Block Party: 2026 Girls Volleyball Week 8 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 14, 2026
Girls Volleyball District play begins in three weeks, and you won’t find any contenders slowing things down as we speed toward the beginning of the postseason.
Arguably this fall’s most prestigious tournament – the Beast of the East – will be played Saturday with all four state divisions sending ranked teams into the field, and the Upper Peninsula also is hosting one of its most competitive events this season, at Crystal Falls Forest Park. Several teams are attempting to put finishing touches on league championships, and many more have lined up other contenders as they prepare for the playoffs and the ultimatum of win to play again.
Records below are those reported and tracked on this website, and rankings referred to below reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Bloomfield Hills Marian d. Farmington Hills Mercy (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17) After suffering two earlier losses to Mercy, Marian (28-3) took this match in four sets, clinched their Catholic High School League Tournament title and has taken over the No. 1 ranking in Division 1, sending the Marlins (20-4) to No. 2.
2. Parma Western d. Hanover-Horton (26-24, 25-17) Division 2 No. 3 Western’s 6-0 run through Hanover-Horton’s Karen Abbott Invitational pushed its record to 32-0 and also included wins over Division 3 No. 7 Grass Lake, No. 6 Traverse City St. Francis, Hudson, Brooklyn Columbia Central and Division 4 No. 1 Adrian Lenawee Christian, in addition to the Division 3 No. 10 Comets (21-7-5).
3. Midland Dow d. Saginaw Valley Lutheran (30-28, 20-25, 25-20) The Chargers (36-4-4) also handed Division 2 No. 4 Frankenmuth its first during this home quad, but the night’s most exciting set may have been the first one of this win over Division 3 top-ranked Saginaw Valley Lutheran (38-6-1).
4. Traverse City Central d. Grand Rapids South Christian (25-20, 25-18) The Trojans (22-2-1) finished 4-0 at the Hudsonville Unity Christian Invitational, with this sweep of the Division 2 No. 8 Sailors (22-7) the highlight but a three-set win over honorable mention Vicksburg also of note.
5. Roscommon d. Traverse City St. Francis (25-20, 25-15) These two top-10 teams in Division 3 locked up as part of a quad, with the No. 3-ranked and host Bucks (29-6-5) avenging last year’s loss to the No. 6 Gladiators (24-13-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Clarkston (20-2) The Wolves have held down the No. 3 ranking in Division 1 since Sept. 8, trailing only Mercy and Marian after falling to both in August. Those are Clarkston’s only losses this season as it looks to bounce back from last year’s District exit against Oxford – which the Wolves defeated to start this season and again last week. A pair of wins over No. 8 Lowell and singles over No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and No. 5 South Lyon East also pop off the page.
South Lyon East (25-5) The No. 5 Cougars’ most recent win also was the best of several memorable ones this fall, as they downed No. 2 Mercy in three sets last week after losing the first 25-12. They also have defeated No. 10 Forest Hills Northern twice, honorable mention Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and No. 9 Grand Haven once, and honorable mention South Lyon twice after the Lions ended East’s 2025 season in their District. Those two rivals are headed to the same District again next month.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Country Day (12-6-1) The Yellowjackets haven’t played as many matches as most contenders, but they’ve tested themselves against some of the state’s elite with losses to Division 1 No. 2 Mercy, top-ranked Marian and honorable mention St. Mary’s among others. The two-time reigning Division 2 champion is ranked No. 2 currently and tonight has an opportunity to avenge its Sept. 30 defeat against the Eaglets. Country Day also will see Division 1 No. 5 South Lyon East a second time Oct. 22 after winning their first matchup Sept. 3.
Marshall (23-9-1) The unranked Redhawks have navigated tough competition all season, going five sets before falling to No. 3 Parma Western in Interstate 8 Athletic Conference play, but defeating honorable mention Vicksburg, Division 3 No. 2 Plymouth Christian Academy, No. 4 Clinton and honorable mention Morley Stanwood and going 1-2 against Division 1 honorable mention Battle Creek Lakeview. Total, five defeats have come against teams ranked or honorable mention in Divisions 1 and 2.
DIVISION 3
Cass City (18-6-4) These Red Hawks have tested themselves substantially as they look next month to run their District title streak to six and potentially return to the season’s final weekend for what would be the fourth time this decade. Cass City went 2-2-1 at the opening Cadillac Invitational, 0-2-2 at the MI Elite Program Cup and 1-2-1 at the D3/D4 Showdown, facing elite and/or often much larger opponents at all three. The Red Hawks are otherwise 15-0 this fall.
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (26-6) WMC matched up with a tough crew of larger opponents at the Unity Christian Invitational over the weekend and finished only 1-3 there. But the No. 5-ranked Warriors are otherwise 25-3 this season with a 5-0 day over a field that included honorable mention Hart and Fruitport in winning Mona Shores’ Best of the West, plus an earlier victory over Division 2 previously-honorable mention Fremont.
DIVISION 4
Atlanta (25-0) The Huskies are an honorable mention in this week’s poll and one of three teams statewide still undefeated. They’ve won Regional titles the last two seasons and this fall have lost only six sets. Atlanta went 5-0 winning all 10 sets during the Onaway Tournament and finished 6-0 winning all 12 sets it played at the Oscoda Invitational last month. The Huskies will travel Oct. 20 to face Hale, which delivered their only regular-season defeat of 2025.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (23-6-3) The No. 2-ranked Irish have won nine of their last 10 matches, the lone loss during that time to Division 3 top-ranked Valley Lutheran, and they also defeated Division 4 No. 7 Ubly that day. Three losses total have come to Valley Lutheran, with the other three to Division 2 No. 8 North Branch, Division 3 No. 3 Roscommon and No. 9 Elk Rapids. Sacred Heart also can count a win over Division 4 No. 4 Traverse City Christian and a tie with No. 9 Crystal Falls Forest Park.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – Grand Haven (26-8-1) at Hudsonville (28-3) – The best from the always-strong Ottawa-Kent Conference Red are the No. 9 Buccaneers and No. 6 Eagles, and Hudsonville won the first match Sept. 17 in three sets.
Thursday – Detroit Country Day (12-6-1) at Macomb Lutheran North (23-1) – The Nos. 2 and 6 teams in Division 2, respectively, face off in what could be a Regional Final preview.
Thursday – Elk Rapids (14-7-3) at Traverse City Christian (27-6) – The Division 3 No. 9 Elks and Division 4 No. 4 Sabres meet in one of northern Michigan’s most anticipated matchups of the season.
Saturday – Beast of the East at Trinity Health Sports Center – The field of 32 includes 18 teams currently ranked or receiving honorable mentions in Divisions 1-4, and a few others formerly in that group. Division 1 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian and Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Christian are among those taking the court.
Tuesday – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (11-18), Forest Hills Northern (22-8) at Grand Rapids Christian (22-3) – As noted above, the Eagles are ranked No. 1 in Division 2, and Forest Hills Northern is No. 10 in Division 1.
PHOTO (Top) DeWitt returns a volley during a match this season against Okemos. (Photo by TCP Photography.)
Monroe St Mary Rising to Repeat Mode
November 13, 2020
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
MONROE – Flip the Switch.
Every year, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central head coach Karen O’Brien comes up with a catchphrase that she can use in conversations with her team for motivation.
This year, O’Brien picked the phrase “Flip the Switch,” which signals that MHSAA Tournament time is the time the Kestrels need to turn their game up a notch if they want to repeat as Division 3 champions.
“We know we have a goal we want to accomplish, and we are working hard to get there,” said SMCC senior Anna Dean. “There’s always another level that we can reach, every game.”
To this point, the Kestrels have answered the call. On Thursday, SMCC beat Manchester in straight sets to improve to 36-2 on the season and advance to Tuesday’s Quarterfinal against Bronson. O’Brien, in her sixth year coaching the Kestrels, said her team is making steady progress, but they still have potential to get better.
“We know we have another level we can raise our game to,” she said. “We haven’t played at that level yet in the playoffs. We know we need to flip the switch, mentally and physically, if we want to be at the next level.”
SMCC is a veteran team with seven seniors who have been playing together for years. Miss Volleyball finalist Mikayla Haut is joined by classmates Grace Lipford, Abbie Costlow, Jaydin Nowak, Kylie Barron, Anna Dean and Olivia Anderson. There are also five juniors and two sophomores on the postseason roster.
Haut is the second member of her family to be a Miss Volleyball finalist. Cassie Haut, now an assistant coach with the program, was a finalist in 2014 before becoming an all-Mid-American Conference player at Eastern Michigan University.
“I think Mikayla learned last year that she doesn’t have to carry us, she has to lead us,” O’Brien said.
Haut showed off her talent in the Regional held at Adrian Madison this week, at times dominating Tuesday’s match against Hudson and playing steady against Manchester.
“I think our biggest thing is just being consistent,” Haut said. “That’s what is going to get us to where we want to be.”
The Kestrels have put together an impressive resume to take with them into Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. In late October, O’Brien found an opening at a quad in Marshall where the Kestrels went and beat Marshall, ranked No. 10 in Division 2 at the time, Lake Odessa Lakewood, ranked No. 1 in Division 2, and Harper Creek, to go 3-0 on the day. SMCC also won its 10th consecutive Huron League title earlier this season. Haut and Barron have gone 55-1 in league play over their four-year careers.
SMCC’s only losses this fall were to Division 1 opponents Saline and Ann Arbor Skyline. Skyline, which beat Saline in this year’s District, will be playing in Tuesday’s Quarterfinals as well.
Costlow said the team believes in the Flip the Switch mentality.
“As we get to harder teams, we really need to flip that switch,” she said. “We have before. As we progress in the postseason, we need to get our game up.
“It’s a mental thing. It’s energy. When we bring that energy, we all move together and play as a unit, it's really fun.”
Costlow has worked on a jump float serve this year and is consistently one of the team’s best servers.
“The coaches have really been working with me with my hand contact and staying strong with it and not moving my wrist around,” she said. “I like contacting the ball higher. It floats and is hard to pass when it gets up into the air like that.”
Serving at a high level is important for the SMCC attack.
“Our goal is to serve tough so that their setters have a tough time getting anybody the ball,” O’Brien said.
When they are playing offense, the SMCC hitters seem to never stop coming at teams.
“I will be shocked if they don’t (win Division 3 again),” said Whiteford coach Buffy Ruddy after watching the Bobcats fall to SMCC in the District Final. “They have a great team. They have very good ball control, make very few errors and just have a really good balanced attack. They keep coming at you.”
O’Brien said the SMCC setters do a great job of distributing the ball.
“We have six hitters that can attack the ball,” she said. “We have certain plays called, but the setters do a good job of spreading the ball around. It can come from our middle or the right side. I think it’s a great thing. The opponents have to focus on three attackers every time.”
Costlow agreed.
“That’s one of the reasons we do so well,” Costlow said. “We have so many hitters that can put the ball down. The other team never knows where the ball is going to be set or who’s going to hit. It really messes up the other team.”
After seeing her team get past Manchester, Lipford said the Kestrels want more.
“We didn’t play to our full potential,” she said. “We would have liked it to be more decisive of a win. We need to start quicker, finish and play our game.
“From the very start we have to have that mentality.”
O’Brien is in her sixth year as head coach at SMCC. In 2018 her squad lost to Bronson in the Semifinals. Last year the Kestrels swept through the regular season and tournament, winning the school’s sixth Finals championship, and first under O’Brien, in a five-set thriller over Schoolcraft.
The win over Manchester was another start.
“I think individually we made steps, but as a team we are not there yet,” O’Brien said. “But we’ll be there on Tuesday.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) SMCC’s Mikayla Haut (8) hits against Hudson’s Callie Bauer in their Regional Semifinal. Both Haut and Bauer are Miss Volleyball Award finalists. (Middle) Abbie Costlow (4) swings against Hudson. Costlow is one of seven seniors on the SMCC squad. (Below) The “Flip The Switch” T-shirt. (Action photos by Deloris Clark-Osborne.)