Reese Earns 1st Championship Dance with Unforgettable Comeback
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2021
BATTLE CREEK – As Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” rang through the Kellogg Arena speakers Saturday, the Reese volleyball team put on a show.
The Rockets huddled up, sang and danced near their bench following the second set of their Division 3 Final against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. In isolation, it looked like the beginning of a celebration. With context, it was a team looking to regain its identity while in a 0-2 hole.
“You have to fake it until you make it, man,” Reese senior setter Aydan Dalak said. “You have to fake it until you make it, and make it look like you’re good.”
Three sets later, the Rockets replaced dancing with the happiest player pile in Reese volleyball history, as they came back to defeat SMCC 18-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 16-14 and claim the school’s first volleyball Finals title.
“It was just exciting. It was, I think, everything that people want to see when they come to a state championship game,” Reese coach Angie Compton said. “We definitely were not ourselves at the beginning, and we loosened up that third set and we just never looked back. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t without our, ‘Oh no, are we going to do this?’ moments. But they’re just a great group of girls that just got the job done.”
The win denied SMCC a third straight Division 3 title, and ended with a back-and-forth final set, which began with each team going on a 5-0 run. The Kestrels took a 9-7 lead during the set, but, outside of the final tally, neither team led by more than one after that.
Reese (35-5-1) clinched the title on the second championship point of the night, as senior Maddi Osantowski and junior Abby Karst combined for a block.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember it,” Osantowski said. “I just saw her go up and I was like, ‘Whatever, let’s just try and block this girl and get the game over with.’ I was kind of in shock. That was my first block against her the whole game. It was great.”
As the tension of the final set increased, Reese continued to stay loose, lining up as sprinters on the one side of the court as a timeout would come to an end, and faux sprinting across to the other side when the horn would blow. That joined a stirring rendition of “Living on a Prayer” and a team shadow boxing exercise during “Eye of the Tiger” in getting the Rockets into the proper headspace to come out victorious.
“I was like, ‘Everybody is probably judging us like crazy. Do they not care?’” Compton said with a laugh. “We expected to win. We came in thinking we could do this. We don’t think everybody else thought that, but we don’t care. We definitely care, especially in those moments, we care the most when we’re loosening ourselves up. When we’re dancing and getting loose, we know that’s how we play better. I know it looks weird, but it’s very important to our style of play.”
Also very important to their style of play is Osantowski, who finished with 34 kills and totaled 110 attack attempts during the match.
“I know that she will put it down when we need it to be put down,” said Dalak, who had 42 assists on the night. “It’s good to mix it up sometimes, too, because we need to get those blockers moving around.”
Dalak did switch it up in a crucial moment, ending a wild rally with a dump for the final point of the fourth set. Dalak also had 13 digs and six kills in the match, while Sarah Gray added 21 digs and six kills. Josie Johnson led the Reese defense with 29 digs, while Osantowski added 17.
While Reese was getting loose and gaining momentum, SMCC (36-12) was attempting to regain what it had in the opening two sets.
“A big part of it is, I tell them, ‘Take a deep breath, let’s focus on the things that we know,’” Kestrels co-coach Cassandra Haut said. “What do we know about the other side? Is the setter up, is the setter down? What do they normally hit in this situation? And we talk about the rotation we’re in. What’s our best hit? Any way to just kind of refocus on something else, not the nerves or anything else that you’re feeling.”
Senior Kate Collingsworth spread the wealth with her 52 assists for SMCC. Jessica Costlow had 22 kills, McKenna Payne had 21 and Audrey Cousino had 10. Payne also had 29 digs and four aces, while Costlow had 19 digs.
“I am super, super proud of my team and everything they’ve accomplished this year,” Haut said. “They persevered through a lot of different things, and we play a really tough schedule. And I think it shows with how hard we can push.”
PHOTOS (Top) Reese’s Aydan Dalak (4) revs up her team during Saturday’s Division 3 championship win. (Middle) St. Mary’s Kate Collingsworth (3) and Lauren Conant (5) put up a block as Reese’s Calli Blossom aims to send a ball through. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Clarkston Everest Collegiate Caps Repeat as 1st Undefeated Champ Since 2015
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2024
BATTLE CREEK – Sarah Bradley and her Clarkston Everest Collegiate volleyball teammates accomplished something Saturday that hasn’t been done since 2015.
Behind 28 kills from the senior outside hitter, the Mountaineers completed an unbeaten season and defeated St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic in four sets at Kellogg Arena, claiming their second-straight Division 4 Finals title.
But when it all ended, and she was asked to look back on the accomplishments, Bradley looked more toward the bond she and her teammates had created.
“Yes, we won two state championships, but nothing will ever amount to the amount of fun I had with these girls and this team,” Bradley said through tears. “I’m so sad to leave them and everyone behind. I think this season, we really played for each other, and it’s going to be so hard to leave them.”
Everest won 25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-13 to finish 37-0-1 on the year, with a split against two-time reigning Division 2 champion North Branch the only match result that kept the team from achieving perfection. It was the first undefeated season for any Michigan high school volleyball team since Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard accomplished the feat in winning Class B in 2015.
The dropped set was one of just six that the Mountaineers lost all season.
“Everyone on the team was dialed in, everyone was in on the effort to go back to back,” Everest senior middle Addison Pearce said. “It wasn’t just a couple people that were like, ‘Oh, this is something we could do.’ It was everyone combined that worked hard every day, didn’t let anything come in our way to keep our momentum going.”
Madelyn Krappmann had 16 assists and 14 digs for the Mountaineers, and Pearce had 10 kills and five blocks. Erica Walker added 45 assists and 14 digs, while Bradley had 16 digs and Samantha Pietras had 14.
A year ago, Everest came into the final weekend as an underdog seeking its first Finals title. This year, it had to hold off an incredible effort from a St. Joseph Our Lady team that was in a similar position, albeit as a much bigger underdog.
The Lakers were making the first Finals weekend trip in program history, as five seniors led the charge to Thursday’s Semifinals. But they were the only five players on the roster who are actually in high school. Two eighth graders rounded out the seven-player team, which is allowed due to the enrollment of the school (61 students).
“I just feel like we played hard; there’s no question about that,” Lakers coach Erin Cashen said. “We knew this was going to be one heck of a feat to do. Seven players, two eighth graders that had never played before this season. We knew it was going to be tough. They were just too much for us in the end.
“I’m really just so proud of our girls. Nothing’s changed for me. I’m really proud of you guys. I think you did some amazing things. I’m pretty sure you didn’t believe me when I took the position two years ago and said I’m going to take you to state. And, here we are. I did it for you, and you deserve it.”
Nora Proos led St. Joseph Our Lady with 25 kills and 14 digs, while Jojo Marsh had 10 kills and 15 digs. Aislin Sargent added 34 assists for the Lakers (34-4-1), and Ellie Howard had 16 digs.
Winning the third set against the unbeaten soon-to-be repeat champ was certainly a badge of honor for the Lakers, although they agreed it may have woken something up in the Mountaineers.
“I think it’s great that we were able to take a set,” Marsh said. “We didn’t win the whole thing, but we did take a set. That’s huge for all of us. Everyone just played their hearts out, you could tell. You could tell it was our last game, everyone was flying everywhere and the eighth graders really stepped up. It was a really great season.”
After the first three sets were incredibly close, Everest did open things up in the fourth, winning 11 of the final 14 points in the match. It ended, fittingly, with an emphatic spike from Krappmann.
“I’m incredibly grateful that I had that opportunity, that Erica (Walker) set me that ball,” Krappmann said. “Something was off the first few sets. Passing and defense were OK, but hitting, I just had this weird disconnect. … We got to the fourth one, and I was hyped up, ready to go. Something switched, and I was like, ‘I want this.’ I just felt like I had control of the ball.
“On the last one, I felt like, ‘This could be the game point. This could be our second state championship. This could be the last point we play for Everest.’ Of course I want to give everything I have to that point, out of respect and gratitude to this team and my coach, and to all the people that support us.”
PHOTOS (Top) Clarkston Everest Collegiate players raise their championship trophy Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) The Mountaineers’ Sarah Bradley (4) sends a spike into the block of Rachel Kalamaros (3) and another Lakers teammate. (Below) Our Lady’s Nora Proos (12) and Everest’s Erica Walker (6) contend for a ball. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)