Bronson Becomes 4th to Complete 4-Peat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 17, 2018
BATTLE CREEK – With one set standing between them and a fourth straight MHSAA championship Saturday, several members of the Bronson volleyball team spent the break doing the “Cha Cha Slide.”
They were very clearly comfortable in Kellogg Arena. And while a game Unionville-Sebewaing team made them earn it, the Vikings left their second home with that fourth title, defeating the Patriots 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 in the Division 3 Final.
“This team is totally different than our teams of the past,” Bronson coach Jean LaClair said. “They don’t get excited, and we just kind of play calm. We have that calm demeanor all the time, and that sometimes worries me. Even today, they weren’t excited, they just took care of business. That’s one of the things that makes them special.”
Bronson (58-6) became the fourth program in MHSAA history to win at least four volleyball titles in a row, joining Portage Northern (1992-95), Marysville (1997-2004) and Battle Creek St. Philip (1992-95 and 2007-14).
For this group of seniors, however, it started well before they were freshmen.
“I think it really makes you appreciate the team, because we’ve seen so many great players go through this program,” senior Ashton Wronikowski said. “Kiera (Lasky), Jolie (Smoker), me and Paris (Outwater) managed, so when we were 5th and 6th-graders we were on this team. We were riding buses everywhere, we were going to practices, we were in this family since we were in junior high.
“Seeing so many great players go through this program and how the team chemistry is, there’s no words for it. It’s incredible how so many people can just come together and unite for a common goal.”
Lasky and Wronikowski played in all four title victories, and as Lasky astutely pointed out during the post-match press conference, she doesn’t know any other feeling than winning at Kellogg – although there was something different about this one.
“This one is just really bittersweet, I guess,” she said. “Going out with a win and going out with my favorite people. It’s exciting.”
While the Vikings won in a sweep, USA (44-5-1) did make things exciting throughout the match, building multiple leads that required long Bronson runs to overtake. Bronson went on a 12-1 run to take a lead and pull away late in the second set, and trailed 12-6 in the third before gathering itself and putting the match away.
“I’m happy with the way we played; it just wasn’t our day today,” USA coach Teresa Rose said. “This is our first time being (in the Final), and maybe the atmosphere of it, we just couldn’t capitalize sometimes on getting to their attacks and defending as well as we could have. They played with their hearts, and I’m proud of the way they played.”
In the third set, LaClair didn’t have a chance to address her team after it fell behind 12-6.
Lasky took care of that.
While the senior libero didn’t want to repeat what she said in that huddle, it clearly worked.
“I kind of told (LaClair) ‘Just go away. I’ve got this,’” Lasky said. “We really came out of it, got a couple points back, and then after that we were like, ‘OK, next ball, that last play doesn’t matter.’ That got the job done.”
Lasky finished with 14 digs and five assists in her final match for the Vikings, while junior Keona Salesman led the attack with 19 kills. Smoker added 13 kills, Wronikowski had six, and Meagan Lasky had 35 assists.
Rylee Zimmer led USA with 16 kills and 10 digs in her final match for the Patriots. Nichole Schember had 28 assists, and Maci Montgomery had 14 digs.
“I think (the Finals appearance) will do a lot for our program,” Rose said. “I think there’s a lot of kids that want to come and play like Rylee and Nichole and Grace (Williamson), and they see them in the community and they want to be like them eventually. They want to be state champions or runners-up. I think it’s good for our program. Good for our community and our school.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bronson walls off the top of the net during its Division 3 Final win over Unionville-Sebewaing on Saturday. (Middle) The Vikings hoist a championship trophy for the fourth straight season.
O-G Overhaul Continues to Deliver as Bulldogs Clinch League Title Repeat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2025
Barb Hellebuyck was honored to return to her alma mater and take on the challenge of rebuilding the Owendale-Gagetown volleyball program.
Having played for the legendary Judy Campbell, Hellebuyck knew what success at Owen-Gage looked like. With her granddaughter entering the program, she had an idea of the type of talent there was on hand to aid in the process.
She was not quite as aware of just how deep the rebuild would have to go, however.
“I remember, and I don’t know what team it was, they came to play a game at our gym and picked up the raggedy balls we had – the look on that girl’s face,” Hellebuyck said. “I went, ‘Oh heck no. We have got to do some upgrading here.’ These girls deserve to look good, to feel good, then that will help them play better when their confidence goes up. It started with new balls, then we got new carts, new uniforms, we have two new net systems now. Everything has been building for these girls, and they should have all that stuff.”
With its new equipment on hand, and its coach now in her fifth season, the Owen-Gage volleyball team is not only rebuilt but flourishing.
On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs clinched their second-straight Big Thumb Conference Red title, also their third in four years. Prior to winning the 2022 title, it had been 17 years since Owen-Gage had won a league championship.
That 2005 title was the last of 11 straight for a once-dominant program, constructed by Campbell as she built a 500-139-25 record over 20 seasons during the team’s infancy. From 1977 through 2008, Owen-Gage won 27 league titles, 21 District titles and five Regional titles. The school had nearly run out of room on the banner hanging in the gym.
Now, it finally has some numbers to justify getting a second one.
“It’s been very eventful – our team has really developed over the years,” said Owen-Gage senior Aubrey Hellebuyck, who joined the varsity team as an eighth grader in 2021. “We’ve really changed the program and turned it all around. We went from being last in the conference to being a championship contender. It’s really awesome to be a part of that.”
Aubrey Hellebuyck is one of three seniors on Owen-Gage’s eight-player roster this season, joined by Ayriona Maikrzek and McKenzie Baker.
They also happen to be the only three girls in the school’s four-student senior class. Owen-Gage is among the state’s smallest 30 schools in terms of MHSAA classification, with an enrollment of 41. The towns of Owendale and Gagetown have a combined population of less than 600 as of the 2020 census.
Because of its size, Owen-Gage can have eighth graders play varsity sports, as Hellebuyck did. They also have students as young as seventh grade playing on the JV team.
For some, that could be intimidating. But at Owen-Gage it’s been embraced.
“Having no experience, it was very hard,” Owen-Gage junior Jessica Bowers said. “We were going against teams that would have freshmen and sophomores, while I’m just a seventh grader who had never played before. But it made me develop faster because I had to lock in and focus when I’d be going up against people that were a lot bigger.”
A smaller school population also forces players to learn to become more well-rounded. Not only because of the small number of substitutes, but because there’s no guarantee the population will provide a player that fits a specific position.
“They are all phenomenal players in my mind, because we have a lot of them that play all the way around,” Barb Hellebuyck said. “They have to be good at the net, they have to be good in the back row. They’re really phenomenal players. They’re not always the tallest ones, but I have several players that do multiple things. We just have to.”
Again, it’s something Owen-Gage players have embraced.
“I’m a middle, and normally at other schools the middles never play all around,” Bowers said. “When I first started, all I focused on was hitting. Gradually I had to force myself to learn to dig a ball because no one could play back row for me. Eventually I got really good at it. On a bigger school team, I don’t think I would have to do that.”
With that buy-in, it’s no surprise that Owen-Gage has returned to its winning ways. This year’s team is 19-4-1 overall, having won 13 straight matches. It has not lost since Sept. 9.
The Bulldogs have two regular-season matches remaining before the District tournament, which begins Nov. 3. With a league title wrapped up, that’s the next goal, to end another 17-year drought and claim the school’s first District championship since 2008. In their way is Division 4 No. 2 Ubly.
“There’s a chance we could do that,” Aubrey Hellebuyck said. “It would be a huge upset, and it would be insane. We’re working toward that.”
That possible title would be made even more special by the fact it would be won in the Bulldogs’ home gym, as they are hosting. That’s another source of pride, just five years removed from side-eyed looks over the state of the program’s equipment.
“Barb puts a lot of work into that,” said Aubrey Hellebuyck, who added that she’ll go back to calling her “Grandma” after the season. “She’s a great coach, but she actually does a lot of fundraising just so our program has a lot of opportunity. We had one net, and it was horrible. Now we have two brand-new nets that are great. Our old ball cart, it was not a ball cart, I don’t even know what it was. But it’s not embarrassing to bring out our ball carts anymore for home games.”
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) Owendale-Gagetown players celebrate during a match this season. (Middle) Jessica Bowers elevates to get to a ball. (Below) Aubrey Hellebuyck (5) enjoys a moment with her team. (Photos by Kaitlin Gunsell/Kaitlin’s Klicks.)