Block Party: 2026 Girls Volleyball Regional Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 9, 2026
Matchups anticipated all season long decided Girls Volleyball District championships all over the state last week – and the intensity only ramps up from here for the 128 teams that have advanced to this next round.
Regional Semifinals in all four divisions will be played Tuesday and Regional Finals on Thursday. Links to interactive brackets plus information on purchasing tickets are available on the Girls Volleyball page, and a list version of this week’s slate is posted on the Scores page – with green TV icons linked to broadcasts on the NFHS Network.
See below for glances at District Finals that caused some of the loudest statewide buzz, and quick previews of three Regionals in each division that could provide the most talked-about highlights in the days ahead. 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 (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Rockford d. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (25-18, 29-27, 25-22) It was only a matter of time before the Rams (19-21) returned to their traditional spot among the Division 1 elite, and it’s fair to say they arrived with this District-clinching win over No. 7 FHN (35-14-1) on Saturday after advancing with a 3-1 victory over honorable mention Lowell.
2. Buckley d. Traverse City Christian (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 15-10) The Bears (32-9) flew under the radar a bit most of the season, cracking the honorable mention list right before the start of the playoffs, but they made a loud statement with this Division 4 District Final win over No. 3 TCC (38-9).
3. Clinton d. Grass Lake (25-23, 25-19, 26-28, 25-13) These two Division 3 contenders played a few monster sets across their two matches over the last three weeks, and this time No. 7 Clinton (39-9-1) came back from dropping one to avenge its Oct. 22 defeat by the No. 5 Warriors (28-6-3).
4. Chelsea d. Tecumseh (14-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 20-18) Twice the unranked Bulldogs (15-10-3) came back after losing a set to emerge with the Division 2 District-clinching win in five, after losing twice to honorable mention Tecumseh (35-9-2) during the regular season.
5. Holland Christian d. Grand Rapids South Christian (18-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22) No. 8-ranked South Christian (27-8) had won their lone regular-season meeting, but after losing the first set Holland Christian (22-10-1) came back to clinch a Division 2 District title.
Regionals at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold.
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills Marian
Bloomfield Hills Marian (40-5) vs. Grosse Pointe South (8-27-2)
Detroit Renaissance (29-2-2) vs. Farmington Hills Mercy (28-3)
Renaissance claimed its first District title since 2019, and GPS came back from a tough regular season to advance to Regionals for the 13th straight season. They will try to break up an expected rematch of top-ranked Mercy and No. 2 Marian, who have played four times this season – Mercy with a 3-1 edge including winning their most recent meeting Oct. 24.
Holland West Ottawa
Hudsonville (36-5) vs. Rockford (19-21)
East Grand Rapids (27-9-1) vs. Grand Haven (32-11-1)
As noted above, Rockford has become a dangerous team – so despite losing twice previously to Hudsonville, including in their regular-season finale, the Rams can’t be overlooked. That said, Hudsonville’s losses all came to ranked opponents, and they picked up a pair of wins apiece against No. 10 Grand Haven and honorable mention East Grand Rapids along the way. EGR and the Bucs are seeing each other for the first time this fall.
Lake Orion
South Lyon East (39-7) vs. Clarkston (27-4-1)
Bloomfield Hills (33-11) vs. Brighton (28-10-1)
Clarkston and Bloomfield Hills both have won a Regional title over the last three seasons, while Brighton is seeking its first since 2001 and South Lyon East its first ever. Clarkston has wins over all three teams in this field but did lose a rematch to Bloomfield Hills on Oct. 17. All four of the Wolves’ losses came to ranked opponents, but the other three also have plenty of momentum: East has won 10 of its last 11 matches, Brighton 13 of its last 14 and Bloomfield Hills nine of its last 12.
DIVISION 2
Clio
Essexville Garber (35-15-5) vs. North Branch (39-9-3)
Frankenmuth (33-4) vs. Alma (35-11)
There is plenty of familiarity here with honorable mention Garber, No. 4 Frankenmuth and Alma all from the Tri-Valley Conference Red and No. 5 North Branch formerly of that league but also a regular at this stage of the tournament (and beyond). While the Broncos lost in their Regional Final last season, they’re seeking a fifth trip to the Quarterfinals over the last six years. North Branch has played, and defeated, several ranked opponents, but Garber did win their lone matchup, Sept. 19. The Dukes also downed Alma twice but lost their lone match with Frankenmuth in four sets. The Eagles’ only losses this season came against Division 1 opponents, but they saw their 2025 run ended by Garber in a Regional Semifinal.
Dearborn
Flat Rock (28-9-1) vs. Dearborn Divine Child (26-6)
Dearborn Heights Robichaud (11-5-1) vs. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (34-6-2)
Entering the postseason ranked No. 10, Divine Child is a sensible favorite this week. The Falcons have a pair of wins over honorable mention and league rival FGR and overall have only two losses since the start of September. But honorable mention Flat Rock was last season’s Division 2 runner-up and is riding a 10-match winning streak. FGR has won eight of its 10 matches since falling to Divine Child a second time, and both of those matches against the Falcons went five sets. And Robichaud enters with one of the postseason’s best stories, as the Bulldogs won a District title for the first time.
Plainwell
Holland Christian (22-10-1) vs. Edwardsburg (29-6)
Plainwell (18-20-1) vs. Grand Rapids Christian (29-7)
Top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian has reached the Semifinals at Kellogg Arena three of the last five seasons. The Eagles took over the top spot in the poll this fall at the end of August and never relinquished it, and all seven of their losses were to Division 1 teams – six to opponents ranked among the top eight entering the playoffs. But all three possible opponents this week have had success against teams in the polls. Plainwell avenged a loss to honorable mention Otsego from just two weeks prior on the way to winning its District. As noted above, Holland Christian got here with the win over South Christian, which was ranked No. 2 for most of September. Edwardsburg closed the regular season with wins over Division 1 honorable mentions Battle Creek Lakeview and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
DIVISION 3
Farwell
McBain (25-16-2) vs. Beal City (21-11-6)
Roscommon (40-9-5) vs. Hart (30-12-3)
Roscommon is the top-ranked team in this division, and its only losses over the last six weeks have come to ranked Division 1 and 2 opponents. But this week should provide plenty of challenges as McBain and Beal City were honorable mentions heading into the postseason and unranked Hart has been a top-10 team at multiple points. All but one of Hart’s losses were to Division 1 or 2 teams (with the other to Division 3 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian). Like Roscommon, Beal City and McBain also are from the Highland Conference, with Beal winning its lone meeting with the Ramblers on Oct. 15 in five sets. Roscommon did sweep both during the regular season.
Mt. Morris
Saginaw Valley Lutheran (53-9-3) vs. Cass City (29-8-5)
Mt. Morris (31-18-8) vs. St. Louis (34-4-3)
Valley Lutheran spent most of this fall ranked No. 1 and ended the regular season at No. 2 after a late loss to Roscommon. All but one of the team’s other defeats were to Division 1 and 2 teams, and the Chargers are seeking a fourth straight Regional title. This will be the first time they’ve seen No. 9 Cass City in two years, but the Red Hawks ended Valley Lutheran’s tournament runs three seasons in a row from 2022-24 and have faced a similarly rigorous schedule with similar results. St. Louis is an honorable mention in the coaches poll and riding a 12-match winning streak, but has an intriguing opponent in host Mt. Morris, which is playing in Division 3 for the first time after formerly playing in Division 2. The Panthers continued to face several larger schools this fall and tied St. Louis in Sept. 12 tournament play.
Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Hanover-Horton (33-10-5) vs. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (31-3)
Clinton (39-9-1) vs. Quincy (31-9-1)
This is another impressive group with Clinton ranked No. 7, St. Mary No. 8 and Hanover-Horton No. 10, and Quincy unranked but 24-4 since losing to St. Mary in tournament play in mid-September. The Kestrels have won nine straight Regional titles and reached the Semifinals in Battle Creek again last season, and their only losses this fall were to South Lyon twice and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – and St. Mary also defeated NDP in tournament play that same day. Hanover-Horton will be seeking to avenge last year’s Regional Final loss to the Kestrels, and the Comets have seen their share of strong opponents as well – with a split against Clinton, which is noted above and has taken all of its losses and the tie from ranked opponents and also has wins over Roscommon and Beal City.
DIVISION 4
Athens
St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (32-10-1) vs. Battle Creek St. Philip (32-13-4)
Mendon (24-12-4) vs. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (23-6-3)
One of the strongest overall groups in any division might be this one in Division 4, with St. Philip ranked No. 4, Michigan Lutheran No. 7, Hackett No. 10 and Mendon last season’s Division 4 runner-up. St. Philip was stopped by the Hornets last season and is seeking its first Regional title since its most recent Finals championship year of 2021. The Tigers haven’t lost to a Division 4 opponent this season – and defeated Mendon on Sept. 29 – but Michigan Lutheran has won eight of its last nine matches and has plenty of experience against larger teams as well as it pursues a first Regional title. Hackett has won 11 of its last 12 matches and is hoping to break through for its first Regional championship since 2001.
Concord
Concord (25-8-3) vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian (41-6)
Hillsdale Academy (23-8) vs. Fulton (24-13-4)
Top-ranked Lenawee Christian has held down the top spot all but one week this season, and the Cougars have certainly impressed with wins over Division 3 ranked Clinton, Traverse City St. Francis and Plymouth Christian Academy. Lenawee Christian has a solid pair of wins as well over honorable mention Hillsdale Academy, which otherwise has lost this season only to Clinton and Battle Creek St. Philip. Concord also is an honorable mention and has won 13 of its last 14 matches as it seeks a second Regional title in three years. Fulton is seeking its first ever but is another great story coming off claiming its first District championship since 2015.
Ishpeming
Hancock (30-2-1) vs. Ishpeming (18-8-2)
Crystal Falls Forest Park (36-4-1) vs. Ewen-Trout Creek (14-8-2)
Hancock defeated Forest Park to win their 2024 Regional, and Forest Park returned the favor last fall in a Regional Semifinal before advancing to championship week with a clincher against Ishpeming. Hancock’s only losses this season came to Division 2 Kingsford during the season’s first tournament, and the Bulldogs won their only meetings with Forest Park and the Hematites. Forest Park will be seeing Ewen-Trout Creek and potentially Ishpeming for the first time this fall but defeated E-TC in District play a year ago. Ishpeming has come on over the last month with 10 wins and a tie over its last 12 matches, and E-TC’s District-clinching win over Ontonagon avenged an Oct. 14 loss.
PHOTOS (Top) Allendale (red jerseys) and Fruitport players focus on a hit from Allendale’s back row during the Falcons’ Division 2 District-winning victory Thursday. (Middle) Lansing Catholic’s Katherine Partin (12) sends a kill attempt toward a Williamston block during the Cougars’ Division 2 clincher Thursday. (Allendale/Fruitport photo by Michigan Sports Media. Lansing Catholic/Williamston photo by TCP Photography.)
Irish Cap Dominating Run to Class B Win
November 23, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball coach Betty Wroubel has won 772 matches over the last 20 seasons. She had brought one other team to an MHSAA championship game, the eventual Class B champion in Fall 2007.
But it’s a fair argument none of her best dominated quite like her Fighting Irish did this fall in finishing off their second MHSAA title – although they had to win one of their toughest matches to finish the run.
Notre Dame, the top-ranked team at the start of the tournament, beat No. 3 North Branch in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, then No. 2 Wayland in the semi before surviving a late surge by No. 5 Grand Rapids South Christian to win the championship match Saturday in four sets, 25-15, 25-19, 19-25, 25-23.
After falling behind two sets to none, the Sailors (46-12-1) simply wouldn’t go away – and nearly drew even in the fourth after trailing by as many as five points.
But the Irish’s dominant front line was just a little too much to overcome as it finished with 60 kills – good to tie for eighth-most in MHSAA Finals history during the rally-scoring era.
“We’ve been through so many challenges and all of these teams that we’ve been playing, and our team chemistry is just so amazing; we can just trust each other and be confident with ourselves,” Notre Dame junior hitter Katherine Carlson said. “We finished because we can really just trust each other on the court. We were getting our passes, getting our sets (and) we could just go up, be confident, be aggressive and swing.”
Notre Dame’s only losses this fall were to Class A Semifinalist Temperance Bedford and honorable mention Lake Orion. But it wasn’t until the North Branch win Tuesday that Wroubel became convinced her Irish were prepared to finish the week with the program’s second title.
Carlson had with 25 kills Saturday, tying for ninth-most in an MHSAA Final, followed by senior Dani McCormick with 17 and junior Jenna Sassack with 12. The Irish (62-2-1) also had the sixth-most assists in a Finals, 58, and piled up 85 digs with four in double figures led by sophomore Emma Kowalkowski with 20 – tied for 10th most in Finals history.
In the last set alone, Carlson responded to five South Christian points with kills, while McCormick ended two rallies.
“What Katherine Carlson does just amazes me sometimes on the court. I don’t know how she has that court sense, how she knows sometimes where to put the ball. There’s some rallies, and the other team is getting some confidence, and she comes up and puts the ball on the floor and brings it back to us,” Wroubel said. “And Dani McCormick the last four to six weeks has been outstanding.
“In volleyball, if you have one good player out there, you’re tough to beat. You have a couple of them, and you’re going to have to play some darn good defense to knock them off.”
But as the match went on, South Christian’s strengthened. The record book will list a few Sailors performances as well – their 10 blocks make the list, with junior Ashley VanderHorst’s seven ranking among the top individual totals.
South Christian coach Allison Sagraves called Notre Dame the toughest team hers played in the tournament, but the Sailors hung tough after the disappointing start.
That was characteristic of the team’s season. It lost a key middle blocker for the rest of the fall on Oct. 24, which could’ve sunk the Sailors – but instead became a turning point. South Christian was in a bit of a lull at that point, but emerged and didn’t give up a set in the postseason until the championship match.
“I thought we kept fighting no matter what, and the end of Game 4 just showed what these girls have. Just because they had 24, that didn’t mean we were going to roll over and end it,” Sagraves said. “We fought right back, and we really believed we were going to come back and win.
“We talked about that in our timeouts: We’re fighters, and we’re not going to quit, and we’re going to force them to beat us.”
Five seniors started for South Christian, and hitter Taylor Wierenga finished her final high school match with 17 kills, while Cassidy Vredevoogd had 13 and middle Danielle Oeverman had 10. Senior setter Emily Blankespoor had 41 assists, and five Sailors had double-digit digs: Blankespoor and sophomore Abbie Porter with 14 apiece, Vredevoogd with 12 (along with five blocks) and senior Morgan Torres and junior Clarissa VanderHoning with 10 apiece.
Junior Ashley Knutson had 36 assists and 12 digs for Notre Dame, while Carlson added 13 digs and junior Bella Bucchi had 17. Junior Hannah Antosz added 20 assists.
PHOTOS: (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep hitter Katherine Carlson follows through as her teammates anticipate a kill during Saturday’s championship match. (Middle) The Irish celebrate their first MHSAA championship since 2007. (Below) South Christian’s Danielle Oeverman sends the ball toward the net as two Notre Dame blockers prepare to deflect it.