Pioneers Conquer Title Territory
November 23, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – The East Grand Rapids High School trophy case is so full, it’s reserved for awards celebrating only those teams that win MHSAA championships.
There are more than 120 trophies already in the case. And the Pioneers’ volleyball team finally can claim a spot among them.
In what was nearly the closest a three-set match could go, East Grand Rapids claimed its first MHSAA title by edging Bloomfield Hills Marian 25-22, 25-22, 25-20 in the Class A Final on Saturday at Kellogg Arena.
The Pioneers twice had made MHSAA Semifinals – in Class B in both 2010 and 2011 – and then last season, when seemingly on the verge, moved into Class A. But instead of being disappointed, East Grand Rapids relished the new opportunity.
“Moving to Class A, a lot of people didn’t expect a lot from us. A lot of people took the scary, ‘Oooohh, you’re going to Class A.’ But we didn’t take it as scary at all. We embraced it,” Pioneers outside hitter Caroline Knooihuizen said.
“Knowing we were even going to states, we had made history. But the job wasn’t done yet. ... It’s just crazy knowing we added on to our state championships at our school. It wasn’t any other trophy; it was our first volleyball championship.”
East Grand Rapids entered the tournament ranked No. 8 in Class A and finished 50-5-3. The Pioneers beat No. 4 Rockford and No. 6 Northville on the way to Saturday before surviving repeated challenges from No. 3 Marian, which finished 50-16 after advancing to its first championship game since 2010.
Coach Christine Grunewald also improved her career record this weekend to 351-60-4, and had plenty of experience to draw upon in bringing the Pioneers back to Battle Creek – she not only coached the second of those Semifinal teams but Lakewood’s winter 2007 semifinalist as well.
And it couldn't have hurt that East Grand Rapids had faced, and swept, Marian in a tournament match this fall.
“I think this whole year has been a little bit different in our approach. We’re really focusing on controlling the volleyball when it’s on our side of the net, becoming really skilled at the out-of-system ball ... and I think we did a really good job this year on doing that,” Grunewald said.
“We wanted to be the best defensive team in the state, and I think we are, and I think we’ve proven that. We have a few big girls, but the rest of us are just scrappy. That was one of our goals, to be the best defensive team and wear those other big teams out.”
Aside from the first point in the first set, East Grand Rapids never trailed in that game or the third. The Pioneers did get down five points midway through the second set before outscoring Marian 10-4 to turn the game’s direction in their favor.
It’s no coincidence the team’s three statistical leaders were seniors. Knooihuizen led East Grand Rapids with 15 kills to go with nine digs, and Miss Volleyball finalist Maeve McDonald had 27 assists, eight kills, 13 digs and three blocks. Senior Jordan Clappison added nine kills. Together, they kept the ship steady.
“They stayed in the moment. They didn’t get ahead of themselves,” Grunewald said. “And when we needed some big plays from other players, they did it. And I just can’t believe we’re here in three.”
The Mustangs also were keyed by their set of experienced leaders – senior hitter Jessie Kopmeyer had 10 kills and seven digs and senior hitter Paige Carey added seven kills.
But they were two of only four seniors, and the majority of the team’s other top contributors Saturday should be back in 2014 – including junior setter Meghan Cotant (26 assists, 11 digs), junior hitter Alannah Barash (seven kills, seven digs) and sophomore libero Delaney Backonen (18 digs).
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids players celebrate their first MHSAA volleyball championship at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Marian’s Alannah Barash prepares to smash a potential kill Saturday. (Below) East Grand Rapids libero Jamie Wolffis connects on one of her 14 digs in the Final.
Mercy Stands Tall at Net, Makes Big Blocks Pay Off in Championship Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
BATTLE CREEK – Farmington Hills Mercy looked to be on its way to a sweep Saturday in the Division 1 Volleyball Final at Kellogg Arena.
So when Bloomfield Hills erased a nine-point deficit in the third set, extending the match and delaying the Silly String celebration, the Marlins were on the wrong side of a massive momentum swing.
They were also incredibly calm.
“I feel like our message was not to worry,” Mercy senior Ella Andrews said. “We were down in the Semifinals two sets and came back and reverse swept them, so I feel like our message was just to stay calm. We can trust ourselves. We’ve been working for this all season, we just have to rely on each other and feel confident in ourselves to get back and score those points to win the set.”
Mercy got back to its game in the fourth set, and put itself back on top of the state with a 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20 victory against Bloomfield Hills.
The win gives the Marlins their third Finals title and second in three years. And, for the second time since 2023, they doused their coach Loretta Vogel with water and Silly String.
“I’m going in there to talk to everybody in the locker room, and I just get drenched,” Vogel said. “It’s definitely becoming a custom here.”
Mercy entered the fourth Final in program history with a simple, yet difficult gameplan: Slow Bloomfield Hills star Kayla Nwabueze. The Harvard-bound outside hitter did manage a match-high 24 kills, but the Marlins’ long, talented front line made it as difficult on her as possible.
“Our plan was to shut down Kayla,” said Vogel, who puts Nwabueze among the best hitters she’s seen in her 49 years coaching. “Put big blocks up, make them change to something else. That worked for us. I thought the girls really got up there and put four hands in front of her. There was one time we triple-blocked. So, I think changing something up like that, giving her a different view, had an impact on her. For any hitter, that would have an impact.”
Nwabueze got some backup from sophomore Allison Stakoe, who had 20 kills and played a massive role in the third set comeback.
But Nwabueze admitted it was tough to try and navigate the Mercy blockers.
“I would say it was really frustrating,” she said. “I knew they were going to come out and try to stop me, so I just had the mentality of don’t let that happen. I feel like I got into a rut a couple times. That’s what they tried to do, to stop the player that caused the most damage, and it was smart on their part. I really tried hard to try to get past that block. It was a really big block, though.”
McKenzie and Ella Andrews led the way on that block, with Ella finishing the match with two solo blocks and five assists, and McKenzie tallying six block assists. They had a ton of help, too. Kaelyn Easton had five block assists, Saniya Tucker had four, and both Cree Hollier and Kate Kalczynski had two.
Mercy’s attack was just as varied.
Kalczynski led the way with 16 kills, including the final one on match point, while Ella Andrews had 13, Hollier had 12 and McKenzie Andrews had seven.
That distribution was thanks to their freshman setter Easton, who had 43 assists in the Final and more than 100 over the final two matches.
“Definitely just seeing open spots where the blockers were,” Easton said. “I know in this game, the middles were open a lot, were scoring a lot, especially in the last set, and the coaches were just like, ‘Get them the ball. Just get them the ball and make them score.’ Also, the outsides, they opened up the middles a lot, so really, really appreciative to all of them. I could just not do it without the passes. The passes were really, really good this weekend.”
Maya Zarow led Mercy (42-5-3) with 24 digs, while Kalczynski had 12 and Easton 11.
Bloomfield Hills (43-8-1) setter Brynn Wilcox finished the day with 42 assists. Alyssa Moir led the defense with 20 digs, while Stakoe added 14, Nwabueze had 13 and Julia Colosimo had 10.
This weekend marked the first time the Black Hawks had advanced to the Semifinals.
“I’m just really proud of our team,” Wilcox said. “Even though we may have faced some ups and downs throughout the season, we kind of leaned on each other. It’s probably one of the greatest – I’ve had the most fun of my life.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy players raise their championship trophy Saturday afternoon at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Mercy’s Cree Hollier (22) attempts a kill as Bloomfield Hills’ Suri Ewing (13) and Charlotte Elowsky elevate to try and block it.