Performance: Notre Dame Prep's Maddy Chinn
September 14, 2017
Maddy Chinn
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior - Volleyball
Notre Dame Prep, one of the elite programs in Michigan with two Class B titles over the last decade, is ranked No. 1 again with a record of 24-2-2. The Fighting Irish have played 12 state-ranked teams – 10 ranked in Class A – and Saturday downed Class A No. 7 Temperance Bedford in the semifinal and then reigning Class C champion and top-ranked Bronson in the final to win the Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational. Chinn had 14 kills in the two-set semifinal and 21 in the three-set championship match to earn the first Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” of the 2017-18 school year.
The 6-foot-3 outside hitter has been on varsity since freshman year, participating in three rotations starting out, five last season and now all six. She made the Class B all-state second team as a freshman and the first team last season – and this fall she’s averaging 4.3 kills per game with a .339 hitting percentage and .453 kill percentage. But she contributes all over the floor, serving for 105 points and 36 aces in 63 games so far, with 48 blocks and 167 digs as well. Her 682 kills as a sophomore qualified for the MHSAA record book for a single season, and her 1,484 career kills through Wednesday already make that list as well although she has the better part of two seasons to play. Chinn should finish as one of the most celebrated players to take the court for longtime coach Betty Wroubel, the third-winningest volleyball coach in MHSAA history.
Chinn has earned national recognition as well and committed to sign next year with Purdue University, currently ranked No. 15 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She carries a 4.0 grade-point average and plans to major in dentistry when that time comes; in the meantime, she’ll try to lead Notre Dame Prep to its first MHSAA title since 2013 and after the Irish fell in a Regional Semifinal last season to eventual champion North Branch.
Coach Betty Wroubel said: “Yes, being 6-3 helps in volleyball, but height alone isn’t going to get it done. She’s a student of the game, she works hard in the game, and it’s so much more than stats. Her leadership on and off the court is exemplary, up there with the top kids I’ve worked with. And it’s not just hitting; she wants to be the best defender, she wants to be the best server, she wants to do it all. She has a high volleyball IQ, and her biggest improvement has been her ability to read what the other team is doing offensively, what they’re trying to do to stop her … for someone so young to be able to see that, it’s pretty special.”
Performance Point: “In practice, we've been putting a lot of work in, not just calling the ball, but letting each other know what spots are open and analyzing the other side of the net to find and expose the other team's weaknesses,” Chinn said. “We've been working really hard on that, and I thought that came together a lot to help us be in the finals. My (biggest contribution is) communication, to deliver the information that I see to each individual teammate in a unique way which is best for them … I want to be someone they can look to for calmness and confidence in us as a team, especially in pressure situations. The Bronson game, I think we mentally and physically prepared ourselves to play them. I thought we just really performed well and were in sync.”
Time to lead: “As my role has expanded on the court, I’d say my vocalization on the court has expanded too. The more I’ve been on the court, the more I can express to my teammates some shots they can hit, what we can be reading, and I feel like the more I’m on the court, the more I can help my teammates – which is really important to me. Being a good teammate, I think, includes putting them in the most successful position they can be in.”
Another year wiser: “The game is slowing down even when we play high-level competition. For example, the Mercy game I saw things I wouldn’t have seen a year ago, like reading their shoulders and their arms and where they’re facing and their hips and anticipating what’s going to happen next. And being there before they even know where they’re going to put the ball.”
Learning from a legend: “Honestly, it's an honor to be an athlete and to have (Wroubel) as my coach. I've learned so much over the three years already I've been here. I can't say I go a day without learning something new or adjusting something that will help me now and in the future.”
Paging Dr. Chinn: “I’m going to major in dentistry. I think it would be really interesting, and I could do some good things in that area. I’ve always been into the medical field, and I think being an orthodontist – I’m really into math and sciences – I think that would be a great place for me.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 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.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep's Maddy Chinn receives the ball during a match this fall. (Middle) Chinn rises to begin her swing on a kill attempt. (Photos by Kim Bucchi.)
O-G Overhaul Continues to Deliver as Bulldogs Clinch League Title Repeat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2025
Barb Hellebuyck was honored to return to her alma mater and take on the challenge of rebuilding the Owendale-Gagetown volleyball program.
Having played for the legendary Judy Campbell, Hellebuyck knew what success at Owen-Gage looked like. With her granddaughter entering the program, she had an idea of the type of talent there was on hand to aid in the process.
She was not quite as aware of just how deep the rebuild would have to go, however.
“I remember, and I don’t know what team it was, they came to play a game at our gym and picked up the raggedy balls we had – the look on that girl’s face,” Hellebuyck said. “I went, ‘Oh heck no. We have got to do some upgrading here.’ These girls deserve to look good, to feel good, then that will help them play better when their confidence goes up. It started with new balls, then we got new carts, new uniforms, we have two new net systems now. Everything has been building for these girls, and they should have all that stuff.”
With its new equipment on hand, and its coach now in her fifth season, the Owen-Gage volleyball team is not only rebuilt but flourishing.
On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs clinched their second-straight Big Thumb Conference Red title, also their third in four years. Prior to winning the 2022 title, it had been 17 years since Owen-Gage had won a league championship.
That 2005 title was the last of 11 straight for a once-dominant program, constructed by Campbell as she built a 500-139-25 record over 20 seasons during the team’s infancy. From 1977 through 2008, Owen-Gage won 27 league titles, 21 District titles and five Regional titles. The school had nearly run out of room on the banner hanging in the gym.
Now, it finally has some numbers to justify getting a second one.
“It’s been very eventful – our team has really developed over the years,” said Owen-Gage senior Aubrey Hellebuyck, who joined the varsity team as an eighth grader in 2021. “We’ve really changed the program and turned it all around. We went from being last in the conference to being a championship contender. It’s really awesome to be a part of that.”
Aubrey Hellebuyck is one of three seniors on Owen-Gage’s eight-player roster this season, joined by Ayriona Maikrzek and McKenzie Baker.
They also happen to be the only three girls in the school’s four-student senior class. Owen-Gage is among the state’s smallest 30 schools in terms of MHSAA classification, with an enrollment of 41. The towns of Owendale and Gagetown have a combined population of less than 600 as of the 2020 census.
Because of its size, Owen-Gage can have eighth graders play varsity sports, as Hellebuyck did. They also have students as young as seventh grade playing on the JV team.
For some, that could be intimidating. But at Owen-Gage it’s been embraced.
“Having no experience, it was very hard,” Owen-Gage junior Jessica Bowers said. “We were going against teams that would have freshmen and sophomores, while I’m just a seventh grader who had never played before. But it made me develop faster because I had to lock in and focus when I’d be going up against people that were a lot bigger.”
A smaller school population also forces players to learn to become more well-rounded. Not only because of the small number of substitutes, but because there’s no guarantee the population will provide a player that fits a specific position.
“They are all phenomenal players in my mind, because we have a lot of them that play all the way around,” Barb Hellebuyck said. “They have to be good at the net, they have to be good in the back row. They’re really phenomenal players. They’re not always the tallest ones, but I have several players that do multiple things. We just have to.”
Again, it’s something Owen-Gage players have embraced.
“I’m a middle, and normally at other schools the middles never play all around,” Bowers said. “When I first started, all I focused on was hitting. Gradually I had to force myself to learn to dig a ball because no one could play back row for me. Eventually I got really good at it. On a bigger school team, I don’t think I would have to do that.”
With that buy-in, it’s no surprise that Owen-Gage has returned to its winning ways. This year’s team is 19-4-1 overall, having won 13 straight matches. It has not lost since Sept. 9.
The Bulldogs have two regular-season matches remaining before the District tournament, which begins Nov. 3. With a league title wrapped up, that’s the next goal, to end another 17-year drought and claim the school’s first District championship since 2008. In their way is Division 4 No. 2 Ubly.
“There’s a chance we could do that,” Aubrey Hellebuyck said. “It would be a huge upset, and it would be insane. We’re working toward that.”
That possible title would be made even more special by the fact it would be won in the Bulldogs’ home gym, as they are hosting. That’s another source of pride, just five years removed from side-eyed looks over the state of the program’s equipment.
“Barb puts a lot of work into that,” said Aubrey Hellebuyck, who added that she’ll go back to calling her “Grandma” after the season. “She’s a great coach, but she actually does a lot of fundraising just so our program has a lot of opportunity. We had one net, and it was horrible. Now we have two brand-new nets that are great. Our old ball cart, it was not a ball cart, I don’t even know what it was. But it’s not embarrassing to bring out our ball carts anymore for home games.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Owendale-Gagetown players celebrate during a match this season. (Middle) Jessica Bowers elevates to get to a ball. (Below) Aubrey Hellebuyck (5) enjoys a moment with her team. (Photos by Kaitlin Gunsell/Kaitlin’s Klicks.)