St. Philip Adds to 'Tradition'
November 17, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – The Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball team rushed the Kellogg Arena floor Saturday just as it has many of the other 17 times the Tigers have won the MHSAA Class D championship.
There’s no reason to do differently. As the saying goes, winning doesn't graduate. And it surely doesn't get old.
Beal City made it a little tougher than some others over the years. But like in all 72 of its wins this fall, St. Philip swept the Aggies to launch the latest celebration.
The Tigers finished this season with a 25-21, 25-15, and 25-18 victory to add another to their record championship total and pull it within one more of tying the longest volleyball title winning streak in MHSAA history.
“It’s seriously the same every time. We have the same excitement every time. It’s always special. We never get tired of it,” Tigers senior setter Lenae Lesiow said. “It’s obviously the best feeling in the world.
“It’s just tradition. We really know we have so many people supporting us. And we just want to make people proud, make ourselves proud, make our coach proud.”
Every team is different, and every coach is hesitant to compare them. But this Tigers team finished 73-2-1, setting a school record for wins and ranking as the 10th-most successful volleyball team in MHSAA history.
Beal City coach Kelly David, who has been immersed in Class D volleyball as both a player and now in her first season running the program, said this was, in her opinion, the best St. Philip team to come through.
And that made how her Aggies (45-11-1) hung close even more impressive.
Beal City was playing in its first MHSAA Final in any girls sport. Only three years ago, David was the setter as the Aggies made the Semifinals but lost to the Tigers in four games.
This time, Beal City played nearly point for point through the first and halfway into the second.
But eventually, St. Philip’s all-state hitting duo of senior Amanda McKinzie and junior Sierra Hubbard-Neil became the Aggies’ undoing.
McKinzie, named Miss Volleyball on Monday, finished with 19 kills, one short of making the MHSAA Finals record book. Hubbard-Neil, a sure contender for the statewide award next season, had 18 kills
She caught fire in the second game, while McKinzie unloaded powerful finishing shots in the third.
“They were close that whole first game, and I think we were a little bit nervous knowing, ‘Wow, they are so close,’” McKinzie said.
“We just had to relax and play our game,” Hubbard-Neil added. “When either of us as a hitter starts getting going, our setter will nail us. She just starts feeding us when we’re hot.”
Lesiow totaled 32 assists. McKinzie and senior Natalie Gallagher both had nine digs.
Beal City was led by junior middle Addie Schumacher, who had seven kills and five digs. Junior Melanie Schafer had six kills and nine digs, and senior Jade Kennedy had eight digs and 23 assists.
Kennedy and senior Monica David – the coach’s sister – were freshman call-ups for the 2009 Semifinal.
“Being freshmen, we were just part of the team and we got to cheer on our teammates,” Monica David said. “It was awesome coming back as a senior and being one of the leaders out there and being a big part of the team.”
And it couldn’t have hurt to be part of her sister’s first team as a coach.
“I lucked out having a good group of girls to start with," Kelly David said. “It’s hard to believe we’re in the Finals my first year, and it’s a lot of fun. But it’s the girls, not me. It’s the girls that got here, and I’m just excited for them.”
Groat’s program has plenty of family ties as well. With eight MHSAA championships, she’s now just one short of tying the total of her mother Sheila Guerra, her predecessor who died in 2006.
Groat found a card earlier this week that she’d gotten from her mom the year before her death. On the back was written the number “8,” and she had no idea why but thought about that over the last few days. “Maybe she knew something back then that she’s trying to tell me,” Groat said.
Another title win next season would tie Marysville’s record streak from 1997-2004. But the Tigers will have to do it with a number of new contributors.
They’ll graduate seven from this team, including four-year players McKinzie and middle Casey Gallagher and three-year players Sam Ellis and Natalie Gallagher.
“They’re like family to me. I watched them grow from little awkward freshmen to fine young ladies as seniors, and in June when they graduate it’s going to be a sad day because we’ve spent a lot of time together,” Groat said. “They’re part of my life forever.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek St. Philip celebrates briefly after a point on the way to celebrating another Class D championship. (Middle) Jaclyn Behnke (11) and Amanda McKinzie block a kill attempt by Beal City's Addie Schumacher.
Flynn Continuing to Prove Unique Among State's Best, All-Time Mercy Greats
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 3, 2024
FARMINGTON HILLS — It’s easy to roll one’s eyes when saying the Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball program has a unique talent in senior setter Campbell Flynn – because, well, Mercy is a traditional powerhouse that ALWAYS seems to have great players.
But even for an accomplished program like Mercy, it will be nearly impossible to see another player like Flynn come through its halls anytime soon, if ever.
Yes, it’s not often that a player is a member of the under-19 and under-21 U.S. national teams, committed to national powerhouse Nebraska and was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after helping lead her to the Division 1 championship.
But several tangible and intangible attributes make her truly exceptional.
For starters, she is a 6-foot-3 setter, which isn’t common. In high school – and maybe even for many college programs – that height would definitely qualify her as an outside hitter.
“Setters are usually a little smaller,” Flynn said. “I always wanted to be a setter, even when I was little. I knew I was going to be pretty tall, but I didn’t know I’d be this tall. I thought I was going to be around 5-10. I just knew I always wanted to be a setter.”
Mercy head coach Loretta Vogel said that height is noticeable before Flynn even touches the ball.
“She’s deceptively fast,” she said. “She’s 6-4 and she just moves. She just floats over the floor.”
In addition to her height, Flynn is a rarity among setters in that she’s also left-handed.
“It helps (the team) with hitting over on two and dumping,” Flynn said. “That’s definitely an advantage.”
Being tall and left-handed probably wouldn’t matter as much by themselves. But add the IQ and feel for the game that Campbell has developed since starting to play volleyball at age 5 — and subsequently at an elite national level — and it’s easy to see why she is so acclaimed.
“She has a great touch on the ball,” Vogel said. “Sort of like a quarterback and they know how to release it and do everything with the ball. Campbell is like that version for us in comparison. She understands the game very well. She’s very capable of reading the block and being able to give the ball to individuals who are open. Just that sense of the game helps tremendously.”
In winning the Gatorade award as a junior, Flynn accumulated 533 assists, 137 digs and 124 kills even though she missed 15 matches.
For those who were surprised that Mercy won the Division 1 title last year despite entering the playoffs unranked, consider the run coincided with Flynn becoming fully healthy.
She missed a good portion of last year’s regular season with a minor illness, but once she got healthy and was her dominant self, the Marlins never looked back.
“We just got so much momentum and we played so much as a team at the end of the season,” Flynn said. “It was just carrying us through all the games. We weren’t afraid, and we were pretty confident even though we were underdogs.”
This fall, Flynn is still hungry for more despite already seemingly accomplishing it all in high school volleyball, and with that scholarship to Nebraska in tow.
There might be a Miss Volleyball Award to win now that she’s a senior, and she’s still motivated to bring more team success to Mercy.
“I love my team this year,” she said. “Obviously, we are not the underdogs this season, but I feel we have a lot to prove. I’m really excited to prove to everyone that we can win another state title.”
Whether or not that happens in November, it won’t change the fact that when this season is over, even a powerhouse like Mercy will have a nearly impossible task to replace Flynn.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Campbell Flynn (28) sets Farmington Hills Mercy’s attack during last season’s Division 1 championship win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. (Middle) Flynn and her teammates enjoy a moment during their Semifinal win over Clarkston.