Kubiak Comes Back, Twice, to Lead Mustangs
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
September 20, 2016
PORTAGE — Mikaela Kubiak is a fierce competitor on the volleyball court. But the Portage Central senior setter had an even harder fight off the court her first two seasons.
Kubiak, who has been instrumental in the Mustangs’ run to a 23-3 start and No. 5 ranking in Class A, spent her first two seasons rehabbing from injury.
A starter on varsity as a freshman and sophomore, Kubiak tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, not once but twice, and endured two separate stints of grueling physical therapy.
Looking back, the personable Kubiak remembers every detail.
“It was our first home match against Kalamazoo Central and all my family and friends were here watching,” said Kubiak, who came to Portage from Central as a freshman and whose father Bob Kubiak had coached Kalamazoo Central football from 1993-2003.
But her first home volleyball match wasn’t even close to what she envisioned.
“It was in warm-ups and the second ball I hit, I came down and I blew my knee,” she said.
“Not a very good start. It was our first home varsity match, and I think it was the first or second week of school.”
Her first thoughts were that she could walk it off and continue to warm up.
“Then I was like, whoa, this is way more serious than I thought,” she said. “I couldn’t get up. I kept walking, then I just sat down on the ground. It was throbbing and I was in pain.
“I was just super mad, super mad at myself that it happened. Of course, that game it would have to happen to me.”
She had knee surgery and spent nine months in recovery, including physical therapy at least three times per week.
“I wasn’t surprised she came back (after the first injury). I was surprised she got hurt again,” said Dawn Jaqua, who has coached the Mustangs for the last 18 years. “I was actually surprised she got hurt the first time because she’s such a strong kid, physically, so that was a shock.
“She is hugely determined and loves the sport. You can’t help but beat yourself up when you’re a coach and any kid gets hurt on your watch.”
After missing her first season, Kubiak was raring to go as a sophomore.
The team’s setter was Madison Jaqua, who earned all-state first-team honors that year, so Kubiak was once again a hitter.
“Mattawan was like our big rival,” Kubiak said. “We were in the middle of our third set. It was a nitty-gritty, tight match. It was point after point after point, back and forth.
“Madison set me a ball and I came down and just overran it too much and I blew it out again. I knew right away because my knee moved on me.
“I was like, ‘Oh great.’ I think I was even more mad at that. It was like a pin dropped in the room and I was so frustrated. I technically tore it twice in the same year. I actually tore it on 9-11 my freshman year and 9-9 my sophomore year.”
Once again, Kubiak missed the rest of the season. But this time she knew what to expect from the physical therapy and did a lot of work on her own to supplement the workouts.
Giving up volleyball was not an option.
“I was more comfortable going back my junior season because I was back in my original position (as a setter with Madison Jaqua graduating) and I had a huge brace on. I didn’t have a brace my sophomore year.”
Dawn Jaqua said Kubiak’s role changed as a junior.
“She was setting for us,” she said. “The biomechanics are way different. We didn’t have her play front row last year. She set from the back row. We ran a kind of modified system for that.
“Then she started playing front row a little bit for us at the end of the season. We let her block in controlled situations, and by the end of the season last year, we were running a 5-1 with her.”
The coach’s daughter, senior Devin Jaqua, who has been playing volleyball with Kubiak since seventh grade, was not surprised she returned stronger than ever.
“She’s always been a strong leader, and she’s always worked really hard,” the senior said. “She has a really big passion for the game, so I knew she’d always come back.
“She leads almost like the team mom. You can always depend on her, and she always plays her best. She always knows what to do and when to do it.”
In spite of losing two seasons of both high school and club volleyball, Kubiak earned Class A all-state honorable mention last season.
In November, she will sign to play collegiately with Division II Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Dawn Jaqua said Kubiak is the complete package.
“It’s all the components: her athleticism, her consistency, her decision making,” she said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about her will to want to win. She’s a great leader.
“She is a great problem solver. She’s demanding, but she does it in a very calming way. She’s very controlled. When things aren’t going well, she does a great job figuring out a different way to win. That’s her job.”
Devin Jaqua said this is a special year for the seniors.
“There’s five seniors, and it’s our last year,” she said. “Mikaela and Janell (Williams) are the only two so far going to play in college, so the rest of us really want to make it a memorable last year.”
Williams will sign with Western Michigan University. Jaqua will play soccer collegiately at Michigan State.
Talking from experience, Kubiak offers some advice: “For any other volleyball players out there, work hard all the time because you never know when it can be taken from you.
“Cherish every moment you have on the court with your teammates because it really does fly by.”
Other seniors on the team are Rebecca Barnes and Maddie Goodman. Juniors are Maddie Wojcik, Sara Denison, Olivia Harning, MacKenzie Zook and Jessie Zesiger. The sophomore is Ryann Jaqua and the freshman is Maizie Brown.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Mikaela Kubiak tips the ball over the net during a recent match against Richland Gull Lake. (Middle) Kubiak and Portage Central coach Dawn Jaqua. (Below) Kubiak sets for teammate Janell Williams. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 9 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 22, 2025
A volleyball season full of weekend excitement will again enjoy one of its most attention-grabbing highlights Sunday.
More than two months of matches will boil down to the selection of first and second seeds for every District bracket, with MHSAA Tournament play set to begin a week later on Nov. 3.
Seeds are determined by Michigan Power Ratings (MPR), and as noted previously you can follow how teams stack up statewide, in their respective divisions and even in their respective Districts on the MPR page. The formula for determining the rest of the District is posted here.
Records, results and schedules below are those posted for teams on MHSAA.com, and rankings reflect polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Kingsley d. Traverse City St. Francis (25-22, 25-15) The Division 3 No. 3-ranked Stags (44-4-1) went 5-0 at the McBain Tournament, defeating honorable mentions McBain and Beal City as well but topping the day with this sweep of the No. 8 Gladiators (24-14-0).
2. Hudsonville d. Grand Haven (25-20, 27-29, 20-25, 25-18, 15-11) The Division 1 No. 9 Eagles (27-8-1) prevailed after falling behind 2-1, avenging a pair of previous losses to the No. 8 Buccaneers (33-9-0) from Sept. 25 and Oct. 4.
3. Crystal Falls Forest Park d. Kingsford (25-15, 25-14, 25-21) The Division 4 No. 5 Trojans (35-1-0) continued to justify their status among the Upper Peninsula’s best regardless of division, with this win over the Division 2 honorable mention Flivvers (19-2-0) – during a 3-0 day at the Clash of the Divisions – one of their most impressive this fall.
4. Grand Haven d. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (25-17, 25-19) Three days before the Hudsonville loss, Grand Haven went 4-0 at the Mattawan Invitational with this win over the Division 4 No. 5 Cougars (30-10-1) arguably the best although the Bucs also downed Division 1 honorable mention Byron Center.
5. Hancock d. Lake Linden-Hubbell (25-12, 22-25, 25-14, 27-25) The Division 4 No. 8 Bulldogs (23-3-2) followed up a big sweep of Ishpeming with this win over Lake Linden-Hubbell (22-5-0) to further firm up their place among the best in the Upper Peninsula and Division 4 as a whole as well.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Brighton (25-6-2) The Bulldogs are holding onto an honorable mention in the latest Division 1 rankings with a run of nine wins over their last 12 matches and their losses this season coming to an incredible group of No. 1 Rockford, No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Marian, No. 7 Utica Eisenhower (twice) and honorable mention Jenison. Brighton clinched the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title and will play Northville in the KLAA Gold Tournament championship match Saturday. The Bulldogs also are slated for a top seed in their District.
South Lyon East (30-7-1) The No. 10-ranked Cougars finished 4-0 at the final Motor City Power Series last weekend, highlighted by a 2-1 win over Division 2 No. 3 North Branch. All but one of their losses have come to a top-10 or honorable mention team in Division 1 as well, and they remain the only team to defeat top-ranked Rockford. East followed up that Sept. 20 win by defeating Division 2 No. 2 Detroit Country Day as well, and is tied for first in the Lakes Valley Conference with the league tournament coming up Saturday.
DIVISION 2
Flat Rock (22-6-0) A Sept. 22 win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – the program’s first against the Huron League foe – put Flat Rock into the spotlight this fall, and it has received honorable mention again this week in the Division 2 poll. But the Rams have much more to boast, including a victory over Kingsley, and have also built up their experience in losses most recently to No. 6 Tecumseh and honorable mention Milan. Tune in for tonight’s for the rematch with the Kestrels.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (30-10-1) After opening this season with three losses at the Traverse City West Invitational, the Cougars have strung together plenty of success including 13 victories over their last 15 matches. They did fall to Grand Haven over the weekend at Mattawan but defeated DeWitt, Portage Central and Division 3 No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian and moved up a spot to No. 4 in this week’s Division 2 rankings. They’ve already far surpassed last year’s 23-22-2 finish, with a likely top seed awaiting in their District as the only team in the bracket with a winning record.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (17-3-2) The Fighting Irish are not ranked currently but may draw some notice with a 9-1-2 run that’s included a 25-23, 28-26, sweep of Division 4 No. 6 Battle Creek St. Philip and just a three-set loss to Division 2 Buchanan after Hackett won the first set. The Irish are lined up right now as the likely second seed in their District opposite No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian, which defeated Hackett in last year’s District Final and this season on Sept. 23. The only other loss this fall came to Delton Kellogg.
Pewamo-Westphalia (24-7-3) The 2022 Division 3 champion – and a quarterfinalist the last two seasons – No. 6 P-W is riding a seven-match winning streak as it gears up for another potential run. The best win over these last few weeks was a 2-1 comeback victory over No. 2 Plymouth Christian Academy at the Mt. Morris Tournament, and wins over No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian, No. 9 Saginaw Valley Lutheran and Division 2 No. 10 Battle Creek Harper Creek also stick out from this season’s overall work.
DIVISION 4
Midland Calvary Baptist (23-5-1) The Kings need two more wins to equal the total from last year’s Regional finalist team, and on Saturday went 4-1 at the Tawas Tournament with especially notable victories over Division 3 Johannesburg-Lewiston and Alcona and the loss to Division 2 Ogemaw Heights. All of Calvary Baptist’s defeats and the one tie came against Division 2 or 3 opponents, and as of today the Kings are slated to be the top seed in a District bracket that also includes No. 6 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Onekama (23-7-2) The Portagers are 9-2-2 over the last two-plus weeks and an honorable mention in this week’s rankings as the prepare to attempt next month to extend a five-year District title streak. They went 3-1-1 at the Farwell Paula Sullivan Tournament over the weekend, tying and then falling to Division 3 No. 10 Manton. But Onekama has solid wins over honorable mention Suttons Bay and Manton from earlier this season and plenty of other tough losses as well.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Wednesday – Davison (24-4-0) at Mount Pleasant (25-6-1) – Both went undefeated in their divisions and earn their spots in this overall Saginaw Valley League championship match.
Wednesday – Carrollton (27-1-2) at Saginaw Valley Lutheran (35-8-3) – This is a winner-take-all matchup for the Tri-Valley Conference Blue regular-season championship.
Saturday – Lowell East vs. West Challenge – The 16-team field includes Division 1 top-ranked Rockford, No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Marian, No. 4 Bloomfield Hills, No. 5 Lowell, No. 7 Utica Eisenhower and honorable mentions Jenison, Byron Center and Clarkston among several others.
Tuesday – Detroit Country Day quad – The Division 2 No. 2 Yellowjackets (13-7-0) will welcome Marian (34-4-0), Eisenhower (30-3-1) and Fenton (15-10-0).
Tuesday – Beal City (28-7-0) at Roscommon (42-2-0) – Division 3 top-ranked Roscommon can finish a perfect run through the Highland Conference, but honorable mention Beal City hopes to stand in the way.
PHOTOS (Top) Mount Pleasant's Tessa Ervin (2) digs the ball during a match against Saginaw Heritage. (Middle) East Grand Rapids' Heidi White (1) elevates to get to the ball against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. (Mount Pleasant/Heritage photo by High School Sports Scene. East Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Central photo by Michigan Sports Photo.)