Preview: Powers Return to Battle Creek
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 14, 2021
This season began with teams practicing outside, and included nearly two months off for COVID-19 precautions before this final week.
But the scene over the next three days at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena will look quite familiar with a number of regulars back in the championship hunt.
Action begins today with Division 2 and 3 Semifinals, with Divisions 1 and 4 on Friday and all four title matches Saturday.
While spectators are limited for this weekend’s event, all 12 matches will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and (audio) MHSAANetwork.com. Click for more information from the 2020 Volleyball Finals Home on the MHSAA Website. (NOTE: Saginaw Valley Lutheran withdrew from the Division 3 Semifinals.)
This weekend’s schedule:
Division 3 Semifinals – Thursday
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central vs. Beaverton, 2 p.m.
Schoolcraft (BYE – Valley Lutheran forfeit)
Division 2 Semifinals - Thursday
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 4:30 p.m.
Cadillac vs. Grand Rapids Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Division 4 Semifinals – Friday
Mesick vs. Battle Creek St. Philip, Noon
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian vs. Carney-Nadeau, 2 p.m.
Division 1 Semifinals - Friday
Clarkston vs. Bloomfield Hills Marian, 4:30 p.m.
Novi vs. Lowell, 6:30 p.m.
Finals – Saturday
Division 1, 2 p.m.
Division 2, 4 p.m.
Division 3, Noon
Division 4, 10 a.m.
Below is a glance at contenders in each division.
Division 1
BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank: 33-5, No. 2
Coach: Mayssa Cook, third season (117-24-2)
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic League Central
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2010), six runner-up finishes
Best wins: 3-2 (Regional Final) and 3-2 over No. 1 Farmington Hills Mercy, 2-0 over No. 9 Saline, 3-0 over No. 4 Byron Center, 2-1 over No. 7 Novi, 2-0 over honorable mention Clarkston, 3-0 over Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Christian, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 4 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Players to watch: Ava Brizard, 6-1 jr. OH (510 kills, .504 kill %, 338 digs); Sarah Sylvester, 6-3 jr. MB (174 kills, .407 kill %, 66 blocks); Ava Sarafa, 5-11 soph. S (1,107 assists); Sophia Treder, 6-0 jr. OH (210 kills, 296 digs).
Finals forecast: After Marian fell to rival Mercy in five sets during last season’s tournament, on the way to Mercy winning its first Finals championship, the Mustangs also were swept in their first two matches this season against the Marlins – before winning the last two in five sets, including in the Regional Final. Those two sets were the only ones Marian has given up this postseason. Cook coached Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard to the Class B title in 2015 and could have a special two or three-year run going with her entire starting lineup made up of sophomores and juniors. Brizard made the all-state first team, Sylvester and Sarafa made the second, and Treder earned honorable mention this fall.
CLARKSTON
Record/rank: 28-8, honorable mention
Coach: Kelly Pinner, 18th season (681-183-23)
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-0 (Regional Final) and 2-1 over No. 5 Utica Eisenhower, 2-1 and 3-2 over honorable mention Oxford, 3-2 over honorable mention Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, 2-0 over honorable mention Northville, 2-1 over Division 2 No. 4 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Players to watch: Claire Nowicki, 5-11 sr. OH (385 kills, .323 hitting %, 287 digs); Summer Jidas, 5-4 jr. L (57 aces, 414 digs); Paige Giehtbrock, 6-0 soph. OH (230 kills); Sydney Hasenfratz, 6-0 sr. MB (174 kills, .425 hitting %, 112 blocks).
Finals forecast: The Wolves are back at the Semifinals for the first time since 2011 after winning their fourth league and third District championships over the last five seasons under the guidance of alum Pinner. They’ve won 10 of their last 11 matches, with the lone loss during that time to No. 9 Saline. Nowicki made the all-state first team, and Hasenfratz and Jidas earned honorable mentions.
LOWELL
Record/rank: 34-4, No. 3
Coach: Jordan Drake, third season (127-12-2)
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2019.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 10 Rockford in Regional Final, 3-0 (Regional Semifinal) and 3-0 over No. 4 Byron Center, 3-0 (District Final) and 3-1 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 2-0 over No. 6 Ann Arbor Skyline, 3-0 over honorable mention Traverse City West, 3-1 over Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Christian, 3-0 over Division 2 No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood, 2-0 over Division 3 No. 3 Cadillac, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 4 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Players to watch: Sophie Powell, 5-8 sr. S (1,170 assists, .380 hitting %, 268 digs); Emma Hall, 5-11 sr. L (73 aces, 446 digs); Jenna Reitsma, 5-11 sr. OH (834 kills, .322 hitting %, 60 aces, 398 digs); Emily Struckmeyer, 6-0 jr. MH (258 kills, .317 hitting %, 61 blocks).
Finals forecast: The Red Arrows took Mercy to four sets in last season’s Division 1 championship match, and stormed back this fall to give up only 18 sets, with 11 of those in the four losses. Lowell avenged two of those defeats, against Grand Rapids Christian and Byron Center, and navigated arguably the toughest postseason tournament path in any division. Reitsma’s kills total this season ranks among the top 20 all-time despite the shortened schedule, and she with Powell and Hall made the all-state first team while Struckmeyer made the second. Reitsma also was a Miss Volleyball Award finalist.
NOVI
Record/rank: 29-4-1, No. 7
Coach: Kacy Bryon, third season (99-21-9)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 6 Ann Arbor Skyline in Quarterfinal, 3-2 (District opener), 3-0, 2-0 and 2-1 over honorable mention Northville, 2-1 over honorable mention Oxford.
Players to watch: Megha Gondi, 5-8 sr. MB (205 kills, .326 hitting %); Gaby Cummings, 5-10 sr. OH (217 kills); Rachel Kerr, 5-11 jr. S (786 assists, 137 kills, 200 digs, 53 aces); Rachel Jennings, 5-10 sr. L (544 digs, 47 aces).
Finals forecast: Novi has built back to Battle Creek following its run of three straight Class A titles from 2015-17, with this season seeing the team’s second-straight league and District titles and first Regional championship under Bryon. Five hitters total have at least 130 kills, with middle Caleigh Robinson (154 kills, .330 hitting %) and outside Sarah Vellucci (195 kills) also main contributors. Jennings was named to the all-state second team. The Wildcats are 16-1-1 over their last 18 matches following a 2-1 defeat to Marian.
Division 2
CADILLAC
Record/rank: 43-5, No. 3
Coach: Michelle Brines, 21st season (855-263-44)
League finish: First in Big North Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-2 over honorable mention Birch Run in Quarterfinal, 3-1 and 2-1 over No. 6 North Branch, 2-1 over honorable mention Grand Rapids West Catholic, 2-1 over No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood, 3-2 over Division 1 honorable mention Traverse City West, 2-1 over Division No. 3 Lowell.
Players to watch: Macy Brown, 5-11 sr. OH (911 kills, .300 hitting %, 84 blocks, 623 digs, 73 aces); Renee Brines, 5-8 jr. S (1,164 assists, 252 kills, 102 aces, 525 digs); Cailey Masserang, 6-1 jr. MH (180 kills, 55 blocks); Julia Jezak, 5-5 sr. L (568 digs, 61 aces).
Finals forecast: This will be Cadillac’s third trip to the Semifinals over the last seven seasons, and first since 2016, and comes as part of an incredible run of 13 league titles, 15 straight District titles and 12 Regional titles over 15 seasons. And there’s no arguing with the Vikings’ prep for this run – especially the win over Division 1 semifinalist Lowell among an impressive list of opponents this fall. Brown made the all-state first team – with her kills ranking among the top 10 in the MHSAA record book for a single season – while Renee Brines made the second team.
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 29-4, No. 1
Coach: Tiffannie Gates, 10th season (452-86)
League finish: First in O-K White
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2018 and 2019.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 9 Ada Forest Hills Eastern in District Final, 3-0 (District Semifinal) and 2-0 over No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 2-0 over honorable mention Grand Rapids West Catholic, 2-1 over Division 1 No. 9 Saline, 2-1 over Division 1 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian, 3-0 and 3-0 over Division 1 No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 3-2 and 2-1 over Division 1 No. 4 Byron Center, 3-0, 2-1 and 2-0 over Division 1 No. 10 Rockford; 3-1 over Division 1 No. 3 Lowell.
Players to watch: Addie VanderWeide, 6-0 sr. OH (540 kills, .338 hitting %, 342 digs); Lauren Peal, 5-8 sr. L (40 aces, 399 digs); Alyssa DeVries, 6-9 jr. S (1,040 assists, .316 hitting %, 210 digs); Evie Doezema, 6-3 jr. OH (308 kills).
Finals forecast: The Eagles are seeking their third straight Finals championship and loaded the schedule again this fall, with wins over six of the final top 10 in Division 1. VanderWeide was a Miss Volleyball Award finalist and with Peal made the all-state first team, while DeVries and Doezema made the second team. Senior middle Stephanie Stewart (170 kills, 58 blocks) joined Doezema, DeVries and VanderWeide in the starting lineup for last season’s championship match win over Lakewood as well, and Doezema and VanderWeide also started in the 2018 Final win over Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
Record/rank: 41-2, No. 2
Coach: Cameron Rowland, third season (127-24-2)
League finish: First in Great Lakes Activities Conference
Championship history: Class B champion 2012, five runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-1 (Regional Semifinal), 2-0 and 2-0 over honorable mention Marshall, 2-0 over No. 4 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2-0 over No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 2-1 over No. 3 Cadillac, 2-0 over No. 9 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 3 Lowell, 2-0 over Division 4 No. 1 Mendon, 2-1 over Division 3 No. 2 Schoolcraft.
Players to watch: Aubrey O’Gorman, 6-4 sr. MB (444 kills, .497 hitting %, 109 blocks, 66 aces), Maradith O’Gorman, 6-2 jr. RS (504 kills, .379 hitting %, 78 blocks, 317 digs, 60 aces); Carley Piercefield, 5-6 fr. DS (532 digs); Skylar Bump, 5-7 soph. S (1,092 assists, 132 kills, .455 hitting %, 108 aces, 238 digs).
Finals forecast: The Vikings finished runner-up last season, three of the last four years and four of the last six seasons, and senior middle Sophie Duits joins the O’Gormans and Bump as returning starters from the 2019 championship match. Aubrey O’Gorman was a Miss Volleyball Award finalist and made the all-state first team with Maradith O’Gorman, while Piercefield and Bump made the second team. The only losses this fall came to Lowell and Division 3 top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, and the Vikings avenged the Red Arrows defeat as part of a 34-match winning streak.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Record/rank: 38-9, No. 4
Coach: Betty A. Wroubel, 26th season (1,142-240-96)
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), Division 2 runner-up 2018.
Best wins: 3-0 (Quarterfinal) and 3-0 over honorable mention Warren Regina, 3-2 (Regional Final) over No. 6 North Branch, 3-2 (District Final) over No. 5 Detroit Country Day, 2-0, 2-0 and 3-0 over honorable mention Marshall.
Players to watch: Alyssa Borellis, 5-11 jr. S/RS (434 kills, 472 assists, .419 hitting %, 228 digs); Olivia Kowalkowski, 5-5 sr. L/DS (79 aces, 608 digs); Bianca Giglio, 5-9 jr. MH (294 kills, .324 hitting %, 43 blocks); Josephine Bloom, 5-6 sr. DS (392 digs, 155 assists).
Finals forecast: Notre Dame Prep is another regular at Kellogg, with this its fourth-straight trip to the Semifinals and sixth over the last eight seasons. Borellis, Giglio and Bloom all started in the 2018 championship match loss to Grand Rapids Christian, and Kowalkowski played a significant role on that team and joined them in the 2019 lineup as well. Borellis and Kowalkowski have been selected to the all-state first team, while Bloom made the second team, Giglio and junior outside hitter Sophia Sudzina (325 kills) made the third team and sophomore setter Margo Sudzina (570 assists) earned honorable mention.
Division 3
BEAVERTON
Record/rank: 32-5, No. 5
Coach: Steve Evans, 12th season (362-159-4)
League finish: First in Jack Pine Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-0 over honorable mention Calumet in Quarterfinal, 3-0 (Regional Semifinal) and 2-0 over No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis, 2-0 over No. 9 Beal City.
Players to watch: Molly Gerow, 5-9 sr. OH (451 kills, .329 hitting %, 266 digs); Mady Pahl, 5-7 sr. S (822 assists, 148 kills, 60 aces, .312 hitting %); Becca Wirt, 5-6 sr. MH (122 kills); Hannah Stearns, 5-9 jr. OH (110 kills, 48 aces).
Finals forecast: Beaverton has continued a trophy-filled four-season run with its third league and second Regional titles in four seasons and fourth-straight District title. Beaverton’s only loss last season was in a Semifinal to eventual champ Monroe St. Mary, and now-sophomore middle Faith Danielak (34 blocks) joined Gerow, Pahl and Wirt in that starting lineup at Kellogg. The Beavers return to Battle Creek having not lost – or lost even a set – in 20 matches. Gerow made the all-state first team, and Pahl made the second this fall.
MONROE ST. MARY CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 37-2, No. 1
Coach: Karen O’Brien, sixth season (238-44-3)
League finish: First in Huron League
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-0 over honorable mention Bronson in Quarterfinal, 3-0 over honorable mention Manchester in Regional Final, 3-0 over honorable mention Hudson in Regional Semifinal, 2-1 over Division 2 No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood, 2-1 over Division 2 honorable mention Marshall, 3-1 over Division 1 No. 6 Ann Arbor Skyline.
Players to watch: Anna Dean, 5-10 sr. OH (249 kills, .361 hitting %); Abbie Costlow, 6-0 sr. MH (263 kills, 78 blocks, 77 aces, .513 hitting %); Mikayla Haut, 5-11 sr. OH (352 kills, .300 hitting % 55 aces); Kylie Barron, 5-11 sr. MH (137 kills, 97 blocks).
Finals forecast: The reigning Division 3 champion is making its third trip in a row to the Semifinals and seventh over the last decade. The Kestrels have won all of their postseason matches 3-0 and are on a 20-set winning streak with their only match losses this season to Skyline (in five sets) and Division 1 No. 9 Saline. Haut was a Miss Volleyball Award finalist and made the all-state first team with Dean and Costlow. Barron and junior setter Kate Collingsworth (497 assists, 121 digs, 49 aces, .671 hitting %) were named to the third team.
SAGINAW VALLEY LUTHERAN
Record/rank: 32-2, No. 3
Coach: Jon Frank, 15th season (508-227-65)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference West
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-0 (Regional Semifinal) and 3-0 over honorable mention Unionville-Sebewaing, 3-2 over No. 5 Beaverton, 3-0 over Royal Oak Shrine Catholic in Quarterfinal.
Players to watch: Sydney Krause, 5-9 sr. S (914 assists, 40 aces); Peyton Bartnikowski, 5-7 sr. OH (326 kills, 54 aces, 263 digs); Ashlyn Martin, 5-9 jr. MH (254 kills, 236 digs); Olivia Grimpo, 6-2 jr. M (217 kills).
Finals forecast: Valley Lutheran was set to make its second-straight appearance at the Semifinals before having to withdraw from the tournament Wednesday. The Chargers did win their sixth league and fifth District titles in seven seasons. Their only losses were to Division 2 Birch Run and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. Krause made the all-state second team, Bartnikowski made the third team and Martin earned honorable mention.
SCHOOLCRAFT
Record/rank: 36-3, No. 2
Coach: Erin Onken, ninth season (354-95-15)
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley
Championship history: Class C champion 2008, two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 6 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, 3-0 over No. 8 Morley Stanwood, 3-0 over No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis, 2-0 over Division 4 No. 1 Mendon.
Players to watch: Maggie Morris, 5-11 sr. M (405 kills, .487 hitting %, 90 blocks); Kayla Onken, 5-8 sr. S (152 kills, .482 hitting %, 1,046 assists, 55 aces, 339 digs); Anna Schuppel, 6-1 sr. M (311 kills, .502 hitting %, 122 blocks); Allie Goldschmeding, 5-8 sr. OH (187 kills, .305 hitting %, 70 aces, 350 digs).
Finals forecast: Schoolcraft has run its streak of league titles under Erin Onken to all nine of her seasons leading the program, along with eight District titles, five Regional titles and a second-straight trip to the Semifinals during her tenure. Last season also saw the Eagles finish runner-up for the second time over those first eight seasons as they fell in a five-set Final to SMCC. Four of six starters are back from last season’s championship match, and those are four of five who earned all-state honors this fall. Morris and Kayla Onken made the first team, Schuppel made the second, and Allie Goldschmeding and senior libero Kelby Goldschmeding (536 digs, 60 aces) made the third team.
Division 4
AUBURN HILLS OAKLAND CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 26-4, No. 9
Coach: Brian Theut, first season (26-4)
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference
Championship history: Class D runner-up 2016.
Best wins: 3-1 over honorable mention Ubly in Quarterfinal, 3-0 over No. 8 Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes in District Final, 2-0, 2-0 and 3-0 (Regional Semifinal) over Southfield Christian, 3-0 over Plymouth Christian Academy.
Players to watch: Katie Hopkins, 5-6 sr. S (623 assists, 167 digs); Anna Frazee, 5-9 jr. MB (181 kills, 41 aces); Kaylee Page, 5-7 sr. OH (200 kills, 158 digs); Micah Tison, jr. OH (183 kills, 38 aces, 209 digs).
Finals forecast: Oakland Christian had won six straight shutouts before Ubly took a set in the Quarterfinals, and in fact the Lancers won 23 matches this fall by shutout. All four of their losses this season were to larger schools. Hopkins was named to the all-state first team this fall, while Page made the second team and Frazee made the third. Theut previously was head varsity coach at White Lake Lakeland and Salem before taking over the Oakland Christian program.
BATTLE CREEK ST. PHILIP
Record/rank: 21-13, honorable mention
Coach: Vicky Groat, 23rd season (1,177-294-79)
League finish: First in South Central Athletic Association West
Championship history: 20 MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), nine runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 5 Lansing Christian in Quarterfinal, 3-1 over No. 7 New Buffalo in Regional Semifinal, 3-1 over No. 4 Camden-Frontier.
Players to watch: Rachel Myers, 5-7 jr. OH (946 assists, 71 aces, 205 digs); Harleen Deol, 5-7 sr. M (143 kills, 46 aces); Brooke Dzwik, 5-9 jr. OH (549 kills, 50 aces, 339 digs); Baily Fancher, 5-5 jr. L (54 aces, 417 digs).
Finals forecast: St. Philip has twice as many championships and more than twice as many championship match appearances as any other program in the state. But this will be a first-time experience for this team as the Tigers are back at the Semifinals for the first time since 2014. It could be the first of another few as Deol is the only senior. All but three losses this fall came to larger schools, and St. Philip avenged one with the win over Lansing Christian on Tuesday. Dzwik was named to the all-state first team this season, and Fancher made the third team.
CARNEY-NADEAU
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 10
Coach: Steve Kedsch, 19th season (331-203-42)
League finish: First in Skyline Central Conference Central
Championship history: Has never played in a championship match.
Best wins: 3-1 over Rudyard in Quarterfinal, 3-0 over Chassell in Regional Final, 2-0 over Kingsford.
Players to watch: Taylor Kedsch, 5-8 sr. OH (256 kills, .370 hitting %, 35 aces); Haley Ernest, 5-5 sr. S (541 assists, 37 aces); Liana Blahnik, 5-11 sr. MB (218 kills, .330 hitting %, 54 aces); Malorie Baumler, 5-7 jr. OH (69 aces)
Finals forecast: Rudyard on Tuesday became the only in-state opponent to take a set from Carney-Nadeau this season. The only other sets surrendered by the Wolves to any opponent came in the lone loss, to Peshtigo, Wis. Carney-Nadeau will be making its second Semifinal appearance in three seasons, having been stopped by Rudyard in the Quarterfinals a year ago. Kedsch is one of seven seniors on a roster of 11, and she made the all-state third team while Blahnik earned honorable mention.
MESICK
Record/rank: 24-2, unranked
Coach: Stacy Quiggin, fifth season (63-89-13)
League finish: First in West Michigan D League
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-2 over honorable mention Fowler in Quarterfinal, 3-1 over Gaylord St. Mary in Regional Semifinal, 3-2 over Manton.
Players to watch: Lexy Abraham, 5-8 jr. S (276 assists, 58 aces); Kelsey Quiggin, 5-9 soph. MH (160 kills, 56 aces, 186 digs); Grace Quiggin, 5-11 sr. OH (156 kills, 54 aces); Kaylee O’Neill, 5-1 sr. L (300 digs).
Finals forecast: Mesick is the lone unranked team making the trip to Kellogg Arena this weekend, but the program is on the map after improving at least a win each of the last four seasons and reaching the Semifinals for the first time. The only losses came to No. 2 Traverse City Christian and Division 3 Maple City Glen Lake, and Mesick has lost only 10 sets all season.
PHOTO: Lakewood’s Aubrey O’Gorman tips the ball over the net during her team’s Regional Final win over Lansing Catholic. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Pioneer Manore Sets National Record
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
September 24, 2015
On Monday night, Temperance Bedford High School honored its long-time volleyball coach Jodi Manore for breaking the national high school record for wins.
At the end of her short speech prior to the match, Manore said to her players, “It’s about you the rest of the night. It’s not about me.”
Those girls already knew that. Just 17 days earlier, Manore broke the record held by retired Portage Northern and Delton Kellogg coach Jack Magelssen with win No. 1,833 of her career. But none of her players were aware of the record until a few days after the match.
“We found out a few days later,” four-year senior Isabelle Marciniak said. “We saw all the stuff in the media and in the paper, and we’re like, ‘What?’ She doesn’t go around bragging.
“She is not the type of person who will go around and say, ‘Hey, I’m about to break the record.’ She’s not like that. She is so humble about all of her achievements.”
Manore has piled up plenty in her 31 years of coaching volleyball at Bedford. In addition to the national record, Manore has led Bedford to three MHSAA championships (1998, 2001, 2005), five runner-up finishes (1991-92, 1996, 1999, and 2012), and she had a team with an 89-3 record in 1997-98. Three years later, the Mules started the season 72-0. This season, the Kicking Mules are 29-7, bringing her career high school varsity coaching record to 1,844-306-52.
When asked about the national milestone, she tried to shrug it off as not that big of a deal.
“The state is probably just as important because we can play more matches than most other states, so if you break the Michigan record, you have a good shot at the national record,” she said.
However, she conceded that breaking the record did present her with a little bit of personal satisfaction.
“I think that some of the satisfaction came from that it was Jack Magelssen’s record that I broke,” she said. “He was the Portage Northern coach, and that is who we emulated our program after.
“He was the first one in the state to be really good and knocked Bedford out of the state tournament for like 10 years in a row, and then finally, we got them in 1998 – we won our first state championship. The fact that he retired a couple of years earlier is what allowed me to pass him.”
No games to play
As a child growing up in Bedford during the 1960s, Manore was faced with the fact that organized sports were not a viable option for girls. And she desperately wanted to play.
“Everything I learned was in the back yard,” Manore said. “I had a dad who played catch with me. We went baseball, basketball, football and played them all. I had two brothers under me and a younger sister, and my dad was my best friend. We’d go out and play catch.
“My favorite sport growing up was softball, and I wanted to play Little League, but that was before girls could play Little League, so I had to be the scorekeeper. When I was 16, I ended up playing in an adult women’s softball league.”
By the time Manore arrived at Michigan State University in the fall of 1971, she had developed into a decent athlete, and a twist of fate led her to volleyball.
“I took a phys ed class in volleyball, and the varsity coach (Carol Davis) happened to be the teacher,” Manore said. “She said, ‘You’re athletic; why don’t you come out for the team?’ I went out and made it on my athleticism and played for four years.”
Manore didn’t know it at the time, but not only was that the beginning of a successful and record-breaking career, she was learning lessons on how to run a team at the same time.
After college, Manore was trying to find a teaching job when she spotted an ad in the newspaper. The University of Toledo was starting a volleyball program and needed a coach. Manore applied and landed the job. She was a college coach just fresh out of college.
“I was their first coach and only two or three years older than some of my players,” she said. “I just ran it like the college coach at Michigan State had done it. It was OK.
“My teams – we went into the weight room – and at that time it was unheard of for the girls to lift weights. Pretty early on, I happened to have a girl who could out-lift the boys. Other kids just kind of saw her lift like that and said, ‘Oh, we can do that, too.’
“One thing that has changed is that now it is so natural for girls to be in athletics. Back in the early days, it was like, ‘I’m not sure we’re supposed to sweat,’ and now they can perform better than a guy. My girls are like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to beat those football players in the weight room.’ ”
Four years later, Manore accepted the job as volleyball coach at Bedford, and from 1979-83 she coached both the Mules and Toledo. However, in 1983, Toledo volleyball became affiliated with the NCAA, which did not allow a coach to also be involved with a high school team. So she resigned as Bedford coach to remain at Toledo.
Going home to build a program
In 1989, Manore returned to Bedford, from which she had graduated in 1971. The school enjoyed a state power in wrestling under coach Bill Regnier, and Manore took some of his approach and applied it to her volleyball program.
“He was scheduling wrestling meets all over the state, so I started scheduling volleyball tournaments all over the state,” she said. “I coached the girls like I would coach guys, I guess, or like I coached in college. I coached the high school kids like that instead of, ”Oh, they’re just high school, I have to water it down.’ I never did that.”
The program really got rolling during the 1990s. Bedford appeared in the Class A Finals in both 1991 and 1992 and finished runner-up. Another second-place finish came in 1996. Bedford wanted to take the next step. The championship step.
After losing to nemesis Portage Northern in the 1997 semifinals, the players on the team who were not graduating made it their mission to win an MHSAA championship in 1998.
“In 1998, it was like we got the monkey off our back,” Manore said. “We had been close for a few years, and after losing in the semis in 1997, I found out later that when we got home, the juniors on the team got together and vowed that they were going to stick together, work hard and get it done.”
“Their goal all the way through was to win that state championship, so for them to really realize it was a neat thing.”
Obviously, Manore cherishes all of the wins and championships over the years. But she has received other rewards that are even more gratifying.
‘She’s not as scary as people think’
A coach with a résumé as strong as Manore’s can be intimidating to incoming players. Add in the fact that Manore is a disciplinarian, and it can be even more intimidating to a 15-year-old girl.
Yet, it is those relationships that Manore cherishes more than her record number of wins.
“Seeing young girls develop, seeing them go on to play in college – those who want to – and those who don’t play in college might do some other things, is very rewarding,” Manore said. “I guess having enough of them say, ‘You made me the woman I am,’ or ‘You gave me opportunities,’ or ‘I’m so disciplined in my working life,’ that’s just so neat to see.
“These girls are confident and dedicated and overachievers. It’s just a neat thing.”
Yet, they don’t always see it that way early on in the program. Marciniak, the four-year senior this year, had two older sisters play for Manore, so she had sort of a head start on understanding her coach.
“Every player goes in scared of Coach Manore just because they know she has such a strong program, and we all really want to impress her,” Marciniak said. “But once you get to know her, she’s not as scary as people think she is.
“She is one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever had. She pushes the girls, and she knows what people can take. I guess I was kind of prepared because of my sisters, and they just kind of told me, ‘Don’t be scared of her; she wants to see you succeed, and she pushes you to succeed.’”
Marciniak flashed a big smile when asked if Coach Manore has a funny side.
“She cracks jokes all the time,” Marciniak said. “When you’re on the court or during practice, it’s all go, it’s time to prepare, it’s time to do work, but off the court, she cracks jokes all the time. Sometimes it takes us a second – like she does these little jokes where she makes fun of us, and obviously we can take it, and then takes us a second and then we start cracking up.
“She is a very disciplinary coach. She won’t brush things off like, ‘Oh, you’ll get it next time.’ She makes sure you know what you did because she wants you to be the best you can be. She pushes you, and she’s a very tough coach, but for Bedford volleyball, that obviously works very well for us.
“The thing I love about Coach Manore is that there are a lot of coaches out there who just worry about winning or worry about what goes on with the girls on the court, but Coach Manore loves us like we’re her daughters. She cares about every single one of us, and she wants the best for us on and off the court. She makes sure that we’re getting enough sleep and this and that and everything. She really cares about her girls.”
Speaking of records ...
All of the success of the Bedford volleyball program has forced Manore, a self-described introvert, to become more vocal and take on larger responsibilities.
“I guess that is something that athletics has given me,” said Manore, who retired from teaching in February. “I was one of the shy kids in school. I had to be number one and top of the class, and I got my homework in, I did all of that. But I didn’t want to speak up.
“But I had to do that to do interviews and speak at banquets. I’ve served on MIVCA (Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association) board of directors for more years than I can count, and I’ve been on American Volleyball Coaches Board of Directors for six years, so just getting involved with people at the highest level, I had to speak up.”
And her latest public speech was Monday night, in front of family members, current and former players, school officials and parents of the players. In typical Manore fashion, the message was more about her players than it was her record.
“To all the wonderful young ladies that I had the opportunity to coach, you guys won the games; I didn’t do anything,” she said. “I just worked you hard in practice, made you hate me for a while and then you moved on.”
Marciniak spoke of what an honor it was for this year’s team to be the one to deliver the record-breaking win after it was set up by so many years of other teams and other players.
“It was a really cool feeling because she has given us so much, and we gave her that one win,” Marciniak said. “Obviously, she gave it to us beforehand.
“It is so awesome that we were able to give something back to her.”
See below for video from Monday's ceremony honoring Manore's record-breaking feat.
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Temperance Bedford coach Jodi Manore instructs her players during the 2004-05 Class A Final. (Middle) Manore, far right, poses with her 1997-98 team, which won the first of the program's three MHSAA championships under her guidance. (Below) Manore oversees her players setting up a kill attempt during last season's MHSAA Semifinals.