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Young Broncos Ahead of Schedule in Hunt for Division 2 Crown
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 9, 2021
The thought of the North Branch volleyball program being ahead of schedule when it comes to success is difficult to fathom.
North Branch has been among the top programs in the state for 15 years, including an incredible 10-year run that included eight trips to the MHSAA Semifinals, four runner-up finishes and three Class B Finals titles (2009, 2014 and 2016).
The Broncos have won 17 straight District titles and are 53-0 over four seasons as members of the Blue Water Area Conference. They have arrived, and stuck around.
But this year’s results and roster indicate even more success is on the way, and it could be happening very soon.
“I wouldn’t even know what to think about it, to be honest with you,” North Branch’s lone senior, Gracie Hyde, said of the possibility of getting back to the MHSAA Finals this season. “I guess it would be shocking because we’re such a young team.”
Half of North Branch’s 16 players are sophomores, and when you add in the two freshmen, underclassmen make up the majority of the team. Despite that, the Broncos are 42-8 heading into the Regional tournament, which begins Tuesday night in Mount Morris, and they didn’t drop a set in conference play. The eight losses came almost exclusively to ranked teams, and the only losses outside of Division 1 were to the No. 1 (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) and No. 3 (Detroit Country Day) teams in Division 2.
“I knew we’d have a really good team, but we’re still very, very young,” North Branch coach Jim Fish said. “Many times, we’ll have five sophomores on the floor at the same time, but they’re so skilled that I don’t even look at them like that. We’ve won three state titles, but this will be my most talented team. Next year, we’ll be extremely talented. Now, that doesn’t mean that we’re going to win anything.”
The key stat leaders for the Broncos are almost exclusively from the Class of 2024. Three sophomores – Alana Deshetsky (first with 287 kills), Clara Gyomory (third with 216) and Kaela Chingwa (fourth with 182) – are among the team’s top four attackers. Chingwa leads the team in blocks with 97, Haily Green leads the team in digs with 720, and Adrienne Greschaw leads the team in assists with 1,043.
Add in junior attackers Bailey Gormley (264 kills) and Natasha Bickel (177), and Hyde’s defensive prowess and skill at the service line (92.1 percent success, 88 aces), and the Broncos are every bit the threat their No. 5 ranking in Division 2 would suggest.
“I definitely think we’re ahead of schedule,” Deshetsky said. “We had a couple bumps in the road, like injuries and girls being sick, but we have five great hitters on our team, and you can’t just shut down one girl.”
For the players, the speed of the success may come as a bit of a surprise, but it’s something they’ve long thought was possible.
“We’ve always known that the grade below me and our grade has always worked well together,” Bickel said. “We grew up playing AAU ball, and watching them all grow has been amazing. We've all improved so much through the years.”
As they came up through the youth ranks in North Branch, they not only grew together, but also watched as Fish’s program was, for the most part, dominant. He took over in 2000, one year after the Broncos had won a single match, and well before any of the current players were born.
The District win streak began in 2006, and by 2007, North Branch had made its way to the Class A Finals weekend, starting the 10-year stretch of consistent trips to Battle Creek.
“They were like my idols,” Bickel said. “I always loved watching them play. Coach asked me to be a ball girl when I was in the fifth or sixth grade, and it was like a dream come true.”
While the program has remained strong, 2016 was the last time North Branch won a Regional title, with Notre Dame Prep ending its season each of the past four years in the Regional Final. The 2020 team was the first since 2007 that didn’t feature at least one player who had played in the Semifinals.
Last year, with multiple freshmen on the floor, the Broncos came as close as they have in the past four years to knocking off the Irish, losing 16-14 in the fifth set to end the season. Now, they find themselves on the opposite side of the Division 2 bracket from Notre Dame Prep, and if they were to meet again, it would be in the Final.
“I want to get there so bad,” Green said. “Last year, in the Regional Final, that game was so much fun. I keep thinking that I want to get back to a game like that.”
There’s plenty of work left for both teams to do in order to make that happen, but Fish does know that getting to Battle Creek this year, even if it doesn’t result in a title, would help put the program on schedule to accomplish its goals in the near future.
“Nobody has been down there,” he said. “They’ve seen their sisters play there, and they’ve seen pictures and heard about it, but it’s really important to get down there. If we can get there and compete – I'm not going to say never, because why not us – but, realistically, if we can just get there, that will really fuel their desire to get back.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Broncos sophomore setter Adrienne Greschaw and sophomore middle Kaela Chingwa put up a block during a match this fall. (Middle) North Branch sophomore Alana Deshetsky sends a kill attempt toward the other side. (Bottom) Senior Grace Hyde digs with junior Paige Hurd backing her up. (Photos courtesy of Krystal Ann Photography.)
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Amid Loss, Marian Closes Out Inspired Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 16, 2021
BATTLE CREEK – One of the great moments at the end of any MHSAA Final is the winning coach hoisting the trophy aloft and joining their players in celebration.
On Saturday, Bloomfield Hills Marian volleyball coach Mayssa Cook passed on that moment, and in the process made it even more special for all involved.
Cook handed the honor off to Jacqui Feldman, the daughter of Dave Feldman, the Marian athletic director who died Thursday after a long battle with COVID-19.
“It was so special,” Marian junior outside hitter Ava Brizard said. “Me, Sara Sylvester and Sophie Treder played with her our freshman year, so we know the Feldman family really well. It was so devastating to hear that he passed away the night before we were supposed to go to Battle Creek, because he was just as competitive as we were the whole season. He loved volleyball so much, and we know that. It was just kind of more fuel to our fire to win a state championship, as if we didn’t have enough already, to win it for him and win it for her. It was just so special for her to give us that trophy, because we were like, ‘We did it for your dad.’”
The players had Feldman in their hearts as they defeated Lowell 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 in the Division 1 Final at Kellogg Arena. It’s the Mustangs’ third title, and first since 2010.
“I think this whole season, it was just about resilience,” Brizard said. “Starting off in August, we didn’t get to start right away and we had to practice in the muddy water on the beach and the grass. We just dealt with all the punches that came our way this season, so to finally get here to Battle Creek and win the whole thing and play the way we did out there and play so amazing, it feels like all of our hard work paid off. Especially with Mr. Feldman passing, we feel so grateful that we can win it for him, and we know he’s definitely smiling and jumping around up in heaven, cheering us on.”
Marian (35-5) was solid in all phases, but Brizard’s dominance at the net was too much for Lowell to contain. She finished with 29 kills compared to just four errors on 52 attacks. Her last three kills provided the final three points of the match.
“We do call her our finisher, our closer,” Cook said. “It’s one of those things they know that if she’s in the front row, we’re going to fight to keep her in the front row. Obviously, we have capable hitters all around. It’s nice, because she’s probably hitting close to .500 on the season, so at the end of the day, the odds are that one out of two balls is likely to be a kill. Let’s just play those odds.”
Brizard was fed by Ava Sarafa, who finished the match with 39 assists. Ella Schomer added eight kills and 11 digs for the Mustangs, while Lauren Heming had 15 digs.
Marian’s entire roster is eligible to come back next season, and while that’s nice to think about now, it was something that drove Cook and her team all season.
“A reporter was already talking about next year, and I said, ‘I don’t know why you’re talking about next year. This year’s not over, and we have a mission, we have a goal,’” Cook said. “I went back to the team and said, ‘This is what this reporter said, can you believe it?’ We grab little things as coaches, and we use it as fuel to push them to go beyond their comfort zone.”
Lowell (35-5) was led by Jenna Reitsma, who had 22 kills, while Emily Struckmeyer had 10. Sophie Powell finished with 32 assists, and Emma Hall had 17 digs.
“(Reitsma) is phenomenal; she’s special,” Lowell coach Jordan Drake said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever coach a hitter like her again. She’s the best of the best. At the same time, she doesn’t get the kills she does without a good pass. She doesn’t get the kills she does without a good set. These three (seniors Reitsma, Powell and Hall) are like sisters, and it’s not just Jenna, it’s the whole team.”
It was the second straight Finals appearance for Lowell, and while neither ended with a title, that success has elevated the program to a new level.
“It’s just really cool to see the support from our community,” Reitsma said. “And all of the younger girls that we can have an impression on, and see how they grow up to be, and just how they watch us. It’s going to be amazing to come back and watch the program over the years to see what an impact we had, because all the little girls out there that watch us play have big dreams to do what we do, too. It’s really cool, and I’m hoping they can keep that legacy going.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Marian’s Ava Brizard sends a kill attempt during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Lowell’s Jenna Reitsma controls possession. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)