Mendon Extends Reign with D4 Repeat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2019
BATTLE CREEK – All Heather Bowers does is win MHSAA titles.
The second-year Mendon volleyball coach is now 2-for-2 at Kellogg Arena, as her Hornets defeated Leland for the second straight year – this time 25-17, 25-19, 27-29, 25-14 – on Saturday in the Division 4 Final.
“The hard work these girls have put in, I just can’t say how proud I am of them,” Bowers said. “It was a completely different group with a completely different dynamic, but the same work ethic and the same drive and will to win.”
Last year’s title was the first since 2001 for the Hornets (40-9-6). But even after losing six seniors, this year’s group came in with experience winning on the Kellogg floor led by junior Anna Smith. She was dominant for the second straight year, with 22 kills, 13 digs and four aces.
“The fact of the matter is she can score at will against our team – against any team. I haven’t seen anybody shut her down,” Leland coach Laurie Glass said. “She has all the shots. She gets up there and she sees tips, she sees the corner, she sees the line, she sees the cross. At this level, not a lot of D4 schools have kids that can do all of that at will. She’s super talented, and it’s unfortunate for us that she’s a junior and will be returning next year.”
Smith was the main target for Hornets setter Gracie Russell, who finished with 41 assists. But Russell spread the ball around, keeping the Leland defense guessing. Senior Taylor Heitkamp was second on the team with 12 kills.
“We knew (the Comets) were such a balanced team that we had to be one, too,” Bowers said. “We all showed up, we all got involved. It was amazing. It was a great group effort.”
Leland’s attack was three-pronged, led by junior Tatum Kareck with 15 kills, senior Gillian Grobbel with 13 and Olivia Lowe with 11. Jana Molby had 37 assists for the Comets (44-15-3).
But a strong Hornets defense held Leland to an overall .128 attacking percentage. Mendon finished with eight total blocks, led by five assists and one solo from junior Andrea Hoffman.
“Leland’s always had really strong hitters, so we know that we have to defend our back row so they can have our backs, too,” Hoffman said. “You have to put up a big block to run your offense, and we did.”
Leland won the first four points of the match, but the momentum was short-lived, as Mendon won 13 of the next 16 to take control. The Mendon lead got as high as 13-7 after a pair of aces from Smith, which forced Leland to call a timeout.
While the timeout stopped play, it didn’t swing the momentum, as the Hornets kept Leland at arm’s length on its way to a first-set victory.
The Hornets never trailed during the second set, leading by as many as eight (24-16).
Leland built an 18-12 lead in the third set, gaining momentum from an unlikely play. With her team trailing 6-4, Lowe dug a powerful Smith spike with her face, and the Comets wound up getting the better of what turned into a long rally.
The Comets had set point at 24-19, but Mendon senior defensive specialist Juliana Hagenbuch served her team back into the match and gave the Hornets a match point opportunity at 25-24. But Leland bounced back to close out the set and force a fourth.
Mendon took control of the fourth set early, leading 12-6 and forcing a Leland timeout. Thanks to incredible back-line play from sophomore Isabella Smith and Hagenbuch, the timeout wasn’t able to stop the Mendon roll, as the Hornets continued to stretch their lead. Hagenbuch finished with 19 digs, while Smith had 12.
“I think they put up a strong block today, so it was really easy to stay off their shoulder and pick up balls that they touch or they block,” Hagenbuch said. “They made my job easy today. I didn’t have to dig as many balls. I was proud of them.”
Both teams should return plenty of talent in 2020, especially Leland which loses just one senior. While Grobbel is a significant loss, the thought of a third straight trip to the Finals, and another possible chance at redemption against Mendon, was already on the mind of at least one Comets player.
“It makes me want to win even more,” said junior libero Mia Osorio, who had 10 digs. “Last year, we came into this year thinking we really want to win, but this time it’s like the cherry on top. We just want to make it down here again and hopefully see them again – and win.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Mendon celebrates its second-straight Division 4 championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Mendon’s Ryley Mullin (11) and Leland’s Olivia Lowe battle at the net.
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).