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.)
Gabriel Richard Savors Flawless Finish
December 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
All that the Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard volleyball team accomplished this season is still sinking in.
The Fighting Irish became the first Michigan high school team since Marysville in 1998-99 to finish as an undefeated MHSAA champion, rolling to a 42-0 record on the way to winning the Class B title. They achieved this milestone despite playing a schedule loaded with 21 teams ranked at some point in either Class A or Class B – including eventual Class A champion Novi.
And Gabriel Richard did more than just win every match – it dominated, with a set record of 102-6. The Irish won all eight of their MHSAA Tournament matches 3-0. For the season, they beat teams by an average of 9.5 points per set; during the tournament, that average margin of victory bumped up to 11 points.
The program, which last won an MHSAA title in 1991, in Class D, finished a solid 22-7-1 in making the Class B Quarterfinals in 2014. But the jump to history-making, and in this dominating fashion, was extraordinary – and in addition to other accolades, earned Gabriel Richard the honor as November's Applebee's Team of the Month.
“I’ve been thinking back to all of those matches that were really, really close, and easily could’ve gone the other way. There’s something very special about this group of ladies,” said Gabriel Richard coach Mayssa Bazzi, a former standout at Dearborn High and Wayne State who finished her third season coaching the Irish. “Every single one of them is very humble. First and foremost, they’re just good girls. And I just think that helps.”
Each month during the 2015-16 school year, Applebee’s will recognize a Michigan high school team or teams not only for performances on the field of play, but also in the classroom and community.
Over the last two weeks, Bazzi has received congratulations from coaches throughout the state, and especially Gabriel Richard’s Detroit Catholic League. An observation by one who saw her team multiple times has stuck with Bazzi most.
The Irish had plenty of star power – senior Emily Tanski and junior Jurnee Tipton made the Class B all-state first team, while seniors Sydney Burton and Rachel Dunlavy made the second. But that opposing coach noted that the Irish didn’t have one player "full of herself," but instead all of the players were “full of our team.” That selflessness was something Bazzi knew to be true, but this coach put it into words she’ll continue to cherish.
That quality showed as the Fighting Irish took the opportunity to cheer on a former opponent only hours before playing for the Class B title. After word got out that Novi’s fan bus was unable to make the trip to Battle Creek for the MHSAA Finals because of snowy weather, the Gabriel Richard players filled in parts of two rows of the Novi student section at Kellogg Arena to help root on the Wildcats during their match against Romeo.
The successes continue off the court. The Irish carry a grade point average of 3.68, which earned them academic all-state honors from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association, and three seniors earned academic all-state individual honors as well.
A number of Gabriel Richard players also are involved in athletic director Hally Yonko’s school health club that spreads awareness and education on health-related topics. As part of those efforts, they helped raise nearly $3,000 for the school’s annual cancer scholarship fund, led the prayer service after an all-school Mass and helped with the annual walk as well as participated in an activity for the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, which encourages smokers to quit.
“Their success brought us all together … our coaches, athletes, student body, parents, staff and community members,” Yonko said. “We would always say a prayer after each game as a team, and in the playoffs the whole student section began joining in – even during the state semi and finals behind the student section bleachers. It was great to witness and see our students supporting each other and the girls play for each other, their school, their families and God.”
Past Teams of the Month:
October: Benton Harbor football – Report
September: Mason and Okemos boys soccer – Report
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard celebrates last month's Class B Semifinal win over Goodrich.