Valley Lutheran Full of Returning Players Patiently Aiming for Return to Finals Weekend
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 20, 2026
Kate Belt and her Saginaw Valley Lutheran volleyball teammates are locked in on what’s in front of them.
That means blocking out the urge to look ahead to their ultimate goal of a Finals title, even though they’re ranked No. 1 in Division 3 and returning nearly an entire roster from last year’s Semifinal team.
“We talked about it a little bit, but we aren’t really big on talking about it early in the season, because our next goal is our first round of Districts,” said Belt, an all-state senior setter. “We’re going to try to take it one game at a time. We want to always be prepared for the next game, keep the focus and keep the goal 100 percent on what’s next.”
It’s the attitude a team needs to have heading into a promising season to make sure it doesn’t get tripped up while overlooking an opponent. But just because it’s necessary, doesn’t mean it’s easy.
“It’s hard not to think early on, ‘Oh, we could go win a state championship,” Belt said. “So, it’s pretty hard. But I think Coach does a really good job of keeping us on the right track and in the right mindset to take care of that.”
Belt is one of eight seniors returning from a Valley Lutheran team that advanced to the Division 3 Semifinals a year ago with a roster filled exclusively with sophomores and juniors.
They lost in three sets there against Kalamazoo Christian, but 10 players saw action in all three games of the match, gaining valuable experience.
“We thought we had a real good chance against Kalamazoo Christian, but we didn’t play our very best in last year’s Final Four,” Valley Lutheran coach Jon Frank said. “The coaches and I kind of thought that (Kalamazoo Christian) has been there four years in a row, and it’s an intangible but it’s worth something to be acclimated to the scenario. We have three new players, but it’s still the same core group. We had 10 players last year, and all 10 of them played every single set in the postseason. That’s a coach’s dream.”
Valley Lutheran did suffer one major loss from last year’s roster, as junior Braelin Rodammer, a third-team all-state selection a year ago, is injured and will miss this fall.
At 5-foot-10, she was the tallest presence on the front line for the Chargers, but Belt still has plenty of weapons around her.
Reagan Webb had more than 400 kills as a junior outside hitter in 2025, while Grace Parker had more than 300 as a sophomore middle. Both are back, as is Hannah Hemme, who Belt personally called out as having a massive offseason.
“She’s just become an offensive weapon for us in practice,” Belt said. “Even her defensive play has been amazing. Her serve-receive and blocking has been really good. That work ethic is something that we want to embody.”
Frank said Valley Lutheran has always been a scrappy team, anyway, adding that they’ve never had “that 6-foot girl that can just pound it.”
Seniors Hayden Sherman (660 digs in 2025) and Elsie Hultberg (363 digs) are at the base of that defense.
“We’re so strong defensively, that’s always been our thing,” Frank said. “We serve hard, pass well and we frustrate teams. We dig ‘em, we dig ‘em, and we block ‘em. I really love this team. We’re strong all around. We just don’t have that big banger.”
That all-around strength is helped by the fact this group of seniors has always been together, even for a year on the junior varsity, despite its incredible talent.
When they were freshmen, Frank had a strong roster full of seniors, allowing him to keep his talented youngsters fully together for a year before they would hit the varsity squad.
“I think it was really good for us to get to know each other on a very low-pressure team where we didn’t have to stress about the postseason,” Belt said. “I was happy he didn’t bring anyone up to varsity, because if you have to sit the bench the whole season, that sucks. All of us love playing. We’re all very competitive people.”
As sophomores, six of the eight current seniors made a surprising run to the Quarterfinal, then came together for last year’s Semifinal run.
Now they’re focused on taking the next step in front of them, to hopefully take that final step forward as a program.
“I think last season kind of gave us confidence, because we know how far we can go now,” Belt said. “Going into this season, we know nothing is going to be handed to us. Coach always says that we could lose in Districts if we don’t play well. He’s really good at keeping us humble. But also, he’s super supportive of how far we want to go.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Valley Lutheran’s Grace Parker (7) sends a kill attempt into the Kalamazoo Christian front line during last season’s Division 3 Semifinals. (Middle) The Chargers, including Kate Belt (22), celebrate a point.
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 5 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 24, 2025
Few sports dominate school-year weekends like girls volleyball does with its Saturday tournament schedules each fall.
This past week's again included several events, most notably the East vs. West Challenge (won by the East 11-9) at Brighton's Legacy Center. This weekend could be even bigger with teams from all four divisions locked up in elite competition; see below for plenty of notes referencing some of the best matchups to come.
Records and results are based on what is submitted to MHSAA.com for Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) that determine seeding of the top two teams in every District. Rankings referred to below reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. South Lyon East d. Rockford (25-22, 25-22) Although South Lyon East (21-5-1) did also lose to Jenison at the East vs. West Challenge, the Cougars made the biggest wave by handing Rockford (20-1-0) its lone loss this season – and moved up to No. 8 in Division 1 this week.
2. Flat Rock d. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11) Flat Rock (18-4-0) has won 15 of its last 16 matches and now owns its first win – ever – over Monroe St. Mary (13-2-1).
3. Farmington Hills Mercy d. Bloomfield Hills Marian (14-25, 25-22, 25-22, 27-25) These rivals should meet at least a few more times this fall, but Mercy (8-2-1) handed Marian (23-2-0) just its second match loss and despite falling in the first set.
4. East Grand Rapids d. Grand Rapids Christian (25-19, 25-20) The Pioneers (20-5-0) finished 5-0 at the Lake Odessa Lakewood Invitational, with this win over last week’s No. 2 team in Division 2 likely helping to jump them onto the Division 1 honorable mention list.
5. Brighton d. Northville (25-16, 25-22, 25-22) In a matchup of Division 1 honorable mentions, Brighton (18-3-0) defeated reigning champion Northville (6-6-0) for the first time since 2019.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Farmington Hills Mercy (8-2-0) The Marlins – Division 1 champions most recently in 2023 and ranked No. 3 this week – are again among the elite coming off a 2-1 run at the East vs. West Challenge. Mercy defeated Division 1 honorable mention Lowell and Muskegon Mona Shores and lost to top-ranked Rockford there, but its only other defeat came to Division 1 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills a month ago. Mercy opened last week with the big Marian victory noted above.
Jenison (19-2-0) A 4-0 run through the East vs. West Challenge included sweeps of Brighton, Northville, South Lyon East and Grosse Pointe South as Jenison moved up to No. 5 in Division 1. The Wildcats – Regional finalists last season – also have downed Division 1 honorable mention Byron Center and Division 2 No. 8 Grand Rapids South Christian and split with Division 1 No. 9 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, the other defeat coming to Division 2 No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian.
DIVISION 2
Lansing Catholic (13-1-1) The Cougars received an honorable mention in the Division 2 poll this week coming off a 4-0 run through the Mt. Morris Invitational. Lansing Catholic also went 3-0-1 at the Bay City Western Tournament to start the season – getting a win over Midland after previously tying the Chemics that day. Lansing Catholic suffered its first loss Tuesday, to Portland.
North Branch (21-2-0) The 2022 and 2023 Division 2 champion reached the Quarterfinals last year and is blasting through another tough schedule in preparation for another potentially big run. The Broncos moved up a spot to No. 2 in the rankings this week after defeating Mona Shores, Lowell and Grand Rapids Northview at the East/West, and their only losses this season were to Northville and Bloomfield Hills the weekend before. They’ve downed Division 2 No. 7 Frankenmuth and Division 3 top-ranked SMCC among several others.
DIVISION 3
Hanover-Horton (16-1-1) A 6-0 run through the weekend’s Spring Arbor University Invitational was topped off by the No. 7 Comets sweeping Division 2 honorable mention Parma Western in the clincher. That actually also avenged Hanover-Horton’s only loss, in three sets, during the season-opening Chelsea Invitational where the Comets went 2-1-1 against Division 1 and 2 teams. They also count a pair of wins over Division 4 Concord among their most notable.
Plymouth Christian Academy (18-5-0) The Eagles are holding steady at No. 3 in Division 3 coming off a 4-1 run against Division 1 and 2 opponents at the weekend’s Portage Northern Invitational. A Regional finalist as well a year ago, PCA opened this season with a championship at the Leland Invitational against a field that also included Division 2 honorable mention Marshall, and got more valuable matches against Division 1 and 2 opponents at two more tournaments.
DIVISION 4
Lake Linden-Hubbell (17-2-0) The Lakes have won the Copper Mountain Conference Preseason Tournament and finished second at the Baraga Invitational on the way to already approaching last season’s 22-12-0 record. The lone losses came to No. 10 Hancock in four sets and Chassell at the Baraga event, and they’re set to see both again at least once more – home against Chassell next Monday and at Hancock on Oct. 21. All three are in the same District as well.
Ubly (10-2-2) The Bearcats jumped three spots to No. 2 in Division 4 this week as they seek to build on last season’s 37-8-0 finish and Quarterfinal run. Ubly went 4-0-2 at the weekend’s Eaton Rapids Tournament, twice defeating then-No. 2 Fowler plus honorable mention Adrian Lenawee Christian, which jumped to No. 4 this week. The defeats this season were solid as well, both coming during the opening weekend at the Cadillac Invitational to the Division 2 Vikings and Division 3 No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – Onekama (12-4-0) at Suttons Bay (13-0-0) – Both are honorable mentions in Division 4, and the winner could push for a spot among the top 10.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series at UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac – A total of 28 teams will play as the Power Series reconvenes, including a pool with Division 1 No. 3 Mercy, No. 6 Utica Eisenhower, honorable mention Brighton, Traverse City Central and Division 2 No. 2 North Branch.
Saturday – D3 & D4 Showdown at Schoolcraft College in Livonia – This bracket will feature Division 3 No. 5 Pewamo-Westphalia and honorable mention Cass City, and Division 4 top-ranked Mendon and No. 2 Ubly among others.
Saturday – Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational – Division 2 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central might be the headliner, but host Lakeview, Detroit Renaissance, Otsego and Coldwater are among other intriguing teams in the field.
Tuesday – Hancock (14-2-2) at Negaunee (11-4-2) – These two split at the season-opening Kingsford Invitational, and this matchup will mean more with Western Peninsula Athletic Conference ramifications.
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills Marian and Farmington Hills Mercy faced off last week for the first time this season. (Photo by Kristina Sikora/KMS Photography.)