Sacred Heart Caps Classic Comeback with 1st Volleyball Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2022
BATTLE CREEK – You could forgive Lillie Laney for not immediately processing what she and her Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart volleyball teammates accomplished Saturday.
In fact, you could forgive anyone who was in Kellogg Arena to watch the Irish comeback in the Division 4 Final for not being quite sure what they just witnessed.
Sacred Heart looked all but done after two sets, but came roaring back to defeat Athens 14-25, 13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-11 and claim its first-ever Finals title.
“I can’t even remember what the last point was,” the Sacred Heart senior said. “It’s all just a blur. I just remember us getting the point and everybody dog-piling.”
The last point was an Athens attack that went just long, and as soon as the line judge’s flag went up, the Sacred Heart bench met Laney and her teammates in the center of the court to start the celebration.
Sacred Heart won the match’s final six points, completing a third straight comeback in a must-win set, and finishing off what had seemed improbable about an hour earlier.
“I feel like at the beginning when we were down by a lot, we started getting down on ourselves,” Sacred Heart junior libero Bridget Ruiz said. “In the third set, we kind of were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to pick it up here.’ And we just kind of kept it going and going and going and going.”
The match was the first five-setter of the season for the Irish (44-7-6), who had advanced to the Division 4 Semifinals a year ago.
“That’s the way a state championship match should be,” Irish coach Krista Davis said. “It should be a fight to the end. It should be just a back and forth. I don’t think any team really made mistakes. In my recollection, I just felt like it was who could get the ball and just hit it the hardest. It was pound, pound, pound, pound. That was a good championship match.”
Athens led the majority of the final set, before a Laney block put her team up 12-11. Another block in combination with sophomore setter Sophie Hauck gave the Irish a cushion, and sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Lynch served out the final two points, which ended with Athens attacks going long.
“I always thought it was possible, but that was the final push,” Laney said. “That was the, ‘We gotta go, we gotta get moving. We have this now. It’s in our hands. It’s within reach.’”
Laney finished the match with 19 kills and seven blocks. The 5-foot-10 middle hitter had just two errors on 39 attacks in the match.
Eliza Pieratt had 17 assists and 17 digs for the Irish, while Hauck had 24 assists and four blocks. Ruiz added 29 digs, Angel Brown had 10 kills and 16 digs, and Lynch had 13 digs.
Most of that came over the final three sets, as Athens was dominant to start the match, and looked well on its way to claiming a first Finals title of its own.
Athens’ varied attack with setter Alaina Brubaker feeding hitters Kylie Quist, Kamryn Parlin, Jocelyn Hall and Piper Porter had Sacred Heart reeling through the first two sets.
“I think we started out super strong, and collectively we were playing very, very well,” Athens coach Jacy Cole said. “Then, third set, they started getting the momentum and took that third set. We came back in the fourth set and I thought we did well, just made a few communication errors, I think, that kind of rattled us a little bit. We couldn’t quite get our footing back under us. Fifth set, I think they just were more offensive than we were, and they were very good defensively at the net.”
Quist led the Athens attack with 20 kills, while Hall had 18, Porter had 17 and Parlin had 10. Brubaker finished the day with 56 assists and 19 digs. Parlin had a massive game defensively, as well, adding 23 digs and nine total blocks. The other attackers also chipped in defensively, as Hall had 24 digs, Piper had 18 and Quist had 14.
Athens was playing in a Final for the first time, as it wrapped up a season that featured the program’s first-ever Regional title. Of course, each of the past two years, Athens had lost in the Regional Final to eventual Division 4 champion Battle Creek St. Philip, with their match going to five sets in 2021.
“Right now, our team probably doesn’t feel like it, but we’ve done so much this year together,” Hall said. “It’s one of the best feelings ever, and it’s something that we’re going to remember for a very long time together. All the memories and the history that we’ve made this year with the support of the community right there behind us. They’re a huge part of this. We’re just thankful for everything.”
PHOTOS (Top) Players converge on Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart coach Krista Davis after she receives the Division 4 championship trophy Saturday. (Middle) The Irish’s Lillie Laney (9) follows through on a kill attempt with Athens’ Piper Porter blocking. (Below) Sacred Heart’s Angel Brown (23) puts up a block as the ball reaches the net.
Southwest 10 Conference Welcoming Volleyball Athletes as Legacy Officials
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 13, 2024
Instead of just hitting a volleyball, Gracie Smith now finds herself enjoying the larger picture.
The Decatur senior has spent the last six years playing volleyball at different levels. But thanks to an innovative new program undertaken by the Southwest 10 Conference, Smith now sees the sport through an entirely new light.
She's one of 13 varsity volleyball players at three schools who've added another paragraph to their resume: officiating.
The players have become MHSAA-registered officials cleared to work Southwest 10 Conference middle school and freshman matches as part of the MHSAA Legacy Program. Smith said the program has contributed much to her love of the game by helping her better understand the officials during her own varsity matches and providing her opportunities to give back to the community and help out a sport in dire need of new officials – in addition to adding a bit of spending money to her budget.
"I am excited about trying this," Smith said. "I can make some extra cash, be at the same level of officials who do our games and take what I've learned on the court and put that knowledge to use.
"I definitely think I'll do this again next year. I can earn a few extra bucks, and I can give something back to the game"
Eric Frohriep, president of the All-Star Officials Association and assigner of officials to Southwest 10 matches, said the project was borne out of a necessity to attract new officials to the sport.
He sent inquires to conference schools looking for high school-aged players willing to undergo officials training that included viewing a video and power point zoom presentation on YouTube. Twenty-three players wound up attending a clinic this past summer, and 13 from Centreville, Decatur and White Pigeon took the next step by registering as officials. They were eligible to work mostly middle school games this fall.
Frohriep hopes the numbers will grow but is more than content with the program's initial steps. He said volleyball is in critical need of attracting new officials to replace those retiring or moving on. He estimates the average age of volleyball officials to be about 60, and the existing cadre of officials is being spread too thin, including a dwindling number of Southwest 10 Conference officials willing to work several nights a week plus weekend tournaments.
"We absolutely have to," he said of attracting new officials. "For those who retire, we're not replacing them fast enough. We've got to lure new officials to maintain the amount of officials we need."
If the new recruits' reactions are any indication, the program is off to a solid start. Decatur senior setter Sienna Potter said it beats other teenage money-making endeavors from babysitting to working at the mall, plus keeps athletes around a sport they love.
"It was fun," said Potter, who worked a handful of both middle school and freshman matches this fall. "I definitely think officiating can be in my future. There's a big need for referees, and I think this was a good idea. I like the money, but I think it also builds my skill in talking to officials at our games. I liked it a lot. It's something interesting, and the money helps out."
Decatur senior Abby Baushke, who has played volleyball competitively for eight years, worked four middle school matches this fall. The experience left her with a more insightful view of the officials she sees at her own varsity matches.
"Plus it helps me give back to the community and helps players understand the sport better," said Baushke, a Wayne State volleyball commit. "I think (officiating) is easier for us because we've played the game. I've learned that it's hard to make quick calls because the game goes so fast. I've played club for four years, and this definitely can be useful to me besides making money."
White Pigeon athletic director Brooke McClure, a former volleyball official, said the program was successful enough that the Southwest 10 elected to start similar programs in basketball and wrestling this winter. Baseball, track, softball and soccer will follow in the spring.
"It's definitely win-win," she said. "There is a shortage of referees and I think, No. 1, these girls are thinking about the game they love and can see the value in that. They're going to learn what it's like to spend a day in officials' shoes. If we can get more girls involved, then this is our contribution to that."
White Pigeon junior Mercede McDaniel, who has played the sport since fourth grade, admits there was a bit of trepidation as she eased into the program, but that was quickly replaced with the confidence of being a registered official.
"It's a nice way to see volleyball," she said. "I was a little nervous at first in trying this, but I love the game. I definitely liked it."
PHOTO Centreville’s Mary Stears stands adjacent and above the net as she officiates a match this fall. (Photo courtesy of the Centreville athletic department.)