Class A Final Rematch Goes to Novi
November 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Novi was plenty familiar with Romeo heading into Saturday’s Class A Final at Kellogg Arena.
And the Wildcats had more or less memorized last season’s championship match loss to the Bulldogs. “I watched that game … a lot,” Novi senior Victoria Iacobelli said. “Too many times to count.”
But she and her teammates also were more familiar with the stage of an MHSAA Finals weekend after last year advancing for the first time since 2007. And that made all the difference in reversing last season’s result.
The top-ranked Wildcats won the first set this time and then the final two to down Romeo in four – 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17.
“Obviously last year was a new environment, so there were a lot more nerves coming in,” Iacobelli said. “So we knew this year we had to stay calm and come in with confidence, whether that meant passing well and serving well, or just playing our system and trusting the girls on our team to do what they’ve got to do. And that’s what we did.
“We started strong, and that was a large contributor … confidence.”
Understanding the significance of Saturday, aside from the obvious – Novi winning its first MHSAA title in the sport in only its third trip past the Regionals Final – requires a brief review of last season’s championship match.
Romeo won in five sets after Novi got behind 2-0 and fought back to even. Recently-awarded Miss Volleyball Gia Milana cemented her status as favorite with 29 kills, including six in the final game.
This time, Novi won convincingly the first set before Romeo drew even winning the second. The third set was close, and at the end of the afternoon Milana again had 29 kills including a couple that simply were jaw-dropping – but by the midway point of the fourth set, it was clear Novi was surging toward the decisive finish. Wildcats juniors Ally Cummings and Emmy Robinson combined to block one final Milana attack back across the net for the final point.
“There’s obviously a little more motivation coming in from last year. (A rematch) wasn’t necessarily on our minds through the postseason, but I know as soon as Thursday was over and Romeo was our opponent, there was a lot more motivation,” Iacobelli said.
Milana’s kills will again tie for sixth most in an MHSAA Final during the rally scoring era that began in 2004-05. But Novi senior Paulina Iacobelli also will make the list with 20, and she didn't have a hitting error. Cummings had 17 and 21 digs and Victoria Iacobelli added 13 kills and six aces.
Sophomore Erin O’Leary’s 47 assists also tied how many she had in the 2014 match – and again for eighth-most in an MHSAA Final.
Romeo entered the tournament ranked No. 6 and ended 48-8-1. Milana will graduate among the top hitters in MHSAA history with her kills this fall ranking among the top 10 for one season. Senior setter Breanna Olley added 39 assists and 15 digs.
“I’m honestly happy for them because they really deserve it,” Milana said. “We just needed to say ‘No.’ We didn’t say no; we played with them instead of at them. We didn’t go after them. We stepped back and let them take the wheel and do whatever they wanted.”
Novi finished 55-2, its only losses this season to Farmington Hills Mercy, an honorable mention in the final Class A coaches poll, and Class B champion Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard.
“I thought if we played our game that we could defeat them. But they’re teenage girls; you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get and how the nerves are going to play into it, and the emotions,” Novi coach Jennifer Cottrill said. “I was confident in our team and our ability to win, and I’m just happy that they went out and performed the way I know they can.
“That was a tough loss last year. They were just so hungry this year."
PHOTOS: (Top) Novi celebrates as coach Jennifer Cottrill hoists the team’s first championship trophy in volleyball. (Middle) Romeo’s Payton Klein follows through on a kill attempt while Novi’s Kathryn Ellison puts up a block.
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 10 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 29, 2025
League championships have been all but decided, Districts are assigned and brackets drawn, and we’re only a few days from the start of this season’s MHSAA Girls Volleyball Tournament.
That means we’ll be coming back shortly, as our “Block Party” schedule moves up the next edition to Monday so we can preview some of the most intriguing District brackets across the state and all four divisions.
Until then, below are a few more regular-season observations as teams continued with their final tune-ups:
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Rockford d. Farmington Hills Mercy (24-18, 23-25, 15-6) The East vs. West Challenge at Lowell was another opportunity for the Division 1 top-ranked Rams (40-1-1) to show their superiority among the state’s elite – which they did, not only defeating then-No. 2 Mercy (18-4-2) but also new No. 2 Bloomfield Hills and No. 7 Utica Eisenhower among others.
2. South Lyon East d. Farmington Hills Mercy (25-19, 18-25, 25-13) Outside of Rockford, there may be no team hotter than Division 1 No. 5 South Lyon East (37-7-1), which has won 11 straight and followed this with a sweep through the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
3. Bloomfield Hills Marian d. Detroit Country Day (25-16, 25-16) The Division 1 No. 4 Mustangs (43-5-0) have won 20 of their last 23 matches, and went 3-0 at the Country Day quad Monday including this sweep of the Division 2 top-ranked Yellowjackets (16-8-0).
4. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern d. Tecumseh (25-21, 25-21) The Division 1 No. 6 Huskies (33-8-1) handed just the second defeat this season to Division 2 No. 6 Tecumseh (51-2-0).
5. Plymouth Christian Academy d. Ubly (25-20, 25-21) A 5-0 run through the Mt. Morris Tournament by Division 3 No. 2 PCA (37-8-1) including this win over the Division 4 No. 3 Bearcats (25-10-4), plus sweeps of Charlevoix and much larger Holt, Essexville Garber and Cadillac.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Grand Rapids (29-10-0) The Pioneers are among honorable mentions in Division 1 again this week, and despite a pair of losses to Division 2 No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian over the last eight days bounced back to defeat No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Division 4 No. 2 Fowler heading into these final few days of the regular season. EGR already has bested last year’s record of 26-16-5 and will enter its District next week as the second seed to Forest Hills Northern. Eight of the team’s losses have come against top-10 teams in Divisions 1 and 2.
Zeeland East (29-4-0) Although the Chix did lose out on a league title Monday falling in five sets to Division 2 No. 5 Holland Christian, that was the team’s first defeat since facing Holland Christian on Sept. 23 – and the only other losses this season came to Division 1 No. 10 Grand Haven. Zeeland East also is among honorable mentions this week and seeded second in a District behind another honorable mention in Byron Center. The Chix do have an early-season win over Holland Christian and have defeated Division 2 honorable mention Marshall and Division 3 No. 6 Kalamazoo Christian among others.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Country Day (16-8-0) The reigning Division 2 champion has been ranked No. 1 this season for all but two weeks, and moved back into the top spot this week after a four-set win over Bloomfield Hills on Oct. 21 – which avenged a loss from the season-opening quad Aug. 26. All eight losses have come against Division 1 opponents, with six to teams ranked or receiving honorable mention currently. Country Day is seeded first in its District, which empties into a Regional that could include No. 2 North Branch or No. 7 Imlay City.
Holland Christian (23-8-0) As noted above, the Maroons have clinched a share of a league championship, in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black and with Spring Lake to finish the schedule. The closing run to secure the title came after a four-match losing streak that included three defeats to ranked Division 1 teams at the Jenison Invitational, and seven of the team’s losses total have come to ranked or honorable mention opponents. The Zeeland East win noted above also gave Holland Christian one more this season than last, and the Maroons will head into District play a top seed.
DIVISION 3
Byron (28-3-1) The Eagles have won nine straight matches including all four Saturday at the Marine City Cardinal Mooney Invitational, and they already have five more victories than last season – when Byron reached the Regional Finals. They’ve played several matches against Division 1 and 2 opponents this fall, with two of their defeats coming from teams in those divisions, and they also have notable victories over Alma and New Boston Huron among larger-enrollment foes. Byron also will be a top seed in its District.
Morley Stanwood (27-12-0) With eight wins over its last 10 matches, Morley Stanwood has joined the list of honorable mention teams in Division 3 the last two weeks. The schedule has included showdowns with several ranked opponents, with losses to No. 1 Roscommon, No. 2 Plymouth Christian Academy, No. 3 Kingsley and twice to No. 10 Beal City. That schedule has paid off as Morley Stanwood will enter its District as a top seed but with Central State Activities Association rival Kent City the second seed and after Kent City won two of three meetings this fall including in Saturday’s league tournament.
DIVISION 4
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (23-8-6) The 2022 Division 4 champion also made the Quarterfinals in 2023 and the Semifinals a year ago, and has prepped for another potential extended run facing a slate of larger schools and several that also are ranked. Sacred Heart is No. 4 in Division 4, and half of its losses this season are to Division 3 No. 10 Beal City, with the rest to Division 1 honorable mention Traverse City Central and three other Division 1 or two schools. Meanwhile, the Irish also have wins over Division 4 No. 2 Fowler and honorable mention Grand Rapids Sacred Heart.
Wakefield-Marenisco (19-7-0) The Cardinals opened this season with a 3-4 showing at the Copper Mountain Conference tournament, but have since avenged two of those losses and another early-season defeat in downing Ewen-Trout Creek last week. W-M has won eight straight matches since falling to No. 5 Crystal Falls Forest Park at the Trojans’ invitational on Sept. 20, and three losses this season have come against Lake Linden-Hubbell (23-5-0). The Cardinals are seeded second in their District to Forest Park and Thursday against Ironwood can equal their 20 victories of a year ago.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – ABCD quad at Traverse City Central – This annual event will see the Division 1 honorable mention Trojans (26-7-0) host Division 3 No. 3 Kingsley (47-4-1) and No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis (24-14-0), and Division 4 Leland (12-25-1).
Thursday – Essexville Garber quad – The Dukes (38-11-3) will welcome Midland Dow (19-12-5), Yale (23-21-1) and Saginaw Valley Lutheran (43-10-3).
Thursday – Buckley quad – The Bears (27-5-1) will host an impressive Division 4 crew of No. 10 Onekama (30-8-3), Bellaire (19-7-4) and Traverse City Christian (24-12-2).
Saturday – Temperance Bedford Spooktacular – The field for this year’s regular-season finale includes Division 4 No. 7 Adrian Lenawee Christian, Division 2 No. 10 Flat Rock and Division 3 No. 4 Hanover Horton among others.
Saturday – Grand Blanc Tournament – The Bobcats will close the regular season with Division 2 No. 2 North Branch and Division 1 Oxford among those in the field.
PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Valley Lutheran’s Grace Parker (7) elevates to get to the ball as Birch Run’s Teagan Abraham (2) sets up to block Tuesday. (Middle) Saginaw Swan Valley’s Hadley Wagner connects on a kill attempt while Clio’s Alaina Gliniecki (3) and Kelcy Sperling (14) get ready at the net, also Tuesday at Birch Run. (Photos by Terry Lyons.)