Leland Takes Title as St. Phil Streak Ends
November 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – A championship trophy wrapped in her arms Saturday, minutes after one of the most memorable wins in recent MHSAA Volleyball Tournament history, Leland senior Maddie Trumbull said she would remember those post-match moments for the rest of her life.
And she’ll surely recall from time to time what it took over the last two years for her Comets to end the longest volleyball championship streak in MHSAA history.
A year after falling in the Final that would give Battle Creek St. Philip its record ninth-straight Class D title, Leland ended the Tigers’ dominance one win short of a decade with a 3-0 sweep – 25-20, 25-23, 25-23 – at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena.
It probably wasn’t the mix expected to take down mighty St. Philip, whose championship streak also was tied for 10th longest in national girls volleyball history. Surrounding Trumbull on the Kellogg Arena floor were a mix of seniors and juniors, but also a sophomore and two freshmen.
But from the first point Saturday morning, the Comets got a feeling they could be champions by the afternoon for the first time since 2006 – the last season before the Tigers’ streak began.
“Being in the final four and losing in the state final last year gave us motivation right off the bat,” said Trumbull, who also was a top hitter for teams that made it to Battle Creek in 2014 and 2013. “We started thinking last year, let’s make it to the state finals (again). Let’s beat them. Let’s beat their streak. We’ve been working since day one; that was our goal, and we met our goal.”
The championship was the fifth for Leland (49-7-4) to go with six runner-up finishes. The sweep was the Comets’ six of this tournament; total, they won 24 sets and gave up only two over the last three weeks.
But the success wasn’t without some adjustments – even between Thursday’s Semifinal win over Crystal Falls Forest Park and Saturday morning’s start.
Leland, which came into the postseason ranked No. 3, didn’t pass well enough against the Trojans to employ all of its offensive options. But they cleaned up the passing for St. Philip, and four players had at least five kills, let by Trumbull’s 14 and six more apiece by freshman Allie Martin and senior ViAnna Hennig.
Freshman setter Ella Siddall found her groove leading the attack, and also had four of the team’s eight aces.
Martin and Siddall were team managers for the Comets for two seasons before joining the varsity as players this fall. Both impressed longtime coach Laurie Glass again Saturday – Siddall for making the necessary adjustments to set a great match, and Martin for continuing to play "fearlessly."
“They had been in the gym. We felt there were lots of good things to come,” said Glass, who completed her 21st season leading the program. “Did I think we could win a state championship with two freshmen? I sure was hoping we would.”
The Tigers did all they could to rally at various points throughout the Final, be it during Vicky Groat’s timeouts during Leland runs or senior Abby McKinzie’s rallying of her teammates throughout.
The four-year St. Phil standout finished with 14 kills and 17 digs, but the Tigers never could get completely out in front. Siddall ended the two-point second-set win with an ace. Trumbull decided the two-point third-set win with a kill.
St. Philip, No. 2 entering the tournament, finished 46-17-2 after defeating top-ranked Plymouth Christian in its Semifinal. The Tigers won the title in 2014 after also entering the playoffs ranked lower than No. 1 – and Groat said the inevitable end of the streak was always in the back of her mind, going back to St. Phil’s first repeat attempt nearly a decade a go.
“You never know. You can’t take it for granted. And every team is different,” Groat said “I’m thinking back the other day to the first team that started this; they’re married and have kids. They’re all different girls. They’re all different individuals, and they all just come together as a team.
“The streak is going to end some time. ... There's no shame in losing for the championship. I think of all the teams, I’ve had the most fun with this group of girls. And I feel bad for that, that I'm going to miss that group. Abby feels bad like she let me down. Nobody let me down. If anything, I let you guys down because I didn’t win it for you. I would never feel that they let me down, ever.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Leland players hoist the school’s first volleyball championship trophy since 2006. (Middle) St. Philip’s Morgan Luoma dives during a dig attempt; she finished with a team-high 20 digs.
Kingsley Scores Final Point of 2025 Season to Clinch Program's 1st Finals Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
BATTLE CREEK – For a set and a half Saturday, it was clear Kalamazoo Christian was the team with a championship experience edge in the Division 3 Volleyball Final against Kingsley.
The Comets were playing at Kellogg Arena for the fourth straight year, having won a title in 2023, finished runner-up in 2022 and reached the Semifinals as well in 2024.
But apparently that set and a half was all the time Kingsley needed to become comfortable in the moment, as the Stags rallied for a 22-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-12 victory, claiming the program’s first Finals title.
“We got hammered the first game, just didn’t play well,” Kingsley coach Dave Hall said. “Just error after error, tight, and just out of nowhere they find it in them. In the second set we were down again, set point, and somehow they find a way to score a point and tie it. We’ve been in 25 of those this year, and have probably won 23 of them. They just don’t get rattled. I’m chewing my fingernails off and can’t look half the time, and they just play volleyball. It’s amazing.”
Hall’s illustrious career has spanned nearly three decades at Kingsley, as he’s won 1,230 matches in his 27 years with the program.
It was the second time he had taken a team to the final day of the season, with the previous for the Class C Final in 2004.
“It’s surreal,” he said. “I just told somebody that it’s probably going to be tomorrow before I realize what just happened. We’re just enjoying the win right now. … My daughter was just telling me she was 7 years old last time we were here. She’s 28 now, married. It’s awesome. I don’t even know if I have words right now to describe the feeling.
“Honestly, these kids have worked so hard. They got knocked out in the Regional Final in four sets (a year ago), and their goal was to come back and go further. Our motto has been one more day, one more day, just try to get to the end of the season. I said, ‘We’re going to play the last point of the volleyball season in the state of Michigan today, and it’s going to be match point and we’re going to win this thing.’ Thank goodness it worked out that way.”
It didn’t look that way early, as Kalamazoo Christian led from 4-3 on in the first set to take early control of the match. It then weathered a fast Kingsley start to the second before going up 24-22 with a chance to take complete command.
“I think we were playing really loose,” Comets coach Carlie Southland said. “Having a lot of fun and playing really disciplined in our passing, blocking and serving.”
Kingsley (57-4-1) would win the next four points, however, and never let go of the momentum, as Kalamazoo Christian (30-12-3) would never have another lead in the match.
“I think we were just kind of nervous at the start,” Kingsley senior setter Sarah Wooer said. “Then in the second set we realized that we were really in it, we just had to play hard. Once we realized that we were doing well and we could win, we just kept playing hard and we were able to pull it off.”
The lone glimmer of hope for Kalamazoo Christian came late in the third set, when it cut a 15-7 Kingsley lead down to 16-11. But a wild rally that included diving saves from Wooer, Isabelle Seitz and Aizlyn McKinley ended with a Jenna Middleton kill, and Kingsley rolled from there.
The play was a great representation of how the Stags played throughout much of the match.
“I think we all just read the hitters really well,” Wooer said. “We knew they had really good hitters, and we were able to adjust our block really well. Our blockers played a big part in it. Our defense played well, and we were able to just keep the ball off the floor, that’s all we try to do.”
Seitz led Kingsley with 28 digs, while Aizlyn McKinley had 22, Middleton had 15 and Ariyah McKinley had 14.
Wooer finished with 48 assists on the day, with Middleton coming in at 19 kills, Aizlyn McKinley at 15 and Delaney Case at 12.
Elliana VanDusen led the Comets with 18 kills, while Eliana Keller had 13. Lily Manion finished with 28 digs for Kalamazoo Christian, Ellory Zuiderveen had 11, and Reagan Zuiderveen had 36 assists.
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsley’s Sarah Wooer (6) sets for teammate Jenna Middleton (11) on Saturday as Kalamazoo Christian’s Elliana VanDusen prepares to defend. (Middle) Kingsley’s Aizlyn McKinley sends a kill attempt toward the net and Kalamazoo Christian blockers Ashlyn Triemstra (14) and Lydia Boley (7).