34 Seasons of Volleyball Battles
December 13, 2011
BATTLE CREEK – There’s a good deal of talk that goes around Battle Creek’s volleyball community every fall. And with a significant amount of talent concentrated in such a small area, there’s plenty to say.
Starting in 1979, the last words for a season often have come at Battle Creek’s All-City Tournament.
Battle Creek Central, Lakeview, Pennfield, Harper Creek and St. Philip played in the 34th All-City on Oct. 15 at Pennfield High. All five schools have won the event multiple times, and St. Philip became the latest champion with a 25-22, 25-5 win over Lakeview in this fall’s final.
“It’s a big deal because there are rivalries everywhere,” said Pennfield senior Cassie Pelloni, who played in her fourth and final All-City. “It’s who wants to beat who, and that’s what it comes down to.
“You want to beat the certain teams that have been talking all season.”
A field of five teams from the same town is the basic starting point of this tournament’s charm. Those teams also represent three leagues and three of four state classes. Battle Creek Central and Lakeview are Class A – both 
with nearly 1,400 students total -- while Harper Creek and Pennfield are B. St. Philip is Class D and has an enrollment of 120.
What adds most to the intrigue is the combined success of Battle Creek’s volleyball teams. Three of the five have won state titles (St. Phil has 16, Pennfield two and Lakeview one), but only 10 of those 19 state championship teams also won the All-City during those respective season. This fall’s tournament included standout individuals like Pelloni, a 6-foot-1 hitter who will sign with Oakland, and returning St. Philip all-staters Amanda McKinzie and Sierra Hubbard-Neil. McKenzie, a 6-0 junior hitter, has committed to sign with Virginia Tech; Hubbard-Neil is a 5-9 sophomore hitter and getting similar college attention.
St. Philip is ranked No. 1 in Class D again and Pennfield is tied for first in the Kalamazoo Valley Association heading into Tuesday’s match against Class C No. 1 Delton Kellogg. Harper Creek is coming off of a Class B district title last season and Lakeview and Central both have won Class A district titles at least once during the last five seasons.
Part of the mystique of Battle Creek volleyball dates directly to the leader for whom the championship trophy is named – former Kellogg Community College coach Mick Haley, who led KCC from 1973-79 and guided the Bruins to junior college national championships in his final two seasons. He then moved on to Texas and then Southern California and has won a combined four NCAA national titles with those schools. He’s in his 11th season at USC.
The All-City has been part of St. Philip coach Vicky Groat’s volleyball seasons going back to her own high scho
ol career. She graduated from St. Philip in 1985 and was a senior when the Tigers won the All-City for the first time since 1984. She’s also led St. Philip to six All-City wins as its coach.
“It’s the bragging rights for the year, and a lot of these girls are friends with others on the teams,” Groat said. “Win it, (and) we’re the best in the city. I don’t care what class it is, it’s nice as a player to be able to win one, and as a coach to win a few. And being the only Class D team in the city, it’s kinda nice.”
St. Philip has won the event 11 times – including the last four seasons – followed by Lakeview with eight titles, Pennfield with seven, Central with six and Harper Creek with 2. There’s little secret that these days, St. Philip is the team to beat.
“Oh yeah, we know. We kinda like that. We’re just encouraged to do better,” McKinzie said.
“I feel like it’s a lot different (than other tournaments we play) because we know a little better how everyone plays. We know what we have to do.”
Pool play
Pennfield d. Central 25-11, 25-7
St. Philip d. Harper Creek 25-17, 25-13
Lakeview d. Harper Creek 25-25, 25-18
St. Philip split with Pennfield 25-18, 24-26
Harper Creek split with Pennfield 25-20, 30-32
Lakeview d. Central 25-11, 25-12
Lakeview d. Pennfield 25-23, 25-23
St. Philip d. Central 25-14, 25-17
Harper Creek d. Central 25-16, 26-24
St. Philip d. Lakeview 25-22, 25-12
Semifinals
St. Philip d. Harper Creek 25-9, 25-8
Lakeview d. Pennfield 25-23, 25-20
Final
St. Philip d. Lakeview 25-22, 25-5
Battle Creek Enquirer event coverage
PHOTOS
(Top) Fire away: Battle Creek Lakeview’s Lydia Drikakis serves against Battle Creek St. Philip during pool play of this fall’s All-City Tournament at Pennfield High.
(Trophy) Serve it up: The Mick Haley award, named after the former Kellogg Community College and current Southern California coach, is given to the champion of the annual Battle Creek All-City Tournament.
Set it up: Battle Creek Harper Creek’s Megan Gwathney (6) and Lexi Latshaw (9) prepare to hit while teammate Olivia Black (10) readies at the net during a pool play game against Battle Creek Central.
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.)