Chase Remains On Pace as Wroubel Ranks 2nd Among Nation's Winningest Active Coaches
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 18, 2026
PONTIAC — While the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep girls volleyball team pursues wins in Michigan this fall, parents, supporters and others around the program are also paying attention to what a program in Alabama is doing.
Why? It has everything to do with a prominent coaching record on the national level.
At the moment, it’s a nice neck-and-neck race to see who will finish this season as the active coach with the most wins nationally, Betty Wroubel of Notre Dame Prep or Ann Schilling of Bayside Academy in Daphne, Ala.
Going into the season, Schilling had 1,796 career wins, three more than Wroubel. As of Wednesday, Schilling had added 16 wins to her total to make it 1,812, while Wroubel added 14 for a grand total of 1,807.
The two are also third and fourth, respectively, on the overall all-time wins list nationally. Two coaches who are retired, Jodi Manore of Temperance Bedford (2,231) and Jack Magelssen of Portage Northern (1,832), top the list.
Schilling and Wroubel are fast approaching Magelssen, but if there is one person who isn’t too occupied with it all, it’s Wroubel.
Sure, she has a good laugh or smile when parents or other school officials have casually come up to her over the past few weeks to mention the situation. But as has been the case throughout her legendary career, there is a greater purpose for her.
“It’s the kids’ winning,” Wroubel said. “I get to facilitate a little bit. But it’s really about the kids, and I’ve been blessed with some really good kids here over the years and some coaches who have coached with me.”
Notre Dame Prep senior Nicole McDowell said trying to win so Wroubel can keep up with Schilling hasn’t really been talked about much among players this season. But that doesn’t mean the chase can’t provide a little more incentive the rest of the fall.
“That will help motivate us more,” McDowell said.
The head coach of Notre Dame Prep since 1994, Wroubel remains an institution for not only her school, but the volleyball coaching community statewide.
Wroubel has guided Notre Dame Prep to four Finals titles in Class B/Division 2, with the latest in 2021. When Notre Dame Prep won the Class B championship in 2007 (fall season), the Fighting Irish not only captured the school’s first volleyball title but became the first program in Oakland County history to win at the Finals.
“I just love being around the kids, and they provide the energy and keep you going,” said Wroubel, who is also the athletic director and varsity softball coach at Notre Dame Prep.
Even as eras and the sport have changed drastically, players have enjoyed playing for Wroubel as much as she’s enjoyed coaching them.
“She really is competitive and she’s hard on us, but she wants to win and all of her intentions are good,” said McDowell, who has committed to play collegiately for Rider University (N.J.) and is a returning all-state player. “Outside of volleyball, she is the most generous person I know.”
Time will tell if Notre Dame Prep (14-12-2) can continue to pile up wins this season for itself and Wroubel.
While the coaching wins angle could be a fun storyline for the program and its supporters to follow, it certainly won’t sway Wroubel from her ultimate objective to make her players better volleyball players and women.
“I just love my job,” she said. “I think this is where God has placed me. There’s a place where we’re all supposed to be, and this is part of my mission. This is where I’m supposed to be. God has blessed me with great support and great athletes, and I just love it here.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep girls volleyball coach Betty Wroubel encourages her team during a match last season against Warren Regina. (Middle) Wroubel, right, accepts the 2021 Division 2 championship trophy from Vicky Groat. (Top photo by KMS Photography.)
Matchup of 1 vs 2 Goes to St Mary in 5
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2019
BATTLE CREEK – The Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central volleyball team didn’t mean to be prophetic when it made “I’ve got your six” its season motto.
But on Saturday, the saying’s original intent – that each team member had the other’s back – gained a new meaning as the Kestrels brought home the school’s sixth MHSAA Volleyball Finals title with a five-set victory against Schoolcraft.
St. Mary (50-2) won 25-27, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 15-12 at Kellogg Arena to claim the Division 3 championship, the program’s first since 2014.
“Being here last year and going through a five-set loss (in the Semifinals) really fueled us,” St. Mary coach Karen O’Brien said. “I just think to have that experience of playing in that gym with the lights and the fans helped us. We wanted this from Day 1. We knew this was our goal to be here. It’s great for the four seniors to be able to come back and win our sixth. I know the reporter Jeff Mead (Friday) asked, ‘Does that six mean the sixth state title?’ It never was intended to be that way. But it might be a coincidence.”
It’s the first title for the Kestrels under O’Brien, who previously coached at Eastern Michigan University. O’Brien underwent treatment earlier in the season for her third battle with ovarian cancer.
“I don’t want to do anything but coach them when I’m going through treatment,” O’Brien said. “Because it’s something to look forward to, and I can leave cancer (to the side).”
While going through treatment, O’Brien lost her hair and had a temporary tattoo on her forehead that symbolized the team’s other saying, “Allow your faith to be stronger than your fears.” She had one on her wrist Saturday, along with every member of the team.
“Last year when we were here, the fears got the best of us,” O’Brien said. “The tattoo is just a reminder to have faith, not only in God, but in our players and the coaches and the program. And it was really just a reminder of that.”
The Kestrels had to have faith Saturday, as the much-anticipated battle between the top two teams in the Division 3 rankings lived up to its billing. The teams proved to be very evenly matched, and any multi-point run seemed like a major victory.
“I think we played a great game, and if we play them again, maybe we beat them in five,” Schoolcraft coach Erin Onken said. “I think that matchup goes more sets than three every single time. We have a ton of respect for them, and we knew it was going to be tough.”
It was the No. 2 Kestrels who made the final run, winning the final three points. St. Mary senior Samantha Michael and junior Mikayla Haut combined for a block on Schoolcraft star Andelyn Simkins to close out the match.
“Coach O’Brien always says if you see a hitter moving in, you’ve gotta move with her,” Michael said. “We just got our hands up, we pressed the six and we got her. It was just like the best feeling. It felt unreal.”
Simkins led all players with 28 kills in her final match. She also had a team-high 23 digs for the Eagles (48-7-1).
“It’s definitely not easy (defending Simkins),” Michael said.
Schoolcraft raced to an 11-4 lead in the first set, but St. Mary came all the back and even led 20-19. A Simkins kill ended a back-and-forth finish to the set and gave Schoolcraft the initial match lead.
The second set was following the same back-and-forth path, until SMCC was able to open up a four-point lead at 19-15, forcing a Schoolcraft timeout. While the Eagles were able to match SMCC the rest of the way, they couldn’t get closer than three points and the Kestrels tied the match at a set apiece.
Simkins was a force in the third set, helping her team get a little bit of separation midway through. She had eight kills in the set, but that didn’t even cover the impact she made, as on multiple points she fired more than one spike at the SMCC defense to keep the Kestrels off balance. She closed out the set with a deft tip and put her team one set from a title.
The Kestrels had different plans, however, racing out to a 9-4 lead in the fourth set to force a Schoolcraft timeout. The Eagles fought back to within one at 14-13, as Simkins had four kills in a five-point stretch. But SMCC was able to stretch the lead back out and force the fifth and deciding set.
Haut led St. Mary with 27 kills and 24 digs, while junior Anna Dean added 12 kills. Senior Payton Osborne had 24 digs, junior Grace Lipford had 26 assists, and senior Sarah Reicker had 24 assists.
Schoolcraft junior Kayla Onken had 53 assists and 15 digs, while junior Anna Schuppel had 13 kills. Juniors Kelby Goldschmeding and Allie Goldschmeding added 21 and 16 digs, respectively.
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Mary’s Abby Costlow (4) winds up for a kill attempt during Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Schoolcraft’s Maggie Morris (9) blocks a St. Mary attempt.