Kingsford's Sights Set on Postseason Success After 4th-Straight League Sweep
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 30, 2026
MARQUETTE — After earning the Great Northern Conference volleyball championship Oct. 22 with a sweep at Marquette, Kingsford is looking for more as it prepares for the Division 2 District Tournament next week in Escanaba.
The Flivvers’ 3-0 defeat of the Sentinels 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-15) in their regular-season finale earned Kingsford its fourth-consecutive undefeated GNC finish.
“There was a little pressure coming into this match,” 11th-year coach Jaclynn Kreider said. “We wanted to be four-time undefeated conference champions. The kids take a lot of pride in the work that we do.”
Kreider says the Flivvers had to do things differently from the past to achieve their success this fall.
“We had to run a different offense, which can be extremely challenging, but the girls have found a way to win” she added. “This is something I haven’t seen in all the years I’ve been coaching. We’ve had success. We have a pretty strong coaching staff that works with the girls, and they bought into that.”
As is the case with most teams, the Flivvers hit a few bumps in the road during the season.
They bowed to Calumet in four sets at home Sept. 10 and dropped a pair of matches at the Cadillac Invitational on Oct. 10.
Kingsford, however, defeated Calumet in three sets at Crystal Falls Forest Park on Oct. 17. The Flivvers also defeated the host Trojans in three and Marquette in two sets that day at the “Clash of the Divisions” quad.
“We had beaten Marquette twice before the meet at Forest Park,” sophomore Mckynzee Kreider said. “It’s hard beating the same team three times. Calumet is pretty young this year, and Forest Park is pretty good. We’ve been working on defense and serve-receives, which is probably the hardest thing to master in volleyball.”
“We brought a few kids we used in a different tournament to Forest Park,” Coach Kreider added. “We went with a different lineup. We’re trying to find the best lineup. It’s nice to know we have different options.”
The Flivvers, who are off this week, are 22-3 going into the postseason. They will host the winner of Monday's District-opening match between Negaunee (20-13-1) and Gladstone (15-13-3) at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“Winning the GNC was a very good accomplishment. That was a starting point, knowing we have the potential to go far if we do our part,” Kingsford senior Mylee Kreider said. “Our shot selection has improved. We’re playing as a team.”
Escanaba (6-16-3) hosts Houghton (12-8) on the opposite side of the bracket Wednesday at 6 p.m. The championship match will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Escanaba District champion will meet the winner of the Sault Ste. Marie District in a Regional opener Nov. 10 at Manistique.
Kingsford won its District last season before falling to Ogemaw Heights in a Regional Semifinal to finish 22-3.
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 Breitung Township Schools.)
Watch Volleyball, Football LIVE
November 4, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District and Regional Volleyball action will be featured over the next two weeks on MHSAA.tv, while Football Playoff coverage moves into its second round and will be available live via multiple online channels this weekend.
Coverage of Girls Volleyball includes District Quarterfinal/Semifinal Matches each evening for four straight. Football this weekend can be viewed Friday from Fox Sports Detroit and Saturday from MHSAA.tv.
Volleyball
Here’s the complete District schedule, with links to each game's page on the MHSAA.tv site (all coverage available with subscription):
Monday – Class C Quarterfinals at Hanover-Horton
East Jackson vs. Michigan Center, 5:30 p.m.
Napoleon vs. Vandercook Lake, 7 p.m.
Tuesday – Class C Semifinals at Calumet
Ironwood vs. L’Anse, 6 p.m.
Calumet vs. Hancock, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Class B Semifinals at Frankenmuth
Frankenmuth vs. North Branch, 6 p.m.
Caro vs. Mt. Morris, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday – Class A Semifinals at Hudsonville
Jenison vs. Grandville/Holland West Ottawa winner, 5 p.m.
Hudsonville/Holland winner vs. Wyoming/Zeeland East winner, 7 p.m.
Regional Semifinal coverage takes place next Tuesday (Nov. 11) at two locations:
Class A at Mason
Okemos District winner vs. Dexter District winner, 5 p.m.
Holt District winner vs. Portage Central District winner, 7 p.m.
Class C at Morley-Stanwood
Shelby District winner vs. White Cloud District winner, 6 p.m.
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian District winner vs. Pewamo-Westphalia District winner, 8 p.m.
Football
It’s the fourth season for the popular PrepZone on FoxSportsDetroit.com, which will provide free live coverage of four Football Playoff games each week for the first four weekends of the tournament. Games to be covered this week are:
Division 1 – Lapeer at Clarkston
Division 4 – Saginaw Swan Valley at Lansing Sexton
Division 5 – Clare at Freeland
Division 5 – Almont at Marine City
All games will take place Friday at 7 p.m., with short-term archives available on FoxSportsDetroit.com and long-term archives and DVDs available through MHSAA.tv.
Football Friday Overtime is in its fourth season on FOX Sports Detroit, airing at Midnight each Friday and running for 13 weeks. Mickey York and Rob Rubick host this 30-minute highlights show. The show re-airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sunday mornings – check your local listings (this week at 7 a.m.).
The following games are scheduled to be highlighted this week:
- Wyandotte Roosevelt at Brownstown Woodhaven
- Trenton at New Boston Huron
- Southfield at Oak Park
- Walled Lake Central at West Bloomfield
- Detroit East English at Warren DeLaSalle
- Detroit Cass Tech at Dearborn Fordson
- Plus coverage from the Prep Zone games
MHSAA.tv also will cover two Football Playoff games live each Saturday the first three weeks of the tournament, and 12 Semifinal games on Nov. 22. Here’s this week’s District Final schedule (all coverage with subscription):
Division 1 – Grand Ledge at East Kentwood, 1 p.m.
Division 7 – Pewamo-Westphalia at Hudson, 1 p.m.
A Day Pass subscription to MHSAA.tv is $9.95. A Month Pass subscription is $14.95, enabling purchasers to watch all of this week’s action plus two more weeks of coverage of the Girls Volleyball Tournament, weekly Football Playoff coverage, and the Preliminaries and Finals of the Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals. All events become available for free on demand viewing three days after the date of the contest.
MHSAA Highlights: This week's package includes clips from the Okemos/East Lansing volleyball match and the Plainwell/Battle Creek Harper Creek and Watervliet/Niles Brandywine football games.