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.)
Country Day, Senior Star Hiemstra Cap Repeat Run in Dominating Fashion
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
BATTLE CREEK – Elise Hiemstra’s final swing in a Detroit Country Day uniform was the perfect way to end her high school volleyball career.
The senior outside hitter took a well-placed set from sophomore Payton Woodruff, like she has so many times over the past two years, and spiked it through the Flat Rock defense onto the floor at Kellogg Arena.
Her 21st kill of the day closed out a 25-18, 25-19, 25-12 sweep for the Yellowjackets in the Division 2 championship match, and back-to-back Finals titles.
“I just really wanted Payton to get me the ball,” Hiemstra said. “I just really wanted to go out the best I possibly could.”
This weekend marked just the second time Country Day had even made the Semifinal, but the Yellowjackets (29-9) looked like seasoned veterans, clinically putting away Flat Rock in a dominant performance.
“Our goal today was just to kind of come in and take care of business,” Country Day coach Kim Lockhart said. “Go back to the basics, serve tough, pass the ball. Just go out there and do our thing, and I think that’s what we did. We handled ourselves well. I felt our nerves were settled right out the gate. We came in with confidence and a lot of communication.”
Flat Rock, meanwhile, felt the nerves and inexperience in this moment were a factor as the Rams (39-9) were making their first appearance at Kellogg Arena.
“I feel like the pressure, this was our first time even making it here, and I feel like we were just not used to that,” Flat Rock junior Sarah Giroux said.
Giroux’s assessment looked accurate, as Country Day’s athleticism and attacking movement seemed to catch Flat Rock flat-footed.
Woodruff had 35 assists in the match, spreading them out to seven attackers.
“Especially going through semis and quarters, I think their offense was a little bit quicker,” Flat Rock coach Morgan Delhey said. “I would have liked to see a little bit more competition coming up to this so maybe we were a bit more prepared. But, they’re a good team and I have to give credit to them.”
While Woodruff was spreading the wealth, Hiemstra was her favorite target, and for good reason. On Saturday, Hiemstra became Country Day’s all-time leader in kills, both for a career and season.
“When I look at Elise, she was a baby coming into all the camps I used to run when she was just so little and loving the sport,” Lockhart said. “Her sister was older than her, and she was kind of like, ‘I wanna be like my sister.’ She has just been here from the get-go, out of the gate, and has learned from some really great players along the way. Ever since she was a freshman, playing behind some big players. She’s really been a sponge. Going from playing back row, a (defensive specialist) when she was a freshman, to leading the team to back-to-back championships, there’s a lot to be said about her and her success at Country Day.”
While Country Day didn’t show any signs of stress Saturday, they did have to deal with the pressure of defending a title all season. It’s something they really embraced down the stretch.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure, but we took it and we used it to our advantage instead of letting it make us crumble,” Country Day senior Abby Pernick said. “I think that is really what pushed us through. We wanted it so much. That was the thing we talked about from Day 1, tryouts even. We came in, and we knew we wanted it.”
Demi McCoy led the Country Day back line with 14 digs Saturday, while Hiemstra added nine. Aliyah Potapenko had nine kills for the Yellowjackets, and Woodruff added four aces.
Giroux led the Flat Rock attack with 15 kills, adding nine digs defensively, while Zoe Ryan had 21 assists.
“I wouldn’t rather do it with anybody else than this team,” Flat Rock senior Reagan Higdon said. “I wouldn’t rather win or lose with anybody else. Especially for this program, this community, no matter how we came out, I’m still glad that we’re here. We’ve done something that’s never been done before.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day players celebrate their repeat championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Elise Hiemstra (9) smashes a kill attempt at a Flat Rock block including Jaclynn Motyka (14).