Hancock Riding Impressive Streak as Championship Pursuit Begins Second Week
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
November 10, 2026
BARAGA — Hancock carried a two-month winning streak into last week’s Division 4 District Tournament at Baraga and defeated the host Vikings on Thursday to overcome a major obstacle as they work to extend that undefeated run deep into November.
The Bulldogs (30-2-1) – who also won the Copper Mountain Conference title this fall – are 28-2 after the 25-11, 25-16, 25-20 sweep of Baraga and heading into tonight’s Regional Semifinal against host Ishpeming (18-8-2).
Baraga was an honorable mention in the final coaches Division 4 poll heading into the postseason, and its only losses this season were to Hancock. The Bulldogs entered the MHSAA Tournament ranked No. 5 and secured the league title by defeating Division 3 honorable mention Calumet in five sets Oct. 27. They also beat the Copper Kings 3-2 on their floor Sept. 15.
“That was a big win,” Hancock junior Romey Koskela said. “I think that was the first time in many years we won up there. It’s a great environment to be in. We were pretty excited after that. I think that set the tone for us. They’re a young team, but they’re tough to beat up there. They also gave us a tough match on our floor. Winning that match was big momentum for us going into the District.”
A victory tonight would enable the Bulldogs to return to Ishpeming for the Regional Final on Thursday to face the winner of No. 9 Crystal Falls Forest Park and Ewen-Trout Creek. Hancock defeated Forest Park in their regular-season meeting Sept. 12, after falling to the Trojans in a Regional Semifinal last fall. The Bulldogs defeated Forest Park in a 2024 Regional Final on the way to making the Division 4 Semifinals in Battle Creek.
“Forest Park would be a tough match,” Hancock senior Briell L’Esperance said. “Ishpeming also has a good team. You can’t underestimate anyone. You’ve got to give it your all in every match. I’m proud of the girls on our team. We work hard every day.”
Baraga challenged Hancock in the third set of Thursday’s District Final. The Vikings led 20-19 before a block by Koskela tied the score and gave the Bulldogs a side-out.
Hancock then scored the last five points, securing the decision on a kill by Koskela.
The Bulldogs run a 6-2 offense, which both L’Esperance and Hancock coach Brian Lamppa noted has been a great fit for their lineup.
Junior outside hitter Azura Aho, Koskela and junior libero Chloe Bastian recently were named to the WestPAC all-conference first team, while junior right-side hitter Vaeda Brooks and junior setter Tatum Sporalski made the second team and senior middle Bria Koski earned special mention. Lamppa was named league Coach of the Year.
“Romey is definitely leading us at the net and with her serving,” Lamppa said. “We’ve been working on our blocking. We’re being aggressive at the net.”
The Regional champion advances to the Quarterfinal on Nov. 17 at Manistique.
The two losses this season came against Division 2 Kingsford, which is coming off a District title as well.
“Our setters were getting some great passes to us (against Baraga),” L’Esperance said. “It all starts with them. It’s hard to defend against Azura Aho. If we can play like that, we’ll go far.
“We played a lot of bigger schools which I think will help us if we go downstate, although Forest Park has been a great team for many years. That would be a good match if we win Tuesday.”
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.
(Photo courtesy of the Hancock athletic booster club.)
Kalamazoo Christian Continues to Inspire, Taking Final Step for 1st Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 18, 2023
BATTLE CREEK – The ball hadn’t stopped bouncing before the tears came for Holland DeVries.
The Kalamazoo Christian senior’s spike caromed off a Traverse City St. Francis block Saturday, spinning to the ground to end the Division 3 Volleyball Final at Kellogg Arena.
DeVries immediately turned, emotions taking over her face, and joined her teammates in a pile on the court.
“I’ve been on this team for four years, and we’ve worked so hard – I’ve been playing since sixth grade with six of these seniors,” DeVries said. “It just means so much to us, because this is all we’ve worked for since we were literally 10 years old. It just means so much.”
DeVries and the Comets defeated St. Francis 26-24, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20 to claim the first volleyball title in school history. It came a year after they were runners-up, losing in four sets against Pewamo-Westphalia.
Earlier in the week, the Comets slayed that dragon, downing the Pirates in a Quarterfinal, but they weren’t satisfied until coach Carlie Southland was handed the Finals championship trophy.
“Especially for our seniors, we had six of them this year, and this was their last shot,” Southland said. “We made it a goal to win the state Finals, so it feels extra good to have done that. We watched a lot of film from last year and said, ‘What are the reasons that we lost?’ We watched that film, we picked out those reasons and said, ‘OK, we’re going to work on those reasons this year at the beginning of the year to make sure we are ready to come back here again this year.’”
The main takeaway? Mental toughness.
DeVries said she and her teammates knew that had to be a focus if they were going to achieve their goals, and it was apparent Saturday, as it was tested early and often.
Kalamazoo Christian didn’t take a lead in the first set until 25-24, as it fell behind 13-3.
After chipping away and spending most of the set down a single point, a kill from DeVries and an emphatic block by Hayden Deming gave the Comets the 26-24 victory in the set, which featured seven kills from Makenna Ekkens.
While St. Francis won the second set going away, the third and fourth were back and forth throughout, but it was the Comets who found a way to come out ahead in each.
“My team literally just was so good and pushed through,” DeVries said. “We didn’t play the best that we’ve played all tournament, but I still think that it shows that even when we’re not playing great, we can still push through and still win. We’ve been working a lot on mental toughness, and I think we did well on that tonight.”
DeVries finished with 16 kills and 27 digs for the Comets (43-6-3), while Ekkens had 17 kills and 14 digs. They’re two of the six seniors, joined by classmates Mackenzie Ash, Lola Stecker, Jovie Cochran and Sophia Nash.
All six contributed to the program’s first Finals title.
Cochran finished her last match with a team-high 28 digs, while Stecker had 39 assists and 11 digs. Ash had four total blocks, and Nash had five digs.
“It makes me so emotional, because I know that there’s younger girls now that look up to us a lot,” DeVries said. “I know that there’s 40-something girls trying out for the team. That just shows that we’ve inspired them to play, and I hope that this program keeps building on and on.”
Annelise DeJong added 11 kills for Kalamazoo Christian.
St. Francis also was seeking its first title, having been Class C runner-up in 2012. With just two seniors on the roster and several sophomore contributors, however, the future looks very bright.
It was one of those seniors, Garnet Mullet, who tied for the team lead with 15 kills for St. Francis (38-10-1), to go along with 18 digs.
Quinn Yenshaw also had 15 kills and added 19 digs for the Gladiators, while Reese Jones had 24 assists and 19 digs, and Tessah Konas had 15 assists.
“Our focus has been on shifting our culture to playing for each other instead of ourselves for a long time,” St. Francis coach Kathleen Nance said. “They really owned that. I think that we’re just going to continue to climb.”
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian players hoist their Division 3 championship trophy Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Kalamazoo Christian's Holland DeVries (5) attempts to block a kill attempt by St. Francis' Claire Hurley (9). (Below) Jovie Cochran (8) and Makenna Ekkens celebrate. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)