Performance: Bronson's Kiera Lasky
September 21, 2018
Kiera Lasky
Bronson senior – Volleyball
The Vikings’ three-year starting libero has been part of three Class C championships and has her team pointing toward another run. Lasky had 16 digs, an ace and 12 passes in serve receive without an error as Division 3 No. 2 Bronson downed Division 1 No. 6 Battle Creek Lakeview to win the final of last weekend’s Portage Northern Invitational – earning Lasky the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Lasky is one of 10 finalists for this season’s statewide Miss Volleyball Award after earning all-state as a junior and sophomore and all-region as a freshman. Playing libero, she has 293 digs, 56 aces and 33 assists this season and has passed the ball 302 times in serve receive with only 19 errors. During her career, Bronson is 194-31-11 including 27-3 this fall. She set her school record for career digs as a junior, and her total now stands at 2,488. The Vikings beat Lakeview in three games at Portage after sweeping Wayland, Otsego and Stevensville Lakeshore. For the day, Lasky finished with 70 digs, 10 aces and seven assists.
A three-sport athlete as a freshman and sophomore, Lasky also is an all-league basketball player who has helped that team to multiple District titles. She also played softball her first two years of high school and is considering running track next spring. Lasky will sign this fall to continue her volleyball career at Davenport University, and she carries a 3.8 grade-point average. She’s worked on her family’s flower farm since the start of elementary school, and she’s interested in studying business management and marketing and starting her own business down the road.
Coach Jean LaClair said: “Kiera is a workhorse, both in sports and in life. This shows not only in academics, but in her successes both on and off the court. Anyone would tell you that she is a tremendous person, who goes about her business, not arguing calls, not complaining about anything – just going out and getting the job done. She has the ability to read the game very well, always putting herself in the best position to make the play. She makes what most would consider a spectacular dig look easy because she puts herself in the right position. She is willing to cover more of the court when a teammate is struggling, and has the confidence in her game to do this. Kiera has been the libero on three state championship teams – she runs the back row, and has since her freshman season. Kiera will be missed when she moves on to play in college, but she is doing a great job training our younger players on the work ethic and attitudes needed to keep this program moving forward.”
Performance Point: “Just to be able to play a Class A team and perform well against them is just a win in itself,” Lasky said of the Lakeview match. “We just played really, really well, and we were smart, and it was just exciting to see because we’re not to our full potential yet and it was really cool to see how well we could play when it’s all put together. … Everything we do revolves around our block. So our blockers, our front row, played extremely well. Our middle senior Ashton (Wronikowski) really took control up there and made sure she was closing the block, which makes it a lot easier on the back row because the block takes away a certain part of the court. We could all get in our positions and just dig the ball and do what we’re supposed to do. And we have a lot of hustle plays, and the effort was definitely there. So we just did our job and dug the ball.”
In the running: “I honestly didn’t think I was going to be on (the Miss Volleyball finalist list), so when I found out I was excited. I was like, ‘Oh man, this is an honor.’ But in all honesty, it’s not just my award, it’s the team award because I’d never be able to be where I am without our team. I wouldn’t be half the player I am today without my team and without my coach. At Bronson, we’re all about team chemistry and 100-100 – going 100 percent 100 percent of the time. We know what we’re supposed to do, when we’re supposed to do it, and we hold each other accountable.”
Back row driver: “When I was younger, I was dead set that I was going to be an outside (hitter). I guess my growth just got stunted, so I ended up 5-5, and that’s where I got put. … Being a libero, you don’t get all of the limelight, you don’t get all of the fame. But I think it’s extremely important. It’s kinda like being a quarterback on the football field. You’re telling people what to do, where to go. They just look to you when they don’t know. Especially on my team, I take a leadership role, and so I find it extremely important where other people might not. It’s a role, that if there wasn’t one, I don’t think a team would be as successful.”
Play like a champion: “What I take away most from (winning three titles) is just from year to year, as I’ve gotten older, we tend to do a lot of the same things. We have these traditions before every game. We go, we’ll stretch, we’ll sit in a circle, we’ll discuss the scouting reports because we do scouting reports whenever we watch film – so we watch film about every single team that we play. That’s a big part about why we’ve won, because we know our opponents – we almost know what they’re going to do before they do it. We know them because Coach’s husband Duane goes and he scouts every single team for Districts and Regionals, so we’re thankful to have him around and for doing things that other teams don’t really get the opportunity to do. That’s a big part, and just taking away from the state championships, people kinda look at you in a different way. They’re like, ‘Oh man, they’re state champs.’ So you’ve really just got to set the tone and be the example, like at school; people look up to you. You always try to do the right thing. Coach always says, if there’s a piece of paper in the hallway, bend down and pick it up. Show people what they’re supposed to do.”
One big Bronson family: “I’m kinda related to half of the town. Last year my cousin Kiana (Mayer) was the setter. My sister Adyson (Lasky), who was a captain, she played outside and she was a really big role on our team. My younger sister Meagan, she’s actually the setter now on this team. The right side is also my cousin, Jolie (Smoker). There’s another DS (defensive specialist) on the team, Scyler (Cary), she’s my cousin too. (Cousin Alanna Mayer also is a returning hitter.) So there’s been a lot of relatives on the same team. It was a little frustrating sometimes, because there were three of us that were sisters and we’d kinda get in little arguments. But it would be over and done with – (and) it’s been a lot of fun making memories. My other two cousins, Kylei Ratkowski played on the 2009 state championship team and Alexa (Ratkowski) who sets at Trine, she was the setter my freshman year. So there’s been a lot of us who went through the program, and there’s more coming up.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Bronson's Kiera Lasky digs during Saturday's match against Wayland at the Portage Northern Invitational. (Middle) Lasky serves during last season's Class C championship match win over Laingsburg. (Top photo courtesy of the Sturgis Journal.)
Russell Twins Set High Bar Standing Tall Together for Mona Shores Sports
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
April 16, 2026
Maddie and Laynie Russell have been such a big part (literally) of Muskegon Mona Shores girls sports over the past four years that it’s difficult to imagine the Sailors without them.
Opposing basketball and volleyball coaches certainly won’t miss them, as figuring out a way to handle the “twin towers” was Job 1 when playing Shores.
Laynie (6-foot-3) and Maddie (slightly shorter at 6-2½) are fraternal twins and four-year varsity players in both volleyball and basketball, having entered the starting lineup four years ago as 14-year-olds. Both made an immediate impact and progressed to become Muskegon All-Area “Dream Team” volleyball players the past two years.
“They looked like grown women, but they weren’t,” said Mona Shores girls basketball coach Mike Phillips, who met with the family to talk about moving both girls up to varsity when they were still just 13 years old.
“It would have been easy for them to crumble under that kind of pressure, but they handled themselves unbelievably well.”
And the twins, who are both near the top of their class academically with weighted GPAs greater than 4.0, are not quite done helping Shores sports.
Currently, Maddie is an attacker in lacrosse and Laynie is playing No. 1 doubles in tennis. Both will graduate in June with 11 varsity letters.
Then they will have a few months to enjoy their summer passions for jet skis and water skis, before heading in different directions.
Laynie has committed to play volleyball at Northern Michigan and is undecided about her field of study. Maddie will play volleyball at Indiana Tech, where she plans to major in pharmacy.
Intense Maddie
Maddie is more emotional and expressive and wears her heart on her sleeve.
She was “super tenacious” way back in youth soccer and in another one of her loves, swimming, where she was a state champion in the breaststroke at age 7.
Then it appeared for some time that softball would be “her thing,” excelling as a power hitter at the plate and with her long stretch playing first base.
“Sports has always been our life, and it’s just natural for us to go from one sport to another,” said Maddie, who didn’t start playing volleyball until middle school.
“I love being a part of different teams because you meet different friends in each one. Plus, I think it has helped me physically and to avoid injuries because I wasn’t just doing the same thing over and over.”
Maddie made her mark in basketball as a dominant inside force, particularly as a defender and rebounder. In volleyball, she was an outside hitter who could move around and was an excellent passer, finishing her career with 681 kills and 166 blocks.
Her favorite memory is winning four straight city volleyball titles and then helping her team break through and win a Division 1 District volleyball championship her junior year, as the team finished 32-10.
She believes her busy high school experience has prepared her for college. In addition to being a three-sport athlete at Shores, she also played travel in three sports (volleyball, basketball and softball), took AP classes, was a member of National Honor Society and worked as a lifeguard and babysitter.
“I don’t know how she did it some of those days,” said dad Mike Russell, shaking his head. “But we were lucky because both girls are very self-motivated. We didn’t have to get on them very much.”
Poker-faced Laynie
Laynie is more even-keeled and keeps her emotions in check, and it’s hard to tell whether she is having a rough game or is going off for 31 points, which she did in an early-season basketball win last season.
Laynie, who was born two minutes after Maddie on Aug. 14, 2008, was bigger at birth (she was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and Maddie was 5 pounds, 7 ounces). Then Maddie shot up and was taller in elementary school, they were about even in middle school, and now Laynie is about a half-inch taller.
Their height came as no surprise as Mike is 6-5 and their mom Jennifer is 6-1.
The tallest member of the Russell family is older brother Donovan, a 2022 Mona Shores graduate who is 6-8 and plays on the Michigan State men’s club volleyball team. “Dono” will graduate in May with a civil engineering degree.
Like her sister, Laynie is happiest when bouncing from sport to sport. She remembers briefly considering not playing a spring sport as a freshman.
“I didn’t do anything for like a week after basketball season and I was so bored,” said Laynie, who is serving her school this year as the National Honor Society chapter president. “That’s when I knew I had to be doing something, so I went out for tennis.”
Basketball was her favorite sport for many years, and she certainly left her mark on the hardwood, finishing as the 12th-leading scorer in school history and setting the school’s single-season rebounding record her junior year. Laynie, who could handle the ball like a guard and made 38 3-pointers during her career, was a two-time Ottawa-Kent Conference Green all-league selection.
It wasn’t until the past couple years that volleyball became her clear focus. Laynie is a dominant hitter and blocker at the net, finishing with 711 kills and 224 blocks.
Her most memorable games both came during her junior year, and both were big wins in front of rowdy crowds at the Sailor Center – a volleyball victory over No. 6-ranked Jenison, which featured a wild 38-36 win in the final set, and then a basketball upset of rival Muskegon.
But she said her most meaningful memory is time spent volunteering at youth volleyball and basketball clinics.
“We always worked a ton of youth camps, and I always loved that,” said Laynie, who is considering becoming a teacher and coach someday. “It’s fun seeing how excited (kids) get when they figure something out. And now some of those girls have grown up and they’re going to be taking our place.”
Separate ways
The “Russell twins” will, in many ways, truly will become Maddie and Laynie for the first time this fall.
Maddie will journey 216 miles south to Indiana Tech, which is in Fort Wayne, and Laynie will venture 417 miles in the opposite direction to Northern Michigan in Marquette.
“It’s going to be hard, for sure, but I’m trying to focus on what a unique opportunity it will be for both of them,” said Jennifer Russell. “For the first time, they will each have their own separate life, and I am excited for that.”
One thing is for certain: mom’s day-in, day-out Google calendar will free up immensely.
Right now, it’s somewhat comical when she calls up her color-coded family calendar on her phone (Maddie is purple, Laynie is pink, Dono is green, etc.) and it looks like a rainbow, with a crazy blend of school activities, school sports, travel sports, family obligations and work.
Dono will graduate from MSU next month, the twins will graduate from Mona Shores in June and then they will head off and begin their college journeys in August.
Mike and Jennifer, both 1988 Shores graduates and high school sweethearts, will be empty nesters, but at least will still have the family’s two dogs, Scout and Coco. The biggest challenge will be finding a way to be in two places at once – with the twins playing volleyball 633 miles apart.
About one mile away from their home at Mona Shores High School, the Sailors girls sports programs will need to replace two standouts who gave everything they had to their school – as individuals, teammates and role models for little girls in the community.
“Maddie and Laynie always put their school and their teammates above themselves,” said Phillips, whose three daughters played with and became friends with the Russell twins. “Their focus was, how can I help my school? In the spring it was, how can I help another one of our teams?
“What I will remember most about them is the great people and teammates that they were. I will be forever grateful to them for that.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Senior twins Laynie Russell (left) and Maddie Russell (right) have left their mark on the Muskegon Mona Shores athletic program as standout three-sport athletes. (2) Laynie (left) and Maddie are all smiles for a much earlier photo. (3) Maddie (left) and Laynie (right) are dominant forces at the volleyball net, shown here going up for a double block. (4) Jennifer, Maddie, Laynie and Mike Russell pose for a photo with the Sailors' Division 1 District championship trophy Nov. 7, 2024, at Coopersville. (Top photo courtesy of Billinghurst Photography. Family photos courtesy of Jennifer Russell. Action photo by Eric Sturr.)