After Record Finish, Onsted Off To Fast Start

October 19, 2020

By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half

ONSTED – Last season the Onsted volleyball team had about as impressive a season as it could. 

The Wildcats started by not losing until early October – a 28-match win streak – and finished with a school-record 50 victories. 

What are they doing for an encore? 

How about a 24-2 start this fall, a tremendous showing at a big quad in Bronson and they are on the verge of back-to-back Lenawee County Athletic Association titles. 

“We’ve played well at times,” Onsted coach Rhonda Hubbard said. “Everyone is making contributions to the team. We’re doing well in some areas. We're attacking the serve and we are doing the things we need to do, and we are winning.” 

Still, Hubbard is never completely satisfied. She’s hoping for more from a team that returns six key players from last year’s 10th-ranked, record-breaking club that lost in the Division 2 District Semifinals to Parma Western.  

Hubbard doesn’t want to see such an early exit this time around. 

“We can’t just waltz in and let the same thing happen to us this time,” she said. “Yeah, we rolled last year but I know what we are capable of. We have to perform, and we have to be more consistent.” 

There was no long win streak to start the season as Onsted lost to Manchester on Sept. 11, the first day they played an official match. Since a loss to Erie Mason at Mason the following day, however, they have won 18 straight. 

“We are 21-2, but I don’t think we should have lost to Manchester,” Hubbard said. “We should have had that one.  

“We have to start bringing it in practice more often. We aren’t consistent. I can sometimes be unhappy with how we practice. That’s how we are going to improve.” 

Mya Hiram and Kayla Ross are the senior co-captains. Hiram was third-team all-state in volleyball last year and followed that up with an all-state season in basketball. She’s bound for a college basketball career – she's committed to Ferris State University – but not before she leaves her mark on Onsted’s volleyball team. 

She’s getting close to the career kills record, and she and Ross are Nos. 2-3 on the Wildcats’ career digs list. 

The team’s biggest day came at Bronson when the Wildcats beat the host school, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian and Niles. They also beat Homer and Stockbridge earlier in the season and have collected wins over state-ranked Lenawee Christian and traditional LCAA championship contender Ida. Onsted also has a nonleague win over Adrian Madison, who has run its Tri-County Conference winning streak into the 30s. The Wildcats are likely to face the Trojans again in the upcoming county tournament. 

Ross and Izzy Kisor both are serving at a 93.8-percent clip, while Hiram has 39 aces, Kate Gorney 21 and Kennedy Ross 20.  

In attacking, Hiram has compiled 246 kills, an average of 3.56 per match. Hiram also has 208 digs, which is just ahead of Kayla Ross, who has 200. Kamryn Ross leads the team in assists, at 8.3 per match. Ruby Foster has been “block city,” Hubbard said, and added that Kayla Ross, Kisor, Kennedy Ross and Hiram lead the team in service points. 

Hubbard is an Adrian graduate who teaches at Onsted. She’s attended Eastern Michigan University on a track scholarship. She won the 2019 county Coach of the Year award after the team broke the previous school records of wins, 46 from 2012.  

Hubbard said the fewer matches this season is affecting the slow development of the team. She did say there is still time remaining for the Wildcats to piece together a stronger ending to the season than last year.  

“We are down 33 to 35 sets than last year at this time,” she said. “Teams don’t want to play three out of five. They want to play two of three, which I don’t think a varsity team should be doing, at least on the weekends. Our dates are all full; we just haven’t played as much.”  

Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTO: Onsted’s Mya Hiram unloads over the net for a spike during a past season. (Photo by Dolores Clark-Osborne.)

Cass City Focused on Moment but Playing for Biggest After Back-to-Back Semifinal Trips

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

September 5, 2024

For the Cass City volleyball team, the goal is clear in 2024.

Bay & ThumbThe Red Hawks, who have played in back-to-back Division 3 Semifinals and feature eight returning seniors – including four who were part of both long tournament runs – want to get back and finish on top in Battle Creek.

But for coach Amy Cuthrell to get her players to that big goal, she’s asked them not to think about it and focus on the smaller, daily ones instead.

“It’s details, the little things,” Cuthrell said. “You get better in practice, and in the game stage is where we show our skills. Practice has been intense. I do demand a little more in certain areas, and they’re responding. They know where we need to get better. They’re just good kids. I don’t think every day they think it’s fun, but for me, personally, I’m not going to settle. I want their dreams to be made. These are their memories.”

Cass City has made plenty of memories over the past two seasons, charging to the Semifinals for the first time since they made back-to-back runs in 1976-77. Like those late 70s runs, both ended with losses one match short of the Final. 

“I’ve been thrilled to get there,” Cuthrell said. “But I just want to get over that hump.”

That’s about all Cuthrell will say about getting back to Battle Creek, however. While she’s perfectly fine using the past as motivation, she doesn’t want her team getting caught looking toward the future.

Easier said than done.

Red Hawks coach Amy Cuthrell talks things over with her team during that match at Kellogg Arena.Led by Texas Tech commit Shelby Ignash and fellow four-year player Kacee Gray, who has committed to Alma College, the Red Hawks seem to have been built this season for their longest run. 

Isabelle Phillips and Alexis Champagne are in their third years on varsity, having also experienced both Semifinals. Kylie McKee, Mia Caister, Katelyn Rockwell and Alysa Fritz also return from last year’s team, which won the first set in the Semifinal against Traverse City St. Francis before falling in four.

“Growing up, we have all been playing volleyball together, all eight of us, since the sixth grade,” Gray said. “We’ve known we’re a special group and that we have a group of special athletes. So we’ve been putting the time in day in and day out, pushing each other to be a better team. Now we’re here, and we’re still hungry and ready for more.”

Cuthrell is doing her best to feed that hunger with as much on-court knowledge as she can. While the losses at Kellogg Arena were certainly learning experiences for the players, they were the same for the coach.

“I’ve looked at all the tapes, and I really had to reflect on what I can change as a coach,” she said. “I’ve broken down some of the things that I’m going to have to really focus on, different elements of the game. This is a complex game. It may not seem complex to some, but it’s a very detailed sport.”

Better communication on the court and the ability to move on from one play and focus on what’s next is something Cuthrell said she’s focused on this season. Through two early-season tournaments, she’s also liked what she’s seen from her team’s ability to analyze opponents during a match. Cass City is 5-4-1 after trips to the Frankenmuth Invitational and Warrior Showdown, and has wins over the past two Division 3 Finals champions – Pewamo-Westphalia and Kalamazoo Christian. Cass City also split its match against Traverse St. Francis.

Kacee Gray serves during the Semifinal.The tough early schedule is by design, of course, to better prepare the Red Hawks for November. It’s also going to set them up for a tough league schedule, which will be played with a massive target on their backs.

“I think everyone wants to beat us,” Ignash said. “It makes it more exciting, too. You never know, someone can pop out and give you everything.”

That has certainly helped hammer home Cuthrell’s message about staying in the moment.

“I can’t say how they think all the time, but I do know they meet the daily grind, and we do not speak of the future in our practices – we talk about today,” Cuthrell said. “I think humility is important, and we’re lucky to have a very strong program and tradition. They understand the culture, and they are humble in knowing this is one day at a time.”

You can’t block out all outside noise, though, especially at a time when statewide results and weekly rankings are so easily accessible. The most recent poll from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association has Cass City ranked No. 3.

That will filter through the Cass City team, but in a way that Cuthrell certainly won’t mind.

“Any time a new ranking gets posted, we’re sending it to the group chat,” Gray said. “But seeing it is more motivating, because we’re not at the top.”

Paul CostanzoPaul 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) Shelby Ignash sends the ball over a block during Cass City’s Semifinal match last season against Traverse City St. Francis. (Middle) Red Hawks coach Amy Cuthrell talks things over with her team during that match at Kellogg Arena. (Below) Kacee Gray serves during the Semifinal.