Chemistry Super-Charges Valley Lutheran
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 14, 2020
Sydney Krause said she and her teammates on the Saginaw Valley Lutheran volleyball team don’t talk much about getting back to Battle Creek for MHSAA Finals weekend.
Even though it’s clearly the goal, the senior setter said when everyone is together, they’re more focused on the matches directly in front of them and respecting each opponent.
In private conversations, however?
“Between me and (senior outside hitter) Peyton (Bartnikowski) for example, we talk about it often,” Krause said. “We want to get back, and we’ll do anything to get back there.”
A year ago, the Chargers made their first Semifinal appearance, winning their first Regional title since 2011 along the way. A month into this season, they’re looking like a contender to do it again, as they are 19-2 and ranked No. 4 in the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association Division 3 poll.
“I've always had a lot of talent, and every year I feel like we’re in the running, but last year was the first year that I felt so confident about it that I told the girls, ‘This is what we’re going to do: We’re going to go to the Final Four, and this is how we’re going to do it.’” Valley Lutheran coach Jon Frank said. “This year, I told them we’re going to go to the Final Four, and then some. Hopefully.”
Frank said it took just one match this fall for him to realize his confidence in the team was well placed, as the Chargers have been able to get off to a flying start. Their two losses on the year came against perennial Division 2 power Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Birch Run, a team just outside the top 10 in the Division 2 rankings. Valley Lutheran was able to take a set off Notre Dame Prep.
That fast start is being fueled by strong team chemistry, despite the Chargers losing six seniors from last year’s semifinalist – several of which played a prominent role, including all-state second-team libero Kelsey Vittitow. Eight players from last year’s squad are back, however.
“The people we have coming back from last year are great players, and they came back even better,” said Bartnikowski, who was an all-state third-team selection a year ago. “Our chemistry was the same as it was last year at the end of the season, and we just picked up where we left off.”
That chemistry is most visible in the connection between Krause and Bartnikowski, who are entering their third year playing together.
“I’m so thankful for the chemistry we do have,” Krause said. “I think it honestly came from having so many reps together. We’ve worked a lot in practice, and also in club in the past year. This year, it’s even stronger because we have all those touches together over the club season. We’re friends off the court, so we trust each other a lot.”
Bartnikowski said their friendship actually started off the court, as they had classes together as freshmen while she was playing on the varsity team and Krause was on JV. As sophomores, the on-court connection began to blossom.
“I think it’s so important, because that’s what gets you the points,” Bartnikowski said. “If you have a setter and hitter that don’t have that chemistry, you can still get the points, but it’s so helpful to have that chemistry where she can do all types of sets, and I know exactly where each set is going.”
With the season shortened by a few weeks because of COVID-19, Frank believes that chemistry will be an advantage.
“It’s huge,” he said. “These kinds of connections come over years, not even seasons. It’s just like anything else, reps matter to build that chemistry. Especially in a short season, for them to have the background reps is huge.”
Another advantage is the depth in the Valley Lutheran attack this season. While Bartnikowski is the focal point, fellow outside hitter Lexie Peplinski and middle hitters Ashlyn Martin and Olivia Grimpo are keeping defenses honest. It’s also providing Krause with an abundance of options.
“She has a lot of places to go,” Bartnikowski said. “I think it’s harder (for defenses) than what it is if someone is just setting it outside all the time. It gives us an easier pathway to get a kill. If the other team is just setting up outside, it catches them off guard.”
With returning defensive specialist-turned-libero Kya Bellil leading the back row, the Chargers are strong front to back, and certainly have the makings of a team that can get back to the Final Four the week before Thanksgiving.
If they do, they hope the experience gained a year ago can help them take another big step.
“I think it will be helpful, especially since we have a lot of returners and we’ve all been there,” Krause said. “Last year we were all taking it all in. We were there to play, but it was also a completely new experience. I think it will help us to focus more on the task at hand.”
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) Sydney Krause sets up a waiting group of Valley Lutheran attackers this season. (Middle) Middle hitter Ashlyn Martin connects on a spike. (Photos by Sonny Medina.)
Flights, Flexibility, Fun & New Friends All Parts of Beaver Island's Sports Story
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 27, 2021
Chartered flights and overnight stays for all away games are part of the normal routine for one northern Michigan high school’s student-athletes.
Opportunities to make lots of new friends always come with the games too.
That’s the norm for Beaver Island athletes representing the Lakers in soccer, volleyball and basketball while competing in the Northern Lights League.
“We fly everywhere, and it is awesome,” says second-year soccer coach Bryan Doughman. “I thoroughly enjoy the travel.
“The biggest challenge is the kids forgetting something, and I am ultimately responsible for ‘How am I going to fix this?’”
Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan, northwest of Charlevoix in the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Manistique in the U.P. The island is home to 600 year-round residents, with 60 students kindergarten through 12th grade, including 17 in grades 9-12 this school year.
Doughman manages a restaurant on the Island. He is a native of Cincinnati. Coaching the co-ed soccer team has permitted him to make his first trips to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.
But social aspects provide the most benefit for the student-athletes. The Islanders will make their first trip of the season Sept. 15 to Concord Academy Boyne. As they do at home, the Islanders will play a game Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The overnight experience is provided by the home school.
“The kids will be seeing and meeting new friends,” Doughman noted. That’s what they ultimately look forward to … socially with different people.
“We all know the situation of going to work where you interact with the same people over and over again and can’t wait to meet new people,” he continued. “That’s what they kinda go through their whole lives.”
Beaver Island’s girls volleyball team opened its season Aug. 27 with a pair of losses at Maplewood Baptist in Kinross, located in the eastern Upper Peninsula.
The soccer and volleyball teams will open their home seasons Sept. 10 and 11, hosting Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh, another U.P. opponent.
“The island community enjoys being able to come and cheer on the island teams,” noted second-year volleyball coach Bridget Martin.
The boys and girls basketball teams will go through their seasons this winter similarly. Athletics and social opportunities are a source of satisfaction for Kerry Smith, Beaver Island’s athletic director. She grew up on the Island and competed for the Islanders.
“The best part of being an AD on an island is the great deal of satisfaction I get from watching our kids be able to connect with other kids their age and play a sport and have a great time doing it,” Smith said. “The kids here know what a privilege it is to be able to have a sports program, and they show their appreciation through their outstanding sportsmanship – and that makes me beam with pride!”
Dianna Behl, Beaver Island’s language arts teacher, will take over the girls basketball team this winter. She has served as the school’s Nordic ski club advisor the past four years and has practiced with the basketball team frequently. She was a three-year letter winner at Charlevoix High School.
She’s expects her team to benefit from players taking part in fall sports.
“I am very excited for our season because many of the players are participating in soccer and volleyball, so they should be in great shape for basketball season,” she said. “I hope to build on their solid base.”
Dan Burton will be entering his seventh season as the varsity boys basketball coach. He’s also developing an elementary basketball program and guiding the middle schoolers. He expects to have a middle schooler or two join the high school team to fill out the roster this winter.
“The best part of coaching is getting these the students an outlet for sports,” said Burton, a business owner on the island. “Otherwise, there’s nothing much else to do in a small town like this.
“Keeping a sports program is the most important thing.”
The soccer team also is relying on middle schoolers as it attempts to find enough players to compete. The co-ed roster is dominated by girls, and the Islanders have only two seniors and one junior on the squad.
“I just hope we can improve a lot on our basics this year,” Doughman said. “I hope to just have fun. The biggest challenge is they’re all first and second-year players, except for a handful.”
Weather is the most difficult challenge of being an island-based sports team, the coaches acknowledged.
“The greatest challenge of coaching an island team is Mother Nature,” Behl said. “The girls practice hard for days and then at the last minute bad weather comes in and the planes aren't flying us out, or our competition in, for the games.
“It is heartbreaking and happens every season,” she continued. “Nonetheless, I am so impressed with how well the girls handle it. It is a life lesson in flexibility, and they are pros.”
Because of those frequent weather changes, spotting the athletic director in the school hallways often is a bad sign.
“The weather is a major frustration and always a factor for us,” Smith said. “On game day, I try not to show my face down in the high school wing because the kids always think I am coming to deliver bad news.”
The school often chooses which teams will go on to MHSAA postseason play based on their success in the league. Beaver Island sent its boys basketball team to Districts last season.
The last Beaver Island team to move past the first round of Districts was the volleyball team in 2013. The Islanders beat Mackinaw City and went on to play Engadine before seeing their season come to an end. The school’s best-ever tournament run was by the soccer team in 2005.
“They were District winners; this was the farthest any team has ever gone,” Smith recalled. “It was a huge celebration. The team was greeted by the fire trucks, parents and pretty much the whole community when they flew home that day.”
Beaver Island anticipates sending the boys basketball team to Districts again this year, and possibly the girls basketball team as well.
Mackinac Island is the Islanders’ favorite place to travel, according to coaches’ consensus. That’s the host for the volleyball and soccer Northern Lights Conference tournaments.
“One of our favorites would have to be Mackinac Island because the girls enjoy flying to another island, riding in the horse drawn carriage and the rare treat of getting to go to a Starbucks,” she said.
Mackinac Island will host conference tournaments for soccer Oct. 16 and volleyball Oct. 23.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Beaver Island's Ella Moon passes during a volleyball match this fall. (2) Olga Burton winds up to serve. (3) Beaver Island plays its lone home soccer game during the 2020 season. (4) The Beaver Island boys basketball team participated in District play this past winter. (Photos courtesy of the Beaver Island athletic department.)