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.
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 6 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 1, 2025
Just a few weeks ago, we got this inaugural "Block Party" started. And this week, we've already surpassed the midpoint of the 2025 girls volleyball regular season.
District tournament play begins is just a little more than four weeks, on Monday, Nov. 3. But even now, every match counts as we're in the second year of using Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) to determine seeding of the top two teams in every District. Click to link above to see how teams stack up not only in their entire Division but also in their District with pairings set to be assigned Oct. 26.
Records, results and schedules below are those posted for teams on MHSAA.com. Rankings reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Plymouth Christian Academy d. Mendon (25-12, 25-12) A 5-0 day for Division 3 No. 3 PCA (24-5-0) at the Division 3-4 Showdown included this most notable win over the Division 4 top-ranked Hornets (21-3-1).
2. Farmington Hills Mercy d. Utica Eisenhower (17-25, 25-13, 15-13) After losing the first set, Division 1 No. 3 Mercy (12-2-0) rebounded to even the score and then hold off No. 6 Eisenhower (19-2-1) in the match decider at the Motor City Power Series.
3. Mendon d. Battle Creek St. Philip (25-18, 16-25, 25-16, 25-21) Coming off a 3-2 run at the Division 3-4 Showdown, Mendon continued to justify its Division 4 No. 1 status with this win over the No. 3 Tigers (16-9-4).
4. Battle Creek Lakeview d. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (19-25, 25-18, 15-10) Lakeview (25-5-5) finished 4-0-1 at its invitational, with the tie also against the Division 2 No. 6 Cougars (19-8-1) before winning the rematch in three sets.
5. Grand Rapids South Christian d. Frankenmuth (25-16, 28-26) This Motor City Power Series matchup pitted the Division 2 No. 8 Sailors (14-7-0) and now-No. 10 Eagles (9-6-4), who entered the weekend ranked Nos. 8 and 7, respectively.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Byron Center (19-4-0) The Bulldogs went 13-2 in September and remain an honorable mention in the latest poll after an open weekend. They most recently went 4-0 at their Cristi Curtis Memorial Invitational, and their losses this fall have come against No. 1 Rockford, No. 5 Jenison, No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and honorable mention Lowell. Byron Center will get a second chance against Jenison on Oct. 16.
Cadillac (18-3-0) The Vikings have begun another march through the Big North Conference – most notably with a five-set win over Traverse City Central on Monday – and they own solid early wins over Division 3 No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis, honorable mention McBain and Division 4 Ubly. The losses came to Division 3 No. 2 Roscommon, No. 4 Kingsley, and Mount Pleasant, all in weekend tournament play.
DIVISION 2
Kingsford (12-0-0) Despite graduating all-stater Madelynn Kreider in the spring, the honorable mention Flivvers are continuing a pace that took them to a 31-5 finish and District title a year ago. The most notable wins so far have come over Division 4 No. 10 Hancock during a 6-0 day at Kingsford’s season-opening invitational and then Calumet on Sept. 11, and they’ll see Negaunee for a second time Thursday after sweeping the Miners during opening weekend.
Milan (10-4-0) The Huron League is loaded this season with Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central again ranked No. 1 in Division 3 and Flat Rock coming off a win over the Kestrels last week. Add Milan to the mix, with losses only to another league foe New Boston Huron, plus SMCC, Division 2 No. 7 Tecumseh and honorable mention Parma Western. The Big Reds won their first meeting with Flat Rock and have a nice victory over Division 3 honorable mention Bronson as well.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (17-6-3) Coming off last year’s run to the Division 3 Semifinals, the No. 6-ranked Comets are facing a schedule filled with Division 1 and 2 teams. They’ve won 10 of their last 12 matches, the defeats coming two weeks ago at the Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational to Division 1 Portage Northern and Division 2 Chelsea. The only loss to a non-D1/D2 opponent came during a season-opening invitational to No. 5 Pewamo-Westphalia, which K-Christian also defeated that day.
McBain (11-7-0) The honorable mention Ramblers have won nine of their last 10 matches as they settle into Highland Conference play with the biggest coming up Thursday against No. 2 Roscommon – which defeated McBain in tournament play Aug. 29 and also ended the Ramblers’ 2024 run in the Regional Finals. McBain already has avenged an early loss this fall to honorable mention Manton and will see the Rangers again Oct. 28. The other defeats came three times to No. 4 Kingsley and once to Calumet and Cadillac.
DIVISION 4
Fowler (13-5-1) A Regional finalist last season, Fowler will definitely be prepared for top competition during tournament time. The Eagles started this season defeating current honorable mention Onekama and have taken losses to Division 1 Portage Northern, Division 3 No. 3 Plymouth Christian Academy, Division 4 No. 2 Ubly (twice) and No. 5 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart. Fowler also tied and then defeated Division 1 Midland Dow at the start of September. The Eagles will get their next major challenge Thursday at Pewamo-Westphalia.
Ishpeming (12-2-1) An opening draw with Newberry and losses to Negaunee and Calumet are the only flaws during an otherwise excellent start. Ishpeming then defeated Newberry at the Rudyard Invitational and will have a chance to see Negaunee again as well. Unranked at this time, the Hematites could equal last season’s 16 wins by the end of this weekend at the Escanaba Elks Invitational, where most notably they’ll see No. 8 Crystal Falls Forest Park.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – Fowler at Pewamo-Westphalia – A pair of top 10 teams top the Central Michigan Athletic Conference standings as P-W (16-5-3) is No. 5 in Division 3 and Fowler (13-5-1) is No. 6 in Division 4.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series at UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac – The most intriguing pool this weekend includes Division 1 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills (23-2-1), honorable mention Dexter (10-1-0), Novi (13-7-0), Saline (13-5-0) and Lake Orion (12-12-1).
Saturday – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep quad – The Fighting Irish (17-10-1) welcome Division 2 honorable mention Edwardsburg (19-7-0), Birch Run (18-6-2) and West Bloomfield (7-4)
Tuesday – Lansing Catholic at Ionia – Lansing Catholic (14-3-1) fell out of the Division 2 honorable mentions this week, but Ionia (19-3-0) moved up to No. 9.
Tuesday – South Lyon at South Lyon East – These neighbors and Milford head into the final week of the Lakes Valley Conference schedule vying for the top spot, with Division 1 honorable mention South Lyon (21-5-0) undefeated in league play and East (23-5-1) with just a loss to Milford.
PHOTOS (Top) Okemos blockers attempt to deflect the ball during a sweep last week of Lansing Waverly. (Middle) Warren Regina sets for a kill attempt against Notre Dame Prep during a Fighting Irish sweep. (Okemos/Waverly photo by Larry Arreguin/Team Arreguin Photos. Regina/Notre Dame Prep photo by Adam Sheehan.