Forest Park Embarks on Tournament Run with Momentum, Valuable Experience
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2026
HARRIS — Crystal Falls Forest Park brought plenty of momentum going into this week’s Division 4 District volleyball tournament.
The Trojans completed their regular season at 34-4-1 after posting a 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-14) triumph over Bark River-Harris Broncos a week ago. That victory secured for Forest Park a fifth-consecutive Skyline Central Conference title and ran its league winning streak to 43 matches.
The No. 9-ranked Trojans (35-4-1) swept Powers North Central in Wednesday’s District Semifinal and will face District host Felch North Dickinson (19-13-4) for the title at 5 p.m. tonight.
“I think we have a lot of depth,” Trojans coach Bobbie Jo Anderson said that evening. “We have strong hitters across the board. We have a lot of momentum going into the (Division 4) District. We played a lot of good teams. We’ve been competitive and successful against the larger schools. We did everything we could.”
Forest Park is seeking to take another familiar step after finishing 42-2 and reaching the Division 4 Semifinals a year ago. The Trojans have reached the Semifinals in Battle Creek three of the last four seasons.
Sophomore middle hitter Josie Anderson – also among the team’s leading hitters last fall as a freshman – created plenty of issues for the Broncos in last week’s regular-season finale.
“We’ve been working for it,” Anderson said. “We’re starting to pull it together. Winning the conference undefeated gives us a lot of momentum going into the District.”
In addition to earning the SCC title, senior Vienna Price says Forest Park’s victories over rival West Iron County were among highlights this fall.
The Trojans won in four sets at West Iron and swept the Wykons in three at home.
“They’re a pretty good team,” Price added. “Those were big wins for us, but winning the conference was definitely the biggest highlight. We’re super excited about going into the tournaments. We want to play well. We don’t want our season to end.”
Forest Park won the Escanaba Elks Invitational for the third straight time (Oct. 3) and its own invitational (Sept. 19). The Trojans were runners-up in the ‘Rock’ Invite at Gladstone, dropping a 16-25, 28-26, 15-9 decision to No. 5 Hancock in the title match.
Should both teams continue to advance, they would meet in a Regional Final.
“That would be a hard match,” Price said. “We’ve been looking at them all season.”
BR-H coach Brooke Bartley also was impressed with what she saw from the Trojans.
“They are very well-coached,” she said. “They have a great feeder program. The junior high program definitely helps them for varsity. They play a very up-tempo offense.”
The Trojans, who run a 6-2 offense, opened their season at Mount Pleasant where they finished 3-1-1 and placed third at the Heat on the Hardwood at Morey Courts. That run included a win over honorable mention Onekama, loss to No. 3 Traverse City Christian and tie with No. 2 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
“I think that set the tone for the season,” Josie Anderson said. “We’ve been working hard and getting better, which has boosted our confidence. Our schedule has helped us.”
The Trojans also hosted the Class of the Divisions tournament Oct. 17 where they dropped a three-set decision to Division 2 Kingsford and defeated Division 3 honorable mention Calumet and Division 1 Marquette in two sets apiece.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Forest Park’s Vienna Price (4) sets for her teammates during the Trojans’ Oct. 20 win against West Iron County. (Middle) Harper Anderson elevates for a serve. (Photos by Kathy Holm.)
Country Day, Senior Star Hiemstra Cap Repeat Run in Dominating Fashion
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
BATTLE CREEK – Elise Hiemstra’s final swing in a Detroit Country Day uniform was the perfect way to end her high school volleyball career.
The senior outside hitter took a well-placed set from sophomore Payton Woodruff, like she has so many times over the past two years, and spiked it through the Flat Rock defense onto the floor at Kellogg Arena.
Her 21st kill of the day closed out a 25-18, 25-19, 25-12 sweep for the Yellowjackets in the Division 2 championship match, and back-to-back Finals titles.
“I just really wanted Payton to get me the ball,” Hiemstra said. “I just really wanted to go out the best I possibly could.”
This weekend marked just the second time Country Day had even made the Semifinal, but the Yellowjackets (29-9) looked like seasoned veterans, clinically putting away Flat Rock in a dominant performance.
“Our goal today was just to kind of come in and take care of business,” Country Day coach Kim Lockhart said. “Go back to the basics, serve tough, pass the ball. Just go out there and do our thing, and I think that’s what we did. We handled ourselves well. I felt our nerves were settled right out the gate. We came in with confidence and a lot of communication.”
Flat Rock, meanwhile, felt the nerves and inexperience in this moment were a factor as the Rams (39-9) were making their first appearance at Kellogg Arena.
“I feel like the pressure, this was our first time even making it here, and I feel like we were just not used to that,” Flat Rock junior Sarah Giroux said.
Giroux’s assessment looked accurate, as Country Day’s athleticism and attacking movement seemed to catch Flat Rock flat-footed.
Woodruff had 35 assists in the match, spreading them out to seven attackers.
“Especially going through semis and quarters, I think their offense was a little bit quicker,” Flat Rock coach Morgan Delhey said. “I would have liked to see a little bit more competition coming up to this so maybe we were a bit more prepared. But, they’re a good team and I have to give credit to them.”
While Woodruff was spreading the wealth, Hiemstra was her favorite target, and for good reason. On Saturday, Hiemstra became Country Day’s all-time leader in kills, both for a career and season.
“When I look at Elise, she was a baby coming into all the camps I used to run when she was just so little and loving the sport,” Lockhart said. “Her sister was older than her, and she was kind of like, ‘I wanna be like my sister.’ She has just been here from the get-go, out of the gate, and has learned from some really great players along the way. Ever since she was a freshman, playing behind some big players. She’s really been a sponge. Going from playing back row, a (defensive specialist) when she was a freshman, to leading the team to back-to-back championships, there’s a lot to be said about her and her success at Country Day.”
While Country Day didn’t show any signs of stress Saturday, they did have to deal with the pressure of defending a title all season. It’s something they really embraced down the stretch.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure, but we took it and we used it to our advantage instead of letting it make us crumble,” Country Day senior Abby Pernick said. “I think that is really what pushed us through. We wanted it so much. That was the thing we talked about from Day 1, tryouts even. We came in, and we knew we wanted it.”
Demi McCoy led the Country Day back line with 14 digs Saturday, while Hiemstra added nine. Aliyah Potapenko had nine kills for the Yellowjackets, and Woodruff added four aces.
Giroux led the Flat Rock attack with 15 kills, adding nine digs defensively, while Zoe Ryan had 21 assists.
“I wouldn’t rather do it with anybody else than this team,” Flat Rock senior Reagan Higdon said. “I wouldn’t rather win or lose with anybody else. Especially for this program, this community, no matter how we came out, I’m still glad that we’re here. We’ve done something that’s never been done before.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day players celebrate their repeat championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Elise Hiemstra (9) smashes a kill attempt at a Flat Rock block including Jaclynn Motyka (14).