Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 9 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 22, 2025
A volleyball season full of weekend excitement will again enjoy one of its most attention-grabbing highlights Sunday.
More than two months of matches will boil down to the selection of first and second seeds for every District bracket, with MHSAA Tournament play set to begin a week later on Nov. 3.
Seeds are determined by Michigan Power Ratings (MPR), and as noted previously you can follow how teams stack up statewide, in their respective divisions and even in their respective Districts on the MPR page. The formula for determining the rest of the District is posted here.
Records, results and schedules below are those posted for teams on MHSAA.com, and rankings reflect polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Kingsley d. Traverse City St. Francis (25-22, 25-15) The Division 3 No. 3-ranked Stags (44-4-1) went 5-0 at the McBain Tournament, defeating honorable mentions McBain and Beal City as well but topping the day with this sweep of the No. 8 Gladiators (24-14-0).
2. Hudsonville d. Grand Haven (25-20, 27-29, 20-25, 25-18, 15-11) The Division 1 No. 9 Eagles (27-8-1) prevailed after falling behind 2-1, avenging a pair of previous losses to the No. 8 Buccaneers (33-9-0) from Sept. 25 and Oct. 4.
3. Crystal Falls Forest Park d. Kingsford (25-15, 25-14, 25-21) The Division 4 No. 5 Trojans (35-1-0) continued to justify their status among the Upper Peninsula’s best regardless of division, with this win over the Division 2 honorable mention Flivvers (19-2-0) – during a 3-0 day at the Clash of the Divisions – one of their most impressive this fall.
4. Grand Haven d. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (25-17, 25-19) Three days before the Hudsonville loss, Grand Haven went 4-0 at the Mattawan Invitational with this win over the Division 4 No. 5 Cougars (30-10-1) arguably the best although the Bucs also downed Division 1 honorable mention Byron Center.
5. Hancock d. Lake Linden-Hubbell (25-12, 22-25, 25-14, 27-25) The Division 4 No. 8 Bulldogs (23-3-2) followed up a big sweep of Ishpeming with this win over Lake Linden-Hubbell (22-5-0) to further firm up their place among the best in the Upper Peninsula and Division 4 as a whole as well.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Brighton (25-6-2) The Bulldogs are holding onto an honorable mention in the latest Division 1 rankings with a run of nine wins over their last 12 matches and their losses this season coming to an incredible group of No. 1 Rockford, No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Marian, No. 7 Utica Eisenhower (twice) and honorable mention Jenison. Brighton clinched the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title and will play Northville in the KLAA Gold Tournament championship match Saturday. The Bulldogs also are slated for a top seed in their District.
South Lyon East (30-7-1) The No. 10-ranked Cougars finished 4-0 at the final Motor City Power Series last weekend, highlighted by a 2-1 win over Division 2 No. 3 North Branch. All but one of their losses have come to a top-10 or honorable mention team in Division 1 as well, and they remain the only team to defeat top-ranked Rockford. East followed up that Sept. 20 win by defeating Division 2 No. 2 Detroit Country Day as well, and is tied for first in the Lakes Valley Conference with the league tournament coming up Saturday.
DIVISION 2
Flat Rock (22-6-0) A Sept. 22 win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – the program’s first against the Huron League foe – put Flat Rock into the spotlight this fall, and it has received honorable mention again this week in the Division 2 poll. But the Rams have much more to boast, including a victory over Kingsley, and have also built up their experience in losses most recently to No. 6 Tecumseh and honorable mention Milan. Tune in for tonight’s for the rematch with the Kestrels.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (30-10-1) After opening this season with three losses at the Traverse City West Invitational, the Cougars have strung together plenty of success including 13 victories over their last 15 matches. They did fall to Grand Haven over the weekend at Mattawan but defeated DeWitt, Portage Central and Division 3 No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian and moved up a spot to No. 4 in this week’s Division 2 rankings. They’ve already far surpassed last year’s 23-22-2 finish, with a likely top seed awaiting in their District as the only team in the bracket with a winning record.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (17-3-2) The Fighting Irish are not ranked currently but may draw some notice with a 9-1-2 run that’s included a 25-23, 28-26, sweep of Division 4 No. 6 Battle Creek St. Philip and just a three-set loss to Division 2 Buchanan after Hackett won the first set. The Irish are lined up right now as the likely second seed in their District opposite No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian, which defeated Hackett in last year’s District Final and this season on Sept. 23. The only other loss this fall came to Delton Kellogg.
Pewamo-Westphalia (24-7-3) The 2022 Division 3 champion – and a quarterfinalist the last two seasons – No. 6 P-W is riding a seven-match winning streak as it gears up for another potential run. The best win over these last few weeks was a 2-1 comeback victory over No. 2 Plymouth Christian Academy at the Mt. Morris Tournament, and wins over No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian, No. 9 Saginaw Valley Lutheran and Division 2 No. 10 Battle Creek Harper Creek also stick out from this season’s overall work.
DIVISION 4
Midland Calvary Baptist (23-5-1) The Kings need two more wins to equal the total from last year’s Regional finalist team, and on Saturday went 4-1 at the Tawas Tournament with especially notable victories over Division 3 Johannesburg-Lewiston and Alcona and the loss to Division 2 Ogemaw Heights. All of Calvary Baptist’s defeats and the one tie came against Division 2 or 3 opponents, and as of today the Kings are slated to be the top seed in a District bracket that also includes No. 6 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Onekama (23-7-2) The Portagers are 9-2-2 over the last two-plus weeks and an honorable mention in this week’s rankings as the prepare to attempt next month to extend a five-year District title streak. They went 3-1-1 at the Farwell Paula Sullivan Tournament over the weekend, tying and then falling to Division 3 No. 10 Manton. But Onekama has solid wins over honorable mention Suttons Bay and Manton from earlier this season and plenty of other tough losses as well.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Wednesday – Davison (24-4-0) at Mount Pleasant (25-6-1) – Both went undefeated in their divisions and earn their spots in this overall Saginaw Valley League championship match.
Wednesday – Carrollton (27-1-2) at Saginaw Valley Lutheran (35-8-3) – This is a winner-take-all matchup for the Tri-Valley Conference Blue regular-season championship.
Saturday – Lowell East vs. West Challenge – The 16-team field includes Division 1 top-ranked Rockford, No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Marian, No. 4 Bloomfield Hills, No. 5 Lowell, No. 7 Utica Eisenhower and honorable mentions Jenison, Byron Center and Clarkston among several others.
Tuesday – Detroit Country Day quad – The Division 2 No. 2 Yellowjackets (13-7-0) will welcome Marian (34-4-0), Eisenhower (30-3-1) and Fenton (15-10-0).
Tuesday – Beal City (28-7-0) at Roscommon (42-2-0) – Division 3 top-ranked Roscommon can finish a perfect run through the Highland Conference, but honorable mention Beal City hopes to stand in the way.
PHOTOS (Top) Mount Pleasant's Tessa Ervin (2) digs the ball during a match against Saginaw Heritage. (Middle) East Grand Rapids' Heidi White (1) elevates to get to the ball against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. (Mount Pleasant/Heritage photo by High School Sports Scene. East Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Central photo by Michigan Sports Photo.)
JoBurg 3-Sport Great Capping Career Filled with All-State Honors, Team Trophies
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
April 5, 2024
It won’t be hard for Jayden Marlatt to remember opening day on the softball field from any of her four years at Johannesburg-Lewiston.
As a freshman, she missed the opener due to needing to quarantine. Her sophomore and junior years started on the road because the Cardinals’ field was under construction.
This season the Cardinals will open up — weather permitting — on their brand-new field, hosting Mio on Monday, April 8. Marlatt is slated to be the starting pitcher again and add to her school record collection.
While Johannesburg-Lewiston is looking forward to playing on the new diamond, Marlatt and her teammates have high hopes of finishing the season almost 200 miles south. They’re looking to get back to Michigan State University – the site of the Division 4 Semifinals and Final.
The Cards have had their sites on that goal since they fell 4-2 to Mendon in last year’s Semifinal at Secchia Stadium. The loss ended a 30-4-1 campaign that saw the Cardinals play every game on the road for a second consecutive year, but come up only one victory short of a first championship game appearance.
The trip to East Lansing also came after the Cards won the program’s first District title since 2008 and advanced to the Semifinals for the first time since 1981.
“It has been a long two seasons on the road,” said eighth-year head coach Kim Marlatt, noting the team utilized a Little League field for practices during the stretch. “They’ve been putting in a lot of work in the offseason, so it is excited to get going.”
The new field isn’t the only new things this spring. The Cardinals will have a junior varsity team for the first time during the Marlatt’s tenure. The JV squad is coached by Ryan Marlatt, who has been serving the program the past eight years as assistant coach. He also has been the head girls basketball coach at JoBurg the past two seasons.
The Marlatt coaches are the proud parents of Jayden, who continues to garner recognition as perhaps the greatest athlete in Johannesburg-Lewiston’s history.
The three-sport star had a huge hand in all that JoBurg accomplished last season leading the team in batting average (.670), home runs (13) and runs batted in (61). As the team’s ace pitcher, she collected 249 strikeouts and compiled a 1.32 ERA.
“Jayden has put in the hard work,” Kim pointed out. “She is a very humble athlete. ‘She doesn’t like to talk about herself. She likes to compete, and she likes to be on the top of her game for her teammates.”
Jayden has been named all-conference and all-state in softball, basketball and volleyball nearly every season over her four years at JoBurg. She’s led her teams to Ski Valley Conference, District and Regional titles along the way.
She’s also been named Player of the Year by multiple publications. And she’s a front runner to be voted the Most Valuable Player of the Ski Valley Conference in softball. Earlier this year, league coaches voted her the MVP for both basketball and volleyball.
“The Ski Valley never used to vote on an MVP,” Ryan Marlatt said. “Hopefully she can add the triple crown and get softball this year.”
Jayden Marlatt, who has played all three sports all four years, acknowledged softball is perhaps her most treasured, and she’ll continue in that sport at Ferris State. Her career total of more than 500 strikeouts, and her 14 home runs last season, are both JoBurg school records. "I like them all but probably softball,” she confirmed when asked to name her favorite sport.
She averaged 12 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and four steals per game this winter helping the Cards basketball team to a conference runner-up finish. She was key to JoBurg's ability to put a 12-game winning streak together, and she topped the 1,000-point career mark along the way.
Her outstanding senior year on the basketball court and this spring’s possibilities nearly vanished as the volleyball season ended.
She suffered what looked to be a serious lower-leg injury in the final game of the JoBurg volleyball season. “She finished in the emergency room,” Kim Marlatt said.
Diagnosed a high ankle sprain, it was an aggravation to an injury from her junior year in basketball. She wasn’t quite at 100 percent on the basketball court this season until the holiday break. She’s starting the softball season healthy, though.
Before the injury, Jayden led the Cards to their third volleyball conference championship over the last four years. After becoming JoBurg's all-time kills leader during her junior season, and with many of her teammates from her first three seasons graduating, Jayden had to fill a variety of roles while anchoring the offense from her outside hitter spot.
She ended up leading the team in both kills with 421 and digs, with 431, in her final season on the volleyball court. And she is listed among MHSAA’s all-time leaders in kills for a single match and career.
It’s more than Marlatt’s stats that stand out for Kristine Peppin, the school’s volleyball coach the past 15 years.
“It is not about the size of the school or the size of the player, it’s the heart that they have inside,” she proclaimed. “This girl would be a successful player on whatever team she was on.
“Yes we’re a small school, small town,” she continued. “That kind of leadership and heart and drive to be the best is what’s given her that success.”
Marlatt’s work ethic is second to none, Peppin noted. She never saw Jayden give less than a “1,000” percent in practice or games in her career.
“She’s a super hard worker and extremely modest for the kind of skill she possesses and the success she’s had,” Peppin said. “Her teammates think it’s amazing to be on her team.”
Marlatt’s volleyball skills caught the eye of at least one of her conference opponents’ coaches back in junior high. Ron Stremlow was performing one of his many coaching duties for Fife Lake Forest Area when he first saw Jayden on the volleyball court.
“I could tell then this girl was somebody special,” said Stremlow, who became one of the winningest coaches in state volleyball history with the Warriors. “When she got in high school, it just took off.
“She puts the time into it, and she works hard,” Stremlow continued. “Kids like that get what they deserve – they work for it.”
Stremlow, now retired, also acknowledged he’s enjoyed being able to watch the hard-throwing Marlatt on the softball field the last couple of seasons as Forest Area hosted the Cardinals consecutively due to JoBurg’s lack of a home field.
It’s something he’ll have to travel to do this year though, as JoBurg is scheduled to host the Warriors on April 15.
The Cardinals also will host a Regional on their new field June 8. The winners of District play at Rogers City, Harbor Springs, St. Ignace and Gaylord St. Mary will participate.
To play in the Regional, the Cards will have to emerge from the Rogers City District featuring the host Hurons, Atlanta, Hillman, Onaway, and Posen.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Johannesburg-Lewiston’s Jayden Marlatt drives a pitch during softball season. (2) Cardinals’ 1,000-point scorer Marlatt sets up for a free throw attempt. (3) Also a standout in the fall, Marlatt prepares to connect during volleyball season. (4) Marlatt celebrates a trophy win during last season’s Semifinals softball run with parents (and coaches) Kim and Ryan Marlatt. (Action shots by Dylan Jespersen/Petoskey News-Review; family photo by Breya Domke.)