Byron Center All-Stater Johnson Set to Represent US at Pan American Cup
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
August 26, 2026
BYRON CENTER – Byron Center volleyball coach Missy Ritz-Johnson had known for a while that her daughter, Mallory Johnson, possessed all of the attributes and intangibles to become a top-notch libero.
It became obvious at a young age.
“I would say when she was young that she often knew where the hitters were going to hit the ball better than, sometimes, they did,” Ritz-Johnson said. “She has had an ability to read hitters and anticipate what they are going to do, which makes her a really good defender. A lot of natural ability to read and understand the game, and she’s been thriving at that position.
“She’s really athletic and really competitive, and that's a good combination to have at that position.
Johnson, a 5-foot-6 senior, has blossomed into one of the top liberos in the country and was recently named to the U23 USA Volleyball Pan American Cup roster.
She traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., earlier this week to train with the team at the United States Olympic Training Center before leaving for Managua, Nicaragua, to compete September 1-6.
“It’s a great opportunity, and every time I step in this gym at this training center (in Colorado) it’s crazy to think that I'm even here,” Johnson said. “But the girls are amazing. They are great people, great athletes and great competitors. It's really fun, and I learn every time I come here and grow as an athlete and as a person.”
Johnson made the team after spending a week at the training center in mid-July.
“Obviously I was so grateful to be selected to try out, and when I made the team I was speechless and overwhelmed with joy,” Johnson said. “I called my mom right away and tried to gauge what was even going on. I really didn’t know what to expect going into it, but it was super competitive.”
After leading the state-ranked Bulldogs to an 8-0 start with four wins at both the Cornerstone Showcase and Traverse City West Invitational, Johnson will take a brief hiatus from her high school team and return on Sept. 7.
“I have talked a lot with my teammates about my absence, and they are all cool with it and doing great,” Johnson said. “I talk to them almost every day and ask them how practice went. They are all set and more than capable of handling business without me. For me, I think competing in these games will only make me grow and get out of my comfort zone. Hopefully I’ll bring my talents back to high school and see what we can do this year.”
Johnson, who first started playing club volleyball when she was 8, is one of nine returners for a talented Bulldogs’ squad that lost a thrilling match (3-2) during last season’s Division 1 Semifinals to eventual champion Farmington Hills Mercy.
That heartbreaking defeat has provided motivation for this year’s group.
“That loss hurt,” said Johnson, who made the Division 1 all-state team last fall as an outside hitter. “I know, personally, I have changed so much from that loss, and I’ve learned so much. I know that it sucked for the other eight returners, too. There’s been a mood switch with this team, and I know we all want it really bad this year.”
Johnson's personality and leadership fit well for her libero position, and she has embraced it fully.
“I’ve known nothing else, and I find myself just loving my position as a libero,” she said. “I love being in charge of the backcourt, getting to celebrate with my teammates and putting them in good positions to make plays.”
Ritz-Johnson said her daughter has been involved with the Olympic Developmental Program since she was in seventh grade and has worked hard to achieve her goals.
“She’s worked really hard to earn these opportunities,” Ritz-Johnson said. “She has a love for the game and has never complained about going to practice. She loves to practice and compete, and her favorite sport is one she is best at, which is not always the case.”
Last June, Johnson committed to a collegiate powerhouse, the University of Nebraska, after receiving interest from about 30 programs.
“It was pretty surreal, and I just remember watching them on TV when I was in sixth grade, and obviously Nebraska is a very big deal,” Johnson said. “I watched them and was thinking, ’Holy cow, I want to go here. I want to play at this level, and I want to be involved in this atmosphere.’”
“I’ve been to camps there since seventh grade and been out to campus every year since then. Every time I went there I loved it, and it felt like home. I knew I wanted to be there, and it wasn't a super-hard decision for me.”
Ritz-Johnson is excited for her daughter to play at such a high-profile program.
“There’s no place like Nebraska, as they say,” she said. “They’ve had attendance records and sell out when they travel and just the way the team is treated. The coaching staff is really special.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mallory Johnson (2) serves during last season’s Division 1 Semifinal against Farmington Hills Mercy. (Middle) Johnson huddles for a moment during that match with her teammates including, from left, Kinsley Whitfield, Lainey VanTol and Caitlin Hartson.
Trenarys Trade Roles, Mendon Reigns On
October 8, 2015
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
Volleyball found Bill Trenary early on. Actually, countless volleyballs did.
“I was getting hit in the head with volleyballs before I could walk,” the Mendon High School varsity coach, now in his second year at the helm, said. “There’s a very good story about me getting knocked out of a walker in this very gym. I started managing when I was in second grade. Ever since then I’ve been in the gym playing volleyball.”
His mother, Michigan High School Volleyball Coaches Association 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Kathy Trenary, spent more than three decades guiding prep squads, most notably a 19-year run at Mendon that netted 721 victories, 10 conference championships, 15 district titles, six regional crowns, trips to six MHSAA Semifinals and championship victories in 1998, 1999 and 2001.
Growing up around the game undoubtedly sparked Bill Trenary’s interest in the sport. Like most boys, however, he was just as engrossed in other athletic and leisurely pursuits. He enjoyed the outdoors, beating his mother on the squash court and obsessively studying opening chess moves — a competitive fire serving as the common thread.
One unique experience in particular was likely what set Bill Trenary up for a successful career in volleyball.
His parents put a premium on experiencing other cultures. His father, Robert Trenary, was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Botswana when Bill was in the eighth grade. That enabled the Trenary family to live abroad for a year. Bill Trenary ended up setting for his school’s varsity team, which played outdoors under the African sun.
Bill and younger brother Matt went on to play intramural volleyball at the University of Michigan.
“They tried to win the championship but could never do it because a lot of kids on the team just wanted to play,” Kathy Trenary said. “I’d go to Ann Arbor and watch them play. That was great.”
It was about that time when Kathy Trenary took over as head coach at Vicksburg. It was an opportunity for Bill Trenary to fire some high-velocity shots inside high school gyms like those he remembered zipping at him as a toddler.
“I was in my 50s at the time and I said, ‘I really need a hitting boy,” she recalled. “I said, ‘would you like to come and be a hitting boy?’ He really identified with how much he liked (volleyball). He played it all growing up, but he maybe never realized how much he liked it until he started to coach it.
“He just found it fascinating; he has always been a gamer.”
In the years since then, Bill Trenary learned from the best, leading to his takeover of the Mendon program in 2014. Kathy Trenary stayed on as his assistant coach and the continuity was evident with the Hornets’ run to the Class D semifinals in 2014, which ended in a 3-0 loss to Battle Creek St. Philip. The arrangement has been seamless for the Hornets, who are currently ranked No. 6 in the latest MIVCA Class D poll.
“When we decided to switch, part of the reason was her being kind to me, I guess,” Bill Trenary said. “She saw me getting better. It was time for me to kind of step into that role. I think I’m a little better game coach because I’m younger and I can push through long Saturday tournaments and make the quick decisions on the court.
“She is absolutely one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen — attention to detail and running practices. She’ll run most of the drills because, heck, she invented most of the drills. Not utilizing her in that role would just be stupid. Me taking that away from her would just cost us points. There’s no reason not to be doing that when we have someone of that caliber.”
A fan of Tom Tango’s book “Playing the Percentages in Baseball,” Bill Trenary strongly believes in analytics and that some statistical aspects of volleyball are often overlooked and undervalued.
As are role players, which there are more of this year than freak athletes. That’s often the case at a small school such as Mendon, where fundamentals help offset height disadvantages.
This year Mendon has a “huge arm” in junior hitter Megann Leighton, exceptional leadership from seniors Brandy DeLeeuw and Emma Eberstein, lockdown play from junior libero Kaley Smith and reliable and consistent setting from junior Cassie Plummer.
“That’s how other teams see us win, but the way we win is when Nancy Steinacker can come and serve a string in our weak rotation,” Bill Trenary pointed out.
The points are in the details.
“We don’t have the best athletes every year, but we have a deep knowledge of the game, which is fun,” he said. “I’ve just tried to build on that. I know we’re using more math, more stats, more film than we have. That’s just a next generation sort of thing, but we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel."
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Mendon coach Bill Trenary, far left, huddles with his team during a match this season. (Middle) Mendon assistant Kathy Trenary, left, remains in the program as her son's assistant. (Photos courtesy of Nicci Plummer.)