#TBT: Marysville Domination Unmatched
August 20, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Marysville volleyball program built a pair of incredible streaks at the turn of this century, one that was equaled last season – and a second that likely won’t be approached.
Battle Creek St. Philip enters this fall with a chance to break Marysville’s record of eight straight MHSAA championships won from 1997-2004 – the Tigers tied that streak by again winning Class D a year ago. But no team in MHSAA history has come within 90 wins of Marysville’s incredible 192-match winning streak from 1996 into 2000.
The 192-match winning streak also remains fourth nationally – Amherst’s Sweet Home Central won a ridiculous 292 straight matches from 1978-87.
The photos above and below are from the 2000-01 Class B Final, a sweep of Fruitport 15-2, 15-9, that left the Vikings a mere 60-1 on the season after suffering that streak-breaking loss. Four players – Karen Conger with 19, Megan Harrison 15 and Kelly Thomas and Brittny Godlewski with 14 apiece – had double-digit kills in the match, and Thomas also had 22 assists. Marysville faced and defeated Fruitport in three straight Class B Finals from 2001-2003.
This summer, longtime Marysville coach John Knuth was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He led the program from the 1983-84 season through 2007, then came back as co-coach for 2011, and finished with a record of 1,135-84-38 to rank fourth on the MHSAA coaching wins list in his sport.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marysville players celebrate match point against Fruitport in the 2001 MHSAA Class B Final at Western Michigan University. (Middle) Longtime Marysville coach John Knuth remains fourth in MHSAA history for volleyball wins with 1,135.
Performance of the Week: Ann Arbor Skyline’s Harper Murray
November 16, 2021
Harper Murray ♦ Junior
Ann Arbor Skyline ♦ Volleyball
The 6-foot-2 outside hitter has led her high school program to its best postseason finishes all-time over the last three seasons and helped her country to fame on the international court as well this fall. Murray’s first three seasons on Skyline’s varsity have coincided with the program’s first three Regional titles in volleyball, including the Eagles’ championship triumph Thursday as she had 26 kills and 20 digs in her team’s five-set win over Brighton. Skyline (53-3-2) advanced to play Northville in one of tonight’s Division 1 Quarterfinals. Murray also was among her team’s leading hitters as a freshman in 2019 as Skyline reached the Division 1 Semifinals – her older sister Kendall, now playing at Michigan, was a Miss Volleyball Award candidate that fall – and the Eagles just missed returning to the Semifinals last season with a five-set Quarterfinal loss.
An all-state first-team selection last season and third-teamer as a freshman, Murray is widely-regarded as one of the nation’s top juniors. Despite spending two weeks this season playing with USA Volleyball’s under-18 national team – she helped it to bronze at the FIVB World Championships in Mexico – Murray has totaled 583 kills over 108 games this fall with a .560 kill percentage and .451 hitting percentage, and she also has 77 aces. She has committed to sign with national power Nebraska, which is ranked No. 11 this week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and won the most recent of its five Division I championships in 2017.
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2021-22 Honorees
Nov. 11: Abby VanderKooi, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian - Report
Nov. 4: Arianne Olson, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Oct. 28: Jack Guggemos, Okemos soccer - Report
Oct. 21: Sachiv Kumar, Northville tennis - Report
Oct. 14: Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7: Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30: Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23: Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16: Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report
PHOTOS courtesy of Terry Jacoby/We Love Ann Arbor (top) and the Skyline volleyball program.