Performance: Camden-Frontier's Jordan Stump
November 2, 2018
Jordan Stump
Camden-Frontier junior – Volleyball
Stump did a lot of many things well in leading Camden-Frontier on Saturday to clinch its first league championship in more than a decade, filling the stat sheet with 36 kills, 46 assists, six aces and 38 digs during the Southern Central Athletic Association Tournament. The Redskins, then ranked No. 5 in Division 4, beat rival North Adams-Jerome in the semifinal and No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip in the championship match, earning Stump the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The 5-foot-6 junior joins sophomore Heather Shaw as a setter in Camden-Frontier’s 6-2 alignment, allowing both to direct the offense and pile up kills as well. Stump is averaging 4.8 assists and 3.1 kills per game with a .322 hitting efficiency and .897 serving percentage. The win over St. Philip avenged an earlier sweep by the Tigers at the start of October, when the Redskins were ranked No. 1 in Division 4 by the state coaches association. Saturday’s win and the league title are just the latest highlights from an impressive run for a team that started this season with eight players and has seen three, including Stump, work through ankle injuries. Camden-Frontier is 38-5-4 heading into tonight’s District Final against Pittsford, and moved up to No. 3 in the Division 4 rankings heading into the postseason.
Stump is a second-generation player for longtime Redskins coach Dawn Follis. Jordan’s mother Heather played for Follis and came back for a second run as junior varsity coach this fall, and she stepped in to guide the team during Saturday’s SCAA championship run. It was the first time Jordan had played for her mom – Jordan has been on varsity all three years of high school and is a three-time all-league first-team selection. She also has begun coaching, at the club level, and spends much of her off-court time and energy raising and showing livestock at the statewide level with her family. Stump is considering studying agri-nutrition or criminal justice after high school – but has plenty of time to decide and plenty of volleyball left to play with this season’s run and high expectations for next fall as well.
Coach Dawn Follis said: “Jordan, as well as many of her teammates, have put in endless years of extra work and dedication to make this year possible, and it has been such a joy to see all of their work come full round. Jordan started in the third grade playing club ball as well as managing my varsity team. Ironically, her mother was my first setter when I came to Camden-Frontier 29 years ago, so setting runs in her blood. Jordan not only has very good volleyball skills, but she has a high IQ of the game. She will come off the court often with great suggestions of how to beat the defense or score against the blockers. She doesn't power the ball through, but has a great court sense and knows where the holes are and can place the ball in those areas. Jordan not only sets and hits well, but many times has turned games around for us at the serving line. She is my floor general and has led her team this year to an unforgettable season.”
Performance Point: “Our team is really small, and I really enjoy that because we'll walk into a gym and everyone underestimates us. Our coach wasn't there on Saturday because her daughter's Senior Night was that night (Kasey Follis plays at Spring Arbor University), so as a team it was cool because we all just stepped up because we knew what needed to be done. And it was kind’ve a now-or-never situation. As a manager, I've always watched the older girls almost beat St. Phil, and they’ve come up just a little bit short. So I was like, you know, it's our time to do it. And when we played, it never crossed my mind, ‘What happens if we don't win this?’ It was just pure determination, and I think my adrenaline was so high. We just kept going, and it was a blast.”
‘Coolest mom of all-time’: “It was pretty cool to have my mom alongside and experience that with her. She's what got me into (volleyball). When I was littler – we live in a log cabin that has a tall ceiling – she kinda started me in the house, and we played there. Then she became the (JV) coach my eighth grade year, so it's just been really fun to watch her grow. We've kinda grown together – she'll bounce drills off of me, be like what do you think about this, and I'll go to her and be like, how do you think we should run this? It's just been really fun to experience that with my mom. … Passing, setting, and then it got to the point because our ceiling comes together at an arch, and I'd be jump-serving at the ceiling. Many broken blinds ... but she says, ‘Oh well.’ – it's made me a better player. It was just fun growing up. She started me in the third grade, just peppering back and forth. … We didn’t really tell my dad. It actually taught me a lot of control, because I didn't want to break stuff, so that's where I think I got a lot of my ball control from – so I didn't break things in the house.”
Building for something big: “It’s just been a great experience, coming from a small school, and having all the support behind us, and just watching us grow. I think that's one cool thing about volleyball, is watching the team and watching them grow and improve as time goes on. It's just been really fun, especially bringing up newer players and getting them into the group. When it all comes together, it's just a great experience. I love it. … Our overall goal is just to go as far as we can and work as hard as we can. Initially yes, it would be great to go all the way, but we're just going to keep on doing what we're doing and work every day and work super hard and see how far that takes us.”
Making the offense go: “I love setting, because when you get that perfect set, and your hitter puts it in, it's just a great feeling. Hitting is kinda secondary (for me), I'd say, because I'm not super tall. So I do have to find my way around the court and be smart about where I place the balls, because I can't go up and just go out swinging. But I still enjoy both very much.”
Family show: “We have a small farm; it's kinda my farm. I really want to raise show cattle when I get older, so when I turned 9 we started buying some cows and grew that little farm. We have 11 commercial cows that calve every year and we raise them and we sell them. My parents are a big help with everything that I do. My sister is involved. … We're big on family help and doing it together. My parents enjoy it do, so they support me in whatever I want to do, and that's pretty great.”
- 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
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Camden-Frontier’s Jordan Stump prepares to serve during a match this season. (Middle) Stump, right, works to put the ball past a block. (Photos courtesy of the Camden-Frontier athletic department.)
Grand Rapids Christian Returning to Semifinals, Ready for Next Challenge
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS – A Regional exit from the MHSAA Tournament last year wasn’t necessarily the norm for the Grand Rapids Christian volleyball program.
The returning players aimed to change that and get the Eagles back where they are typically found during the final weekend of the season.
Grand Rapids Christian will make its return to the Semifinals in Battle Creek after defeating Tecumseh 3-2 in Tuesday’s Division 2 Quarterfinal.
It will be the Eagles’ fifth Semifinal appearance over the last seven years, but last season’s five-set loss to South Christian in a Regional Final has provided the fuel for this year’s tournament run.
“After that loss last year, it definitely wasn’t what we expected or wanted, and I think from the moment we lost that game all the returners just felt a different kind of hunger for next season,” Grand Rapids Christian junior standout Grace Goodyke said. “We were already talking about our plans and what we wanted to change and keep going forward with.
“I think we knew this was the season that we had the talent, and all the girls had a love for each other that was super special and we had the opportunity to go far. It came down to the work we were ready to put in.”
Eagles coach Amy Huisken, who returned eight players, said expectations were high coming into the season.
“This is one of the goals that our team set way back in the beginning of the season,” she said. “So this is where we expected to be and wanted to be. Every win and every loss was for this purpose.”
Goodyke, a three-year varsity player, has led the Eagles’ charge and amassed more than 500 kills.
She understood the winning tradition of the program as an incoming freshman. The Eagles won three consecutive Division 2 championships from 2018-20.
“I had to buy into the culture pretty quickly, and I think our upperclassmen did a great job of showing me about the legacy that they came into,” Goodyke said. “This season we talk a lot about playing for each other and just trusting everybody to do their roles. We are just super close, and we use that to our advantage.”
The Eagles have played this season without senior Mallory Bremer, who tore her ACL and MCL during club season. But a core of key players has stepped up to lead the way.
Junior captain Piper Cebulski has 490 assists and is nearing 1,000 for her career, while junior Taylor Frost has provided leadership on the court while reaching 1,000 assists during Districts.
Sophomore Mya McKinnon is a two-year starter in the middle and has a hitting percentage over .400.
“We obviously have talent, but if you don’t have anything to back talent then it doesn't take you too far,” Huisken said. “The girls know who they are playing for, and it's the person next to them. Everyone works so hard in their role, knowing it's what the team needs to be successful. No selfishness and everyone working for each other.”
The Eagles tied for the championship in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White, facing the likes of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Grand Rapids Christian also has played against the top teams from the other side of the state.
“It makes us a battle-tested team, so we’re ready for tough moments,” Huisken said. “We do that on purpose, and we understand that our end result isn't going to say we're 25-0. But the losses are part of our story and how we got here. It's important for us to have that tough schedule, and we've had it throughout the tournament, too. There’s only one team we’ve played that hasn’t been ranked.”
The Eagles (36-9) will clash with reigning champion Detroit Country Day (27-9) in Friday’s Semifinal.
“They are a very good team,” Goodyke said. “I think we expect it to be a highly-competitive match. We do know that our coach has scheduled us against top teams in the state all season long, and our conference is pretty difficult so that prepares us as well.
“Those are the types of games we like. We’ve trained for those types of games, and I think we are ready to go out and just have fun and show the work that we’ve put in.”
Two more West Michigan teams advanced to this weekend.
Byron Center is in the Semifinals for the first time in 32 years after sweeping Ann Arbor Skyline 3-0 in a Division 1 Quarterfinal.
“This team is very special and their team chemistry is as good as any team I have ever coached,” Bulldogs coach Missy Ritz-Johnson said. “They are exceptional teammates that work very hard together, and their success is largely due to who they are as people and how much they care for each other. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
The Bulldogs (37-5-2) will face Farmington Hills Mercy (40-5-3) today at 4:30 p.m., while Rockford (46-1-1) meets Bloomfield Hills (42-6-1) in the other Division 1 Semifinal.
The Rams, who lost to Northville in last year’s championship match, defeated Traverse City Central 3-0 in a Quarterfinal.
All four Finals are slated for Saturday.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian takes a photo with their newly-won Regional championship trophy last week. (Middle) The Eagles’ Grace Goodyke gets up for a kill attempt against Tecumseh during Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. (Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Christian girls volleyball program.)