss (432 digs this fall) also made all-region last season, and 6-0 middle Liz Kuntz had added 313 kills and a team-high 131 blocks entering the week.
CADILLAC
Record/rank: 50-7-2, No. 7
Coach: Michelle Brines, 17th season (705-204-37)
League finish: First in Big North Conference.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-1 (Quarterfinal) and 2-1 over honorable mention Corunna, 2-0 over No. 9 Grant, 2-1 over No. 10 Frankenmuth, 2-0 over Class C No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis, 2-1 and 2-1 over Temperance Bedford.
Players to watch: Kylie Christensen, 6-1 sr. MH (589 kills, .400 hitting %, 141 blocks, 358 digs); Ali Finch, 6-1 sr. S (1,123 assists, 330 kills, 416 digs, 95 blocks, 74 aces); Gabby Kapuscinski, 5-9 jr. OH (283 kills, 472 digs).
Finals forecast: This final week has become almost an annual part of Cadillac’s season, as the Vikings played Tuesday in a Quarterfinal for the eighth straight season and advanced to the Semifinals for the first time since 2013. They also won their 11th District title in a row, and Corunna’s one set win was the first given up by Cadillac in its last 12 matches this fall. Four seniors anchor a mostly-veteran lineup that also features a freshman; Christensen and Finch made the all-state second team last season and Kapuscinski joined them as all-region.
LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
Record/rank: 53-5, No. 1
Coach: Kellie Rowland, 21st season (980-148-5)
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Championship history: Class B champion 2012, two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 2-0 over No. 8 Grand Rapids South Christian, 2-0 over honorable mention Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 2-0 over Class A No. 4 Portage Central, 2-0 over Class A No. 5 Rockford, 2-1 over Class A No. 8 Grand Rapids Christian, 2-0 over Class A honorable mention Richland Gull Lake.
Players to watch: Gabie Shellenbarger, 5-6 sr. S (1,339 assists, 106 blocks, 306 digs, 75 aces); Breanna Wickerink, 5-9 jr. MB (563 kills, .465 hitting %, 143 blocks); Lisa Hewitt, 5-10 jr. MB (132 kills, 124 blocks).
Finals forecast: The Vikings are back in the Semifinals for the third time in five seasons with six players back who saw time during the 2014 championship match loss to North Branch and a seventh who was injured earlier in that run; Shellenbarger, Hewitt and senior right-side hitter Rebecca Kutch started in that Final. Shellenbarger made the all-state first team last season (Hewitt made all-region with her) and sets for five hitters who have at least 130 kills. Kutch adds 157, 321 digs and 79 aces, and junior Alivia Benedict has tallied 373 kills with a .345 hitting percentage. In addition to wins mentioned above, Lakewood swept Class D No. 2 Mendon, No. 4 Lansing Christian and Class C No. 9 Laingsburg.
NORTH BRANCH
Record/rank: 56-9, No. 3
Coach: Jim Fish, 17th season (974-161-46)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference East.
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-1 over No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in the Regional Semifinal, 3-0, 2-0 and 2-0 over honorable mention Goodrich in the Regional Final, 2-0 over No. 7 Cadillac, 3-0 over No. 10 Frankenmuth, 3-0 over honorable mention Corunna, 2-0 over honorable mention Marysville, 2-0 over Class A No. 2 Clarkton, 2-1 over Class A No. 6 Northville, 2-1 and 2-1 over Class A honorable mention Lake Orion.
Players to watch: Olivia Fike, 6-1 sr. OH/MH (528 kills, .362 hitting %, 96 blocks); Madee Miner, 5-8 sr. S (1,170 assists, 150 kills, 116 aces, 282 digs); Allyson Severance, 6-1 soph. OH (227 kills, 234 digs).
Finals forecast: Four of six starters are back from last season’s Class B runner-up team, and Fike and Miner also started in the 2014 championship match win. Fike and Severance made the all-state first team last season and Miner made the second team, while sophomore hitter Reese Ruhlman joined them as all-region. Junior right-side hitter Janel Ruhlman has become a big contributor this season with 328 kills, second most on the team. Another tough schedule has the Broncos ready for the weekend; in addition to the wins above, North Branch also downed Class A honorable mention Lowell, Class C No. 6 Brown City twice and Class D No. 1 Plymouth Christian, plus Class A semifinalist Fenton.
Class C
ADRIAN MADISON
Record/rank: 57-3-2, unranked
Coach: Dawn Opsal, 19th season (561-254-82)
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 1 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in the Regional Final, 2-0 over Class D honorable mention Pittsford, 2-0 over Class D honorable mention Camden-Frontier.
Players to watch: Courtney Benschoter, sr. OH (523 kills, .349 hitting %, 51 blocks, 402 digs, 76 aces); Kiarah Horn, jr. S (1,470 assists, 279 digs, 75 aces); Ysabela Soto, sr. OH (422 kills, 356 digs, 77 aces)
Finals forecast: Madison cruised through the regular season, giving up only 13 sets. And the Trojans have made that dominance stand up in the tournament as well, giving up three sets over six matches while eliminating the top-ranked Kestrels. Benschoter and Soto were all-region picks last year and join sophomore Kaiya Wall (496 kills, .322 hitting percentage, 67 blocks) for a formidable group of hitters. Middle Amia Benson gives the team a third senior starter, but she, Benschoter and Soto are the team’s only spring graduates.
BRONSON
Record/rank: 48-9-6, No. 2
Coach: Jean LaClair, 16th season (744-273-62)
League finish: First in Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Blue.
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 9 Laingsburg in the Quarterfinal, 3-0 (Regional Final) and 2-1 over No. 8 Kalamazoo Christian, 2-1 over No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis, 2-0 over honorable mention Grand Rapids Covenant Christian, 3-0 and 3-1 over Class D No. 2 Mendon, 3-0 over Class B No. 5 Buchanan.
Players to watch: Jill Pyles, 5-10 sr. MH (363 kills, .331 hitting %, 100 aces, 141 blocks); Allison Sikorski, 5-9 sr. OH (409 kills, 60 aces, 450 digs); Kiana Mayer, 5-11 jr. S (1,435 assists, 93 aces, 175 kills, 115 blocks, 305 digs).
Finals forecast: Pyles, Sikorski and Mayer (as an outside hitter) all started on the team that swept Monroe St. Mary in last season’s championship match, as did now-sophomore middle Ashton Wronikowski (202 kills, 114 blocks this season). Also, now-sophomore Kiera Lasky was an all-region libero as Pyles made the all-state first team and Sikorski made the second. LaClair is one of the state’s all-time winningest coaches with 1,063 victories over three stops and 22 seasons, and her team is unbeaten over its last 20 matches (18-0-2).
BROWN CITY
Record/rank: 44-9-5, No. 6
Coach: Jenna Welke, fourth season (144-42-18)
League finish: First in Greater Thumb Conference East.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 4 New Lothrop in the Quarterfinal, 2-1 and 2-0 over Class B honorable mention Marysville, 2-0 and 2-0 over Class B honorable mention Croswell-Lexington, 2-0 over Class D No. 6 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian.
Players to watch: Becki Krause, sr. OH (586 kills, .326 hitting %, 83 aces, 108 blocks, 466 digs); Breigha Donnelly, sr. RS (210 kills, 106 blocks, 398 digs, 66 aces); Alexia Mason, sr. S (1,006 assists, 105 aces, 401 digs, 89 blocks).
Finals forecast: After making the Semifinals last season for the first time, Brown City is back with three starters from the team that fell in five sets to eventual runner-up Monroe St. Mary. Sophomore outside hitter Kendal Muxlow (266 kills, 106 aces, 79 blocks this season) joined Krause and Mason in the lineup, while now-junior libero Jasmin Bender (553 digs in 2016) rotated in off the bench. Brown City advanced this time by coming back from a 2-0 deficit to Shelby in the Quarterfinal; those two sets were the first the Green Devils had given up this postseason. Krause made the all-state second team and Mason was an honorable mention last fall.
CALUMET
Record/rank: 40-10, honorable mention
Coach: Lisa Twardzik, 20th season (625-131-43)
League finish: First in Western Peninsula Athletic Conference.
Championship history: Class C runner-up 2008.
Best wins: 3-1 over No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 over honorable mention Rudyard in the Regional Final, 2-1 over Class D honorable mention Suttons Bay, 2-1 over Class D honorable mention Rogers City.
Players to watch: Anna Johnson, 5-6 sr. S (163 aces, 285 digs); Hailey Wickstrom, 6-3 sr. RS (595 kills, 182 digs, 55 blocks); Lea Bjorn, 5-9 jr. OH (264 kills, 243 digs).
Finals forecast: After four straight Quarterfinal misses, Calumet avenged last season’s loss to St. Francis by winning to advance this time. Wickstrom was an all-state honorable mention a year ago and Johnson joined her as all-region; together they lead a team that has won 28 of its last 29 matches since also falling to St. Francis 2-0 midseason. The Copper Kings have given up only three sets during the postseason and over the closing run also avenged previous losses this fall to rivals Hancock and Houghton.
Class D
AUBURN HILLS OAKLAND CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 42-4-5, No. 6
Coach: Priscilla Larned, 32nd season (988-458-81)
League finish: Tied for first in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 1 Plymouth Christian, 2-0 over honorable mention Brighton Charyl Stockwell, 3-1 over Portland St. Patrick in the Quarterfinal.
Players to watch: Samantha Morse, sr. S (1,070 assists, 282 digs); Alexandra Gudobba, sr. OH (502 kills, .378 hitting %, 92 aces, 481 digs); Starr Sumner, sr. MH (317 kills, .392 hitting %, 93 aces, 66 blocks).
Finals forecast: Oakland Christian is back in the Semifinals for the fifth time and first time since 2013. The set given up to St. Patrick was the only set lost by the Lancers this postseason. The team’s 42 wins also are their most under longtime coach Larned since 2009. Oakland Christian has seven seniors, and six start; outside hitter Marisa Mingle had added 306 kills, 116 aces and 426 digs heading this week.
LELAND
Record/rank: 42-10-4, No. 3
Coach: Laurie Glass, 22nd season (871-258-87)
League finish: Second in Northwest Conference.
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 9 Fife Lake Forest Area in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 (District opener), 3-0 and 3-0 over honorable mention Suttons Bay; 2-0 over honorable mention Camden-Frontier, 2-0 over Class B honorable mention Saginaw Swan Valley, 2-0 over Class C honorable mention Calumet, 2-0 over Class C No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis.
Players to watch: Allie Martin, 5-7 sophomore OH (534 kills, 114 aces, 479 digs); Ella Siddall, 5-4, soph. S (1,100 assists, 63 aces); Rowan Wilson, 5-7 jr. OPP (373 kills, 475 digs).
Finals forecast: Leland broke Battle Creek St. Philip’s nine-season hold on the Class D title last fall and proceeded to graduate three all-state hitters. But the Comets also had two starring freshmen in 2015, and Siddall is back after making the all-state first team while Martin made the second and senior libero Julie Bardenhagen (514 digs this fall) earned honorable mention. Tuesday’s win was the 1,000th for Glass, who also has coached at Traverse City Central, and it moved Leland’s record against Class D teams to 18-0 this season. Her team played at least 11 matches against teams from every class and finished with a winning record against all four.
PLYMOUTH CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 33-11-1, No. 1
Coach: DJ Kellogg, second season (69-16-4)
League finish: Tied for first in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue
Championship history: Class D runner-up 2010.
Best wins: 3-1 over No. 2 Mendon in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 over No. 4 Lansing Christian in the Regional Final, 3-0 over No. 10 North Adams-Jerome in the Regional Semifinal, 3-1 over No. 6 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 2-1 over Class B No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2-0 over Class C No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis.
Players to watch: Grace Kellogg, 5-9 jr. OH/DS (403 kills, 331 digs); Gabriella Kellogg, 5-9 fr. MB (241 kills, .327 hitting %) Jessica Paulson, 5-10 sr. S (724 assists).
Finals forecast: Plymouth Christian makes the trip to Kellogg as the top-ranked team in Class D for the second season in a row and with six of the seven players who saw action in last season’s Semifinal loss. The Eagles have certainly justified their top ranking, and prepped by playing a number of bigger schools – 10 of their 11 losses were to Class A and B teams, including the top two ranked teams in Class A at the end of the regular season.
ROGERS CITY
Record/rank: 35-10-1, honorable mention
Coach: Jackie Quaine, ninth season (297-101-34)
League finish: First in North Star League Big Dipper.
Championship history: Lower Peninsula Class C champion 1988, runner-up 1987.
Best wins: 3-1 over honorable mention Crystal Falls Forest Park in the Quarterfinal, 3-0 over No. 7 DeTour in the Regional Semifinal, 3-0 (District Semifinal) and 3-0 over No. 5 Onaway.
Players to watch: Taylor Fleming, 5-11 soph. MH (360 kills, 104 blocks); Erika Peacock, 5-2 sr. S (322 assists, 62 aces, 138 digs); Kayla Rabeau, 5-7 jr. MH (252 kills, 99 aces, 366 digs).
Finals forecast: Rogers City is at the Semifinals for the first time since playing in Class C in 2003. The Hurons have lost only one set during the postseason, against Forest Park. That broke a 10-match sweep streak, and total the team has won 20 straight. Four seniors start; Peacock is joined by defensive specialist Mary Brege and outside hitters Hannah Dittmar and Saige Wagner.
PHOTO: Cadillac's Ali Finch (5) sets up a teammate during Tuesday's Quarterfinal win over Corunna. (Click for more from Varsity Monthly.)
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Marysville, Fruitport Wage 8-Year War
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
October 30, 2019
The history of girls volleyball in Michigan is filled with stalwarts, streaks and change.
Battle Creek St. Philip appeared in the MHSAA Finals on 28 occasions between 1977 and 2015 and won 20 titles, including nine consecutive between 2007 and 2014. Portage Northern made 12 trips to the Finals during a span of 20 years, and won 10 titles. Little Brimley High School in the Upper Peninsula won eight titles in 10 visits, including five consecutive U.P. Open Class titles between 1981 and 1985 and seven of eight between 1981 and 1988 during the days when championships were awarded in both Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
Certainly, one of the most captivating streaks was Marysville’s between 1997 and 2006. The Vikings, guided by coach John Knuth, won nine Class B titles during that 10-year span as the MHSAA championships morphed into a unified tournament beginning in 2000, with singular Finals titles awarded by enrollment class.
An interesting byproduct that developed during the string of Marysville titles was an enthralling and unexpected east side/west side rivalry with Fruitport. It featured head coaches that, from the perspective of a spectator, appeared vastly different. Separated in birth by nearly two decades, the two men in reality shared very similar approaches in developing athletic programs that altered the landscape at their respective school districts.
Building a dynasty
“The team has a lot to learn,” said John Knuth to the Port Huron Times Herald in 1985 when he was announced as the latest Marysville volleyball coach. “I’m the fourth coach in four years, and we are just starting to build a program.”
An outstanding halfback at Marysville for one of Michigan’s celebrated football coaches, Walt Braun, Knuth was recipient of the McPherson Award as a senior in the fall of 1968, given to the team’s MVP. He was captain of the basketball team and a high jumper for the track team. He returned to Marysville after graduating from Central Michigan University in 1974 to teach elementary physical education and later, health. Knuth’s father died when he was 7. Braun had a big influence on his life, and Knuth would assist his coach with track, then with football for 22 years. In time, he would also coach ninth-grade football, junior varsity boys basketball and varsity girls basketball.
“I really wanted to be a (varsity) basketball coach,” he told the Times Herald in 1994, but after 10 years as the JV (boys) coach he didn’t see an opportunity opening up. After watching the turnover with the volleyball program, he took the position. Like many schools around the state, Marysville added girls volleyball to its roster of MHSAA-sanctioned activities with a junior varsity team in 1974 and a varsity squad in 1975 following the arrival of Title IX.
“I put a lot of time and energy into learning the game,” Knuth said. “When I started, I wasn’t very knowledgeable. I enjoyed the game; I liked the team aspect. I went to clinics, and I read a lot. I tried to learn every chance I could get.”
In 1987, he added an eighth-grade team to the mix, coaching the team himself. As is common with football, he studied film from the team’s matches. He saw potential. His focus was on team, discipline, detail, defense, and attitude. His vision was on the moment – the here and now – and having fun. The players responded.
During the winter of 1990, the Vikings made their first run at the MHSAA Class B title, earning their first ever Regional championship but falling to Fenton 15-13 and 15-11 in the Quarterfinals. By 1992, Marysville had won 44 straight St. Clair Area League matches dating back to 1988, captured three consecutive league championships and advanced to the MHSAA Semifinals. In 1993, the team played in its first state championship match, falling to Comstock in three games. Coach Jeff Borr’s Comstock teams were winners of six Class B titles in eight years between 1986 and 1993.
Marysville’s conference win streak had grown to 72 in a row and six straight SCAL titles in 1994, but the Vikings lost to eventual Class B champion Holland Christian in the Quarterfinals. Lindsey Clayton, one of 11 all-state players turned out by Knuth’s volleyball program during his first 10 years at the wheel, finished her prep career second in the state in kills and earned a full-ride athletic scholarship to Michigan State.
After missing the final rounds in 1995, the Vikings were back in the Semifinals in 1996, but again were eliminated by eventual champion Comstock.
The 1997 season marked the school’s first volleyball championship and, fittingly, they finished the season with a flawless 57-0 mark.
“Charlotte (62-8-2) bolted to a 5-0 lead in the first game and led 7-1 in the second game,” stated Ted Kulfan, covering the contests for the Detroit News. “But Marysville rallied both times. With the match 10-10 in the first game, 5-0 senior Michelle Pionk served five consecutive points to put the game away for Marysville. In the second game, the Vikings rallied from an 11-10 deficit with (Jennie) Williams dominating the net.”
A three-time all-state senior, Williams, who would later attend Purdue, slammed home the winning kill in the second contest, a 15-12 win.
Marysville again finished the year undefeated and repeated as ‘B’ champion in 1998, thumping Pinconning (79-5-1) in two games in the title match.
East vs. West
Fruitport’s first taste of the final rounds of the MHSAA girls volleyball tournament occurred in 1998. The Trojans were defeated by Pinconning 15-10, 15-8 in the Quarterfinal round, but the team was back in pursuit the following winter posting its best-ever season with a trip to the semis. Not surprisingly, the Trojans ran into Marysville.
“It has taken coach Dan Potts a long time to lead the Trojans to such prosperity,” wrote Bill Roose in the Detroit Free Press prior to the 1999 MHSAA tournament.
“‘We were 5-20 in that first season,’ said Potts, in his eighth year. ‘But we’ve had steady improvement ever since. This is the fifth year in a row with a winning season.’“
The two schools had first met just prior to the start of the tournament. After Fruitport’s fine showing in the East Kentwood Invitational in late January, the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA) had the Trojans ranked No. 1 in Class B with Marysville at No. 2 before the two teams squared off in the final round of the 32-team University of Michigan-Dearborn Invitational – a final test before MHSAA District play kicked off.
“‘We felt we were on top of our game when we played Marysville,’ said Fruitport senior Jen Brink about the dose of reality the Trojans received in the championship match. The Vikings blasted Fruitport, 15-9, 15-6. ‘We didn’t realize the potential that they have. … Now we understand the emotional state that it will take to beat Marysville. … Now we’re prepared for it.’”
As hoped, the two schools met again in the Semifinals of the postseason.
“Our Regional was very tough,” said Knuth to the Times Herald. “The Quarterfinals were not quite as tough … but (Friday’s match with Fruitport) will be war.”
“It’s hard to say how we’ll do,” said Potts. “They handed us a pretty resounding loss.”
A 15-4 win over Marysville in Game 1 of the Class B Semifinals exemplified the learning curve and work put in by Fruitport in becoming a west side power in volleyball. Dramatically, Marysville grabbed the next two games, 15-10 and 15-9, illustrating to Potts that there was still work to be done. Despite playing 80 contests that season and posting an impressive 72-8 mark, Fruitport had fallen short of its goal.
“It was a scare,” said Vikings 5-foot-11 junior middle hitter, Kristen Fenton, to the Free Press. “They wanted to win that first one more than we did; they really came after us.” A three-time first-team all-state player, Fenton would later compete collegiately at Fresno State and with the U.S. National Team that won bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games, then return home to coach Marysville.
With a 15-5, 15-0 victory over Stevensville Lakeshore in the championship match, Marysville clinched its third consecutive crown and completed a third straight undefeated season (58-0).
It’s a three-hour trip between Marysville and Fruitport geographically, so without the MHSAA tournament, it’s unlikely the rivalry between the two high schools would have occurred naturally. Marysville continued to roll. The top-ranked Vikings had upped their consecutive match victories state record to 192 before falling to Flint Carman-Ainsworth in mid-January of 2000 at a tournament in Birch Run. Still the top-ranked team in Class B at the end of February, the Vikings blew-out third-ranked Fruitport in the final of the annual U of M-Dearborn Invitational, 15-4, 15-6.
In the postseason, Fruitport fell in the Regional Semifinals to second-ranked Reed City in two games.
“We prepared (for Reed City) all week but we weren’t able to execute like we wanted.” said Nicole Bayle, a MIVCA all-state outside hitter at Fruitport and later a star at Grand Valley State University, to the Muskegon Chronicle. “That’s the best I’ve seen them play. They’re a solid team.”
Reed City advanced to the Class B championship match, but were defeated by Marysville in convincing fashion, 15-8, 15-0.
Commitment, Intensity and Colorful Enthusiasm
A 1987 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer alumnus, Potts was 23 when he first took over a Fruitport program lacking stability and direction. A recent Michigan State graduate, he had played some club volleyball for the Spartans while in college, but picked up most of his experience as a beach volleyball player along the shore of Lake Michigan. Like Knuth, as a coach he sought knowledge from others and studied the game and the psychology of the female athlete. It was a long road.
With new focus, Fruitport was back in pursuit in 2001.
Prior to the season, many felt Marysville wouldn’t make the return trip to Kalamazoo come tournament time as it had lost several top players to graduation in 2000 – including Fenton and Jennifer Hadden, who would play at Mississippi State. But until the U of M-Dearborn Invitational, it was business as usual. Knuth’s squad entered the invitational championship match with a perfect 54-0 mark. There, sixth-ranked Fruitport shocked Marysville in the final, 15-10, 16-14. In the second game, Fruitport overcame a 10-0 Vikings lead.
“It’s a big win for our program,” Potts told the Chronicle. The loss was Marysville’s first to a Class B school in 286 matches. “We played well as a team all day. … Now we’ll have to see if we can maintain that level of intensity heading into Districts.”
When asked by the Free Press about the possibility of a rematch between the schools in the Class B championship match, Potts was hesitant. “It would be great to get there, but there is a lot of road to cover until then,” he said.
“I think this was a good experience for the girls because they were able to see some very good competition before the (state) tournament,” said Knuth to the Times Herald, after the defeat.
Both Marysville and Fruitport cruised through the 2001 postseason and won impressively at Friday’s Semifinals hosted at Western Michigan University. Fruitport downed No. 2-ranked Dexter, 15-11, 5-15, 15-9 to advance. Marysville topped No. 1 Stevensville-Lakeshore 15-4, 15-8.
Both teams were eager to play each other again, this time with a state title on the line.
“We are glad we are in the finals; we are glad we are playing them, in a rematch,” said Mary Czarnecki, Marysville’s middle hitter. “But truthfully, we are just glad to be in the finals, no matter who we play. No one expected us to get this far. No one thought we were going to be this good.”
“That win earlier in the year told us we can contend with any team in the state,” said Fruitport’s senior setter Holly Punches to the Free Press. “They’re one of the top teams in the state and they haven’t won all those state championships for nothing.”
“The first game was over quickly (14 minutes),” wrote Joanne C. Gerstner in the Detroit News about the title match, “giving Marysville commanding momentum. ‘It got all of us going,’ said Marysville senior hitter Karen Conger (Oakland University). ‘We were all fired up.’”
“I told them it was just one game, forget it,” said Potts to the Chronicle about the 15-2 loss in the opener.
Fruitport rallied to a degree in the second game. But the Vikings, without a go-to player on the roster like in past years, were built around defense and aggressive play. They didn’t let up, and won 15-9.
Like Marysville, Fruitport had been traditionally known as a football school. But things were changing. Hundreds of fans had followed both teams to Kalamazoo.
“It’s great for our program because we took another step,” said Potts, dressed in a bold Hawaiian shirt, “Unfortunately we couldn’t take the next step and win it. I think the players learned a lot from this, though.”
It was a fifth consecutive title for Marysville. Only Cedarville, with six straight titles between 1992 and 1997, had won more in a row.
“I don’t want to say losing makes you better, but our loss to them (at U of M-Dearborn) certainly was a wake-up call,” Knuth said. “We knew we had some things to work on. We knew what their game plan was and prepared for it this time.”
“We’re going to be back here,” stated Potts following the title match. “These girls know that. We had a great season and are not going to hang our heads over this.”
And so it was
For three straight years, the teams battled their way through the regular season and initial rounds of the MHSAA tournament for the right to meet in the final rounds. Each team shed first-team all-conference and all-state players annually with graduation, to be replaced by another round of outstanding athletes. Many would go on to play in college, then in later years give back by coaching the game they loved.
In 2002, Marysville won its 14th consecutive league title, but dropped its first league match in 156 played over nearly 14 years. Knuth, never one to gaze too deeply into past achievements, did comment on the accomplishment to the Times Herald: “I think it’s more amazing than the five consecutive state titles.”
His focus quickly returned to “one-point, one game, one match.”
Before a crowd of 3,675 at Western Michigan University, the Vikings battled to a 15-6, 15-7 win over the Trojans for their sixth Class B title in a row.
“It was a war out there,” commented Knuth to the Times Herald, noting that the score of the second game was not a true indication of its competitiveness. The end of the contest was filled with side-outs, and the Vikings had a real battle on their hands. “They were not going to give up.”
Ashley Feutz, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, finished with 16 kills for Fruitport. Kelly Thomas had 39 assists for Marysville on the day.
In 2003, with the loss of seven to graduation, including three all-staters, the annual question concerning Marysville’s ability to reign again surfaced. During the season, Fraser, a Class A conference opponent, ended the Vikings’ league title streak at 14. But it was the only bump on the road. Of course Knuth had his team ready for the tournament. After dropping the opening game to St. Joseph in the Semifinals, 15-11, Marysville battled to 15-11 and 15-9 victories to advance to the championship match.
Fruitport, with only one senior on the roster, downed Carleton Airport in two games in the semis, setting up a third-straight meeting with Marysville for the Class B marbles.
Again, after dropping the opener to Fruitport, 15-12, the Vikings rallied back to 15-10, 15-7 wins to celebrate their seventh straight championship.
Allison Mattox led Marysville with 20 kills, followed by Megan Harrison – runner-up for the state’s Miss Volleyball Award – with 16. Feutz, now a junior, topped Fruitport with 25 kills.
“They always seem to play very well against us,” said Potts to the media. “They rose to another level. We certainly lost to a good team.”
Interrupted
Once again, Marysville and Fruitport finished the 2004 regular season ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the MIVCA rankings, respectively. However, a tournament rematch was not in the cards that school year.
“… the Vikings need not fret Fruitport – or its coaches, who traditionally don the bold Hawaiian shirts,” trumpeted the Herald-Times in mid-March. “Rival Fruitport, the West Michigan powerhouse and the final victim in Marysville’s last three state championships, is out of the tournament. Upset by No. 8-ranked Whitehall in district action last weekend, the mighty Trojans must now wait at least one year to face their blossoming nemesis again.”
In mid-March, Marysville grabbed its eighth successive title with a win over Carleton Airport.
Perhaps the wait was precisely what was needed. For Fruitport, a year away from the floor at WMU provided perspective.
“I’ve got to tell you guys,” said Potts, “when you get to the finals a couple of years in a row, you can’t wait until March. The regular season means nothing when you’ve got that euphoria.”
The 2004-05 season brought big changes to volleyball in Michigan. The sport moved from side-out scoring, where a team had to serve to earn a point, to rally scoring, where a point is awarded on every serve. The style change meant a move from a best-of-three game format to a best-of five-format. Under the side-out style, games were played to 15 points, with a required margin of victory of at least two points. Under the rally approach, games are played to 25, and then shortened to 15 points if a match requires a fifth game – with a margin of two points still required to win.
Familiarity soon reigned. After a year off, the Semifinal pairing between No. 1 Marysville and No. 2 Fruitport was exactly the match-up volleyball fans craved. Led by senior setter Stephanie Booms, Marysville’s first Miss Volleyball, the Vikings made their 11th straight trip to the Semifinals and their 13th appearance in 14 years. In the first year of rally play, fittingly, it took five games to determine a Semifinal winner. Fruitport dropped the first game, 25-21.
“To be honest,” said Potts, whose team had lost six matches during the regular season, “I had a little bit of a sinking feeling. ‘Aww, man, are we gonna stall like this?’ But I’ll tell you, this team has come back all year long.”
The Trojans rebounded, winning the next two, both 25-19, but dropped the fourth game 25-14. The decisive fifth game saw the margin never exceed three points and was a battle to the end. Tied at 15, the Trojans escaped with a 17-15 win set up by a running save from Fruitport’s Danielle McGrady.
It was Marysville’s first postseason loss since 1996.
Senior outside hitter Lindsey Bayle, a member of the Trojans’ 2002 and 2003 runner-up squads and one of six seniors on the team, had 16 kills and 28 digs to lead Fruitport to victory.
“Half this team is so young that they don’t realize the magnitude of what we just did,” Bayle said to the Free Press. “The seniors know this is something the people will always remember.”
The Trojans’ coaching staff had traded out their Hawaiian attire for blue dress shirts to highlight the blue-collar nature of the 2005 squad. The following night, after dropping their first game to Otsego in the championship match, Fruitport rebounded with three straight victories to win its first state title in any sport.
Return, not revenge
In 2006, the Trojans and Vikings returned to the final rounds. After victories in the Quarterfinals, the teams would meet again in the semis.
For Amanda Kettlewell, Marysville’s senior middle attacker, “it wasn’t about getting back at the Trojans … it was simply about getting back. ‘Who wouldn’t want to play Fruitport – They’re a great team,’ said Kettlewell to the Times Herald, focused, like her coach, on the moment.
Teammate Allison Schlinkert concurred: “We weren’t looking to get revenge or anything like that – what happened last year, happened last year.”
This time, Fruitport won the first game of the Semifinal battle, 25-19. Marysville responded with easy victories in Games 2 and 3. Game 4 was a marathon.
The Trojans held a 24-21 lead after three straight kills by junior Jackie Geile, hoping to even the series. But the Vikings pulled within one, 24-23. A misplaced kill attempt by Fruitport tied the game at 24. Both teams fought off match point multiple times before Marysville emerged the winner, 30-28.
Potts complimented the Vikings’ defense for bouncing back.
“It’s the most amazing feeling,” said Schlinkert. “It’s pretty much everything – the fact that we can now play in the finals, the fact that it was Fruitport, and it’s always a good game every time we play Fruitport. Always. Always.”
Marysville knocked off top-ranked Grand Rapids South Christian for its ninth title in 10 years and final state title under Knuth. It took five games. Kettlewell delivered a championship-clinching kill to seal a 15-11 victory in the decider – delayed by 12 minutes due to a false fire alarm at WMU’s University Arena. The Vikings had won the first two games, and then had to battle back after losing the next two.
“On Cloud Nine” read the headline on Page 1 of the Times Herald on Sunday, March 19, in reference to the achievement.
Marysville again returned to the Class B Quarterfinals the following year, but was vanquished from the final four for the first time since 1994 by Carleton Airport.
“It has been a fabulous season,” said Knuth. “We went above and beyond expectations. “
Change Abounds
Although the changes to scoring and match length detailed above were significant, the most massive switch came in 2007, when volleyball moved from a winter sport to a fall offering.
After guiding the Trojans to the Semifinals six times in eight years, Potts resigned in April following the winter 2007 season.
“I’m not a big fan of switching seasons,” Potts said to the Free Press. “I thought we had it right in Michigan.”
The Fruitport position was filled by one of his assistant coaches and a former player, Nicole Bayle. Under Bayle’s guidance, the Trojans finished as Class B runners-up in the fall of 2008, before winning Class B titles in both 2010 and 2011.
“Fruitport head coach Nicole Bayle and assistant coach Holly (Punches) Hazekamp finally have their elusive state title,” wrote the Chronicle in 2010, “after coming up short as players.”
In August 2008, Knuth stepped down to focus on his athletic director duties at Croswell-Lexington, a position he had accepted in 2002. Paul Levandowski, an assistant with the team over the previous six seasons, stepped into the head coaching role. Knuth totaled 1,129 wins against only 78 losses in 24 years as head coach.
After three seasons away, Knuth returned to the Marysville program in the fall of 2011, co-coaching with Kristen Fenton Michaelis, who had played on his first championship teams. When Knuth suffered a massive heart attack midseason and couldn’t return, she took the reins and guided the Vikings back to the Semifinals. Michaelis led the team for three seasons before moving on to coach at the college level.
Adding to Knuth’s Vikings legacy, the Kettlewell sisters – Randi Jakubiak Kaufmann, a 1999 graduate, and Amanda Busch, a 2006 alumnus – were hired to co-coach the team in 2016. Each had won three Class B titles while playing at Marysville.
“There was a new player in town, and it was volleyball”
Lindsey Clayton Brown, now residing on the west side of the state, recently recalled her time playing for Knuth at Marysville.
“He was very well-grounded. We had to focus and prepare. He is a motivator – he was able to get so much buy-in,” she said. “He had a community of volunteer volleyball assistants who would scout opponents (during the tournament). We’d get reports that rivaled what I got at a Big Ten school.
“Mr. Knuth was doing visualizations. He’d tell us, ‘Bring your pillows for this.’ We would lie on the ground for a half hour. They’d turn off the lights. ‘You’re getting to the game. You’re getting your ankles taped.’ It seemed so far advanced. It really, really helped.
“It was truly fun. He could push you far enough. We wanted to perform for him. … He was a ham. He had a bunch of – they call them Dad jokes today. He was lighthearted, but it could get very serious very quickly. You wanted to ride in his van. He is a charismatic individual, and you wanted to be around him. He wanted to win but was humble, and he shared winning. And everyone on the team was a part of it.”
The accomplishments of both squads in victory and defeat, the tireless efforts of both Knuth and Potts and the volleyball communities they created, pressed forward respect and equality for the female athlete.
“Our success helped push that … a little faster. I don’t think that we ever had to go backwards,” added Brown, reflecting on the accomplishments. “I don’t think you could.”
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marysville's Ashley Eldridge (3) and Fruitport's Brynn Ray line up across from each other during the 2003 Class B Final at Western Michigan University. (2) The 1985 Marysville team was coach John Knuth's first. (3) The 1997 Marysville team won the school's first volleyball championship. (4) The 1999 Fruitport team met Marysville in a Class B Semifinal. (5) Fruitport coach Dan Potts (left) and John Knuth shake hands before the 2003 Final. (6) Knuth leaps in celebration during the 2002 Class B Final win. (7) Fruitport's 2005 team defeated Otsego in the Class B championship match. (8) Marysville took back Class B in 2006 with a five-set win over Grand Rapids South Christian.