Preview: Top-Ranked Aiming to Finish #1

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 20, 2019

State poll voters have been right on with their favorites for this weekend's MHSAA Volleyball Finals at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena, as all four top-ranked teams will be making the trip. 

What's more, Division 1 No. 1 Farmington Hills Mercy is one of seven contenders this weekend seeking to finish as a Finals champion for the first time. 

Below is this weekend’s schedule:

Division 1 Semifinals – Thursday
Lake Orion vs. Lowell, 4:30 p.m.
Ann Arbor Skyline vs. Farmington Hills Mercy, 6:30 p.m.

Division 2 Semifinals - Friday
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 4:30 p.m. 
Kingsley vs. Grand Rapids Christian, 6:30 p.m.

Division 3 Semifinals – Friday
Saginaw Valley Lutheran vs. Schoolcraft, Noon
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central vs. Beaverton, 2 p.m.

Division 4 Semifinals - Thursday
Mendon vs. Southfield Christian, Noon
Rudyard vs. Leland, 2 p.m.

Finals – Saturday
Division 1, 2 p.m. 
Division 2, 4 p.m. 
Division 3, Noon
Division 4, 10 a.m.

Click for links to all results from this season’s tournament plus ticket information and details on live broadcasts of all 12 matches this weekend on MHSAA.tv and MHSAANetwork.com. Below is a glance at all 16 contenders, with statistics through last week's Regional Finals unless noted. 

Division 1

ANN ARBOR SKYLINE
Record/rank:
 54-8, unranked
Coach: Chris Cristian, third season (111-31-6)
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference Red
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final. 
Best wins: 3-0 over honorable mention Novi in Regional Final, 3-0 (District Final) 3-0, 2-0 and 2-1 over honorable mention Saline, 2-0 over honorable mention Brighton, 2-0 over honorable mention Oxford.
Players to watch: Kendall Murray, 6-2 sr. OH (656 kills, .420 kill %, 367 digs); Harper Murray, 6-1 fr. OH (657 kills, .492 kill %, 151 aces, 446 digs); Stacie Warner, 5-5 sr. S (1,297 assists, 74 aces).
Finals forecast: Skyline won its first Regional title last week powered by a Miss Volleyball finalist in Kendall Murray and a star just getting started on her high school career in Harper Murray. The Eagles haven’t dropped a set during the MHSAA Tournament, nor in 12 of their last 13 matches. Skyline also has defeated a number of top teams from other divisions, including Division 2 honorable mention Ida, Division 3 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian and No. 10 Saginaw Valley Lutheran; and Division 4 No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip and No. 4 Southfield Christian. Kendall Murray will continue her career at University of Michigan.

FARMINGTON HILLS MERCY
Record/rank:
 56-1, No. 1
Coach: Loretta Vogel, 11th season (record N/A)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central
Championship history: Class A runner-up 2010.  
Best wins: 3-2 (Regional Semifinal), 3-0, 2-0, 3-0 and 3-0 over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Marian; 2-1 over No. 3 Mattawan, 2-0 over No. 2 Lowell, 2-0, 2-1 and 3-0 over No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek; 2-0 over No. 10 Bloomfield Hills, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0 and 2-0 over honorable mention Saline; 2-0 over honorable mention Novi, 2-0 and 2-0 over honorable mention Oxford, 2-0 over honorable mention Brighton, 2-0 over Ann Arbor Skyline.
Players to watch: Jess Mruzik, 6-2 sr. OH (415 kills, .534 hitting %); Julia Bishop, 6-0 jr. S (1,459 assists, 75 aces, 288 digs); Ellen Tisko, 6-2 jr. MB (340 kills, .500 hitting %, 68.5 blocks); Charli Atiemo, 6-1 jr. MB (398 kills, .506 hitting %, 85 blocks).
Finals forecast: Mercy and Miss Volleyball winner Mruzik will attempt to win Vogel her first MHSAA Finals championship over more than four decades of coaching that has included bringing nine teams to at least the Semifinals, including last year’s team – which fell to eventual champion Lake Orion in a five-set semi. Mruzik, who also will continue at U-M, spent the beginning of the season playing for the U.S. U-18 national team in Egypt, and yet Mercy lost this season only to Lowell (while Mruzik was away). Bishop also made the all-state first team last season, while Atiemo made the third.  

LAKE ORION
Record/rank:
 39-15-2, honorable mention
Coach: Tony Scavarda, sixth season (317-63-5)
League finish: Third in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2018, Class A runner-up 2011. 
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in Regional Semifinal, 3-2 (District Final) and 3-0 over honorable mention Oxford, 3-1 (District Quarterfinal) and 2-0 over No. 6 Clarkston, 2-0 over honorable mention Brighton, 2-0 over honorable mention Saline, 2-0 over Ann Arbor Skyline.
Players to watch: Nina Horning, 6-2 fr. OH (394 kills, 107 aces); Lauren Staruch, 6-0 jr. OH (361 kills, 61 blocks); Reagan Goeke, 6-2 jr. MH (201 kills, .337 hitting %, 167 blocks).
Finals forecast: Lake Orion is 9-0-2 over its last 11 matches and defeated two top-10 teams on the way back to Battle Creek. Junior middle Kendall Robertson (250 kills, .331 hitting %) started last season’s championship match against Rockford but is the only player on this year’s roster to see the floor that day, making the Dragons’ return even more impressive. Kylie Andras (559 assists) and sophomore Jaina Macaulay (623) have split much of the setting, with Andras one of only three seniors on the team.

LOWELL
Record/rank:
 54-3, No. 2
Coach: Jordan Drake, second season (92-7-2)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final. 
Best wins: 3-1 (Quarterfinal) and 2-1 over No. 3 Mattawan, 3-1 (Regional Final) and 2-0 over No. 4 Hudsonville, 3-0 (Regional Semifinal) and 2-0 over No. 5 Byron Center, 3-0 (District Final) and 3-1 over honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 2-0 over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Marian, 2-0 over No. 10 Bloomfield Hills, 2-0 over No. 1 Farmington Hills Mercy, 2-0 over No. 8 Grand Haven, 2-0 over honorable mention Novi, 2-0 and 2-0 over honorable mention Lake Orion, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Christian.
Players to watch: Sophia Powell, 5-8 jr. S (1,446 assists, .390 hitting %); Jenna Reitsma, 5-11 jr. OH (795 kills, .357 hitting %, 82 aces, 379 digs); Meghan Meyer, 6-1 sr. MH/RH (438 kills, .381 hitting %, 76 blocks).
Finals forecast: Lowell’s longest tournament run has included its first Regional title won last week and has seen the Red Arrows eliminate top-10 teams in three straight matches. Total, Lowell has defeated seven of the final top 10 in Division 1, plus the top-ranked teams in Division 2 (Grand Rapids Christian) and 3 (Schoolcraft). The Red Arrows have dropped only 14 sets this season including four to Hudsonville over two losses before avenging those defeats at the Regional. Reitsma made the all-state second team last season, and Meyer made the third team.

Division 2

GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN
Record/rank:
 44-3, No. 1
Coach: Tiffannie Gates, ninth season (424-82)
League finish: First in O-K Gold
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2018. 
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 4 Hamilton in Quarterfinal, 3-2 over No. 3 Coopersville in Regional Final, 2-0 over No. 8 Detroit Country Day, 2-0 over No. 9 Holland Christian, 3-0 and 2-0 over Division 1 No. 5 Byron Center, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 3 Mattawan, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 4 Hudsonville, 2-0 and 2-0 over Division 3 No. 1 Schoolcraft.
Players to watch: Jordyn Gates, 5-10 sr. S (1,099 assists, .309 hitting %, 378 digs); Addison VanderWeide, 6-0 jr. OH (495 kills, .305 hitting %, 59 aces, 345 digs); Evelyn Doezema, 6-3 soph. OH (326 kills, 63 blocks).
Finals forecast: Grand Rapids Christian rolled to its first championship last season with a pair of sweeps at Kellogg, and has just kept marching. The Eagles’ only losses this fall were to Division 1 Lowell and Hudsonville (twice), and they’ve dropped only 10 sets all season. Senior middle Ayva Kooistra (195 kills) joined Jordyn Gates, Doezema and VanderWeide in the starting lineup for last season’s Final, and junior libero Lauren Peal and junior defensive specialist Elizabeth Rupp both saw time in the championship match. Gates and VanderWeide both made the all-state first team in 2018, and Gates was a Miss Volleyball finalist this fall and will continue her career at Arkansas.

LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
Record/rank:
 39-12, No. 2
Coach: Cameron Rowland, second season (85-21-2)
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference
Championship history: Class B champion 2012, four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-0 over honorable mention Ida in Quarterfinal, 3-2 over No. 7 Parma Western in Regional Final, 3-0 (Regional Final) and 2-0 over honorable mention Marshall, 2-1 over No. 9 Holland Christian, 2-1 over Division 3 No. 1 Schoolcraft.  
Players to watch: Maradith O’Gorman, 6-2 soph. RS (506 kills, .361 hitting %, 86 aces, 360 digs); Aubrey O’Gorman, 6-3 jr. MB (480 kills, .424 hitting %, 151 blocks); Skylar Bump, 5-6 fr. S (1,209 assists, 88 aces).
Finals forecast: Lakewood has played in four championship matches over the last seven seasons, finishing Class B runner-up in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Vikings fell to Grand Rapids Christian in last season’s Semifinal, and have won 10 of their last 11 matches heading back to Battle Creek. They’ll be prepared, thanks as well to impressive losses to Hudsonville, Lowell, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Byron Center this fall. Maradith O’Gorman made the all-state first team last season as just a freshman, while Aubrey O’Gorman was selected as only a sophomore.

KINGSLEY
Record/rank:
 58-7-3, No. 6
Coach: David Hall, 21st season (982-231-92)
League finish: First in Northwest Conference
Championship history: Class C runner-up 2004. 
Best wins: 3-2 over honorable mention Cadillac in Regional Final, 2-0 over honorable mention Corunna, 3-0 and 2-0 over Division 4 No. 5 Leland, 2-0 over Division 3 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, 2-0 and 2-0 over Division 3 honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis.
Players to watch: Brittany Bowman, 5-4 sr. OH (501 kills, 68 aces, 621 digs); Maddie Bies, 5-0 sr. S (1,489 assists, 343 digs); Austyn DeWeese, 6-2 sr. MH (529 kills, .397 hitting %, 143 blocks).
Finals forecast: Kingsley is returning to the Semifinals for the first time since that 2004 Class C run, and following a senior-laden lineup with five starters and the team’s libero all looking to finish their high school careers by making more history this weekend. The Stags can go to multiple scoring options, with senior outside hitter Sidny Hessem (458 kills) also making the most of many opportunities this fall. Kingsley has won 19 straight matches since taking a loss to Division 1 Temperance Bedford, and also saw Lake Orion and No. 3 Coopersville (the latter twice) in defeats.

PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Record/rank:
 48-10-2, No. 7
Coach: Betty A. Wroubel, 26th season (1,106-231-96)
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), Division 2 runner-up 2018. 
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 8 Detroit Country Day in District Final, 2-0 over No. 10 Onsted, 2-0 over honorable mention Cadillac, 2-1 over Division 1 honorable mention Oxford, 2-0 over Division 4 No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip, 2-0 over Division 3 No. 8 Centreville.
Players to watch: Aly Borellis, 5-10 soph. S/RS (564 kills, 96 blocks, 96 aces, 722 assists); Josie Bloom, 5-6 soph. DS/L (90 aces, 491 digs); Sophia Sudzina, 5-7 soph. S/OH (364 kills) (Only partial season stats available).
Finals forecast: Notre Dame Prep played in its second-straight MHSAA Final last fall, and appears the team to watch for the next two seasons too after making another run to finish this one. Borellis made the all-state third team last fall as just a freshman and has done some of everything for the Irish this fall. Bloom, senior middle Emily Mohr and sophomore middle Bianca Giglio also started in last year’s championship match, and junior libero Livy Kowalkowski played a significant role. Mohr (53 blocks, 60 aces) and middle Theresa Carrier (265 kills off the bench) are the team’s only seniors.

Division 3

BEAVERTON
Record/rank:
 46-1-1, No. 7
Coach: Steve Evans, 11th season (332-154-4)
League finish: First in Jack Pine Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final. 
Best wins: 2-1 over No. 5 Bronson, 3-0 over honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis in Quarterfinal, 2-0 over honorable mention Beal City, 2-0 over Freeland, 2-0 over Mount Pleasant, 2-1 over Division 4 honorable mention Saginaw Nouvel. 
Players to watch: Molly Gerow, 5-9 jr. OH (631 kills, 369 digs); Mady Pahl, 5-7 jr. S (1,103 assists, 64 aces, 333 digs); Macie Jerome, 5-4 sr. L (83 aces, 584 digs).
Finals forecast: Beaverton has increased its win total every season over the last three and will play in its first Semifinal after winning its first Regional title last week. The team’s only loss this fall came to Freeland, a quarterfinalist in Division 2, and the Beavers later avenged that defeat and have dropped only eight sets all season. They come to Battle Creek on a 37-match winning streak with sweeps in 21 of their last 22. Gerow made the all-state third team last season, and Jerome and defensive specialist Averie Bassage are the team’s only seniors.

MONROE ST. MARY CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank:
 48-2, No. 2
Coach: Karen O’Brien, fifth season (199-42-3)
League finish: First in Huron League
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), three runner-up finishes.  
Best wins: 3-1 (Regional Final), 2-1 and 2-0 over No. 6 Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep, 2-0 over No. 5 Bronson, 2-0 and 2-1 over Division 2 honorable mention Ida, 2-0 over Division 2 honorable mention Marshall, 2-0 over Division 4 No. 5 Leland, 2-1 over Ann Arbor Skyline.
Players to watch: Mikayla Haut, 5-11 jr. OH (446 kills, 73 aces, 75 blocks, 390 digs); Abbie Costlow, 5-10 jr. RS/OH (287 kills, .392 hitting %, 96 blocks); Sarah Reicker, 5-5 sr. S (835 assists, 50 aces).
Finals forecast: Monroe St. Mary is a pair of two-set losses to Division 1 No. 6 Clarkston and Division 2 No. 3 Coopersville from undefeated this fall as it returns to the Semifinals for the sixth time this decade and second-straight season. Haut, Costlow, junior outside hitter Anna Dean (327 kills) and senior right side Samantha Michael (191) all started in last year’s five-set Semifinal defeat to eventual champion Bronson, and Haut went on to make the all-state first team for the second time. Senior libero Payton Osborne had totaled a team-high 562 digs and 73 aces entering this week.

SAGINAW VALLEY LUTHERAN
Record/rank:
 40-8-5, No. 10
Coach: Jon Frank, 13th season (476-224-65)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference West
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final. 
Best wins: 2-1 over honorable mention Beal City, 3-1 over Brown City in Regional Final, 2-1 over Freeland, 2-0 over Saginaw Swan Valley, 3-1 over Division 4 honorable mention Saginaw Nouvel, 2-0 over Division 4 honorable mention Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Players to watch: Peyton Bartnikowski, 5-7 jr. OH (443 kills, 69 aces, 334 digs); Sydney Krause, 5-9 jr. S (1,123 assists); Carly Pomaville, 5-7 sr. MH (201 kills, 65 blocks).
Finals forecast: Valley Lutheran won its first Regional title since 2011 and is back at the Semifinals for the first time since 1983. The Chargers have had a lot of success at the local levels with four more league and three more District titles over the last five seasons, and they are taking the next steps with a mix of seniors and talented players who should have the team in contention again next season as well. Valley Lutheran faced a number of larger opponents throughout the fall and also earned a draw with No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian. Senior libero Kelsy Vittitow (61 aces, 646 digs) earned all-state honorable mention last season

SCHOOLCRAFT
Record/rank:
 47-6-1, No. 1
Coach: Erin Onken, eighth season (319-95-15)
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley
Championship history: Class C champion 2008, runner-up 2014.  
Best wins: 3-0 (Quarterfinal) and 2-0 over No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, 3-0 over No. 5 Bronson in Regional Semifinal, 3-0 (District Final), 3-0 and 2-0 over No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian, 2-0 over honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis, 2-1 over Division 1 No. 3 Mattawan, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 10 Bloomfield Hills, 2-0 over Division 1 honorable mention Lake Orion, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 5 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2-0 and 2-0 over Division 2 honorable mention Edwardsburg.
Players to watch: Andelyn Simkins, 5-10 sr. OH (692 kills, .505 hitting %, 84 aces, 490 digs); Kayla Onken, 5-8 jr. S (1,352 assists, 80 aces, 305 digs), Anna Schuppel, 6-1 jr. M (252 kills, .475 hitting %, 147 blocks); Maggie Morris, 6-0 jr. M (268 kills, .444 hitting %, 108 blocks).
Finals forecast: Schoolcraft has one of the most impressive sets of results in the state this fall, given that it’s a Division 3 school and has wins over three teams at Battle Creek in either Division 1 or 2 – not to mention against a number of other now-eliminated contenders. Simkins was a Miss Volleyball finalist and will continue next season at Western Michigan. But she and outside hitter Madi Ballett are the only senior starters, which should make next season one with high hopes as well. This will be the Eagles’ first Semifinal trip since the 2014 run, but they’ve stayed in the mix; they’ve won league titles every season under Erin Onken and District titles every season but one.

Division 4

LELAND
Record/rank:
 43-14-3, No. 5
Coach: Laurie Glass, 25th season (1,006-296-95)
League finish: Second in Northwest Conference
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), seven runner-up finishes. 
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 6 Merrill in Quarterfinal, 3-1 (Regional Final) and 2-0 over honorable mention Traverse City Christian, 2-0 over Division 3 honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis, 2-0 over Saginaw Swan Valley.
Players to watch: Olivia Lowe, 5-9 jr. OH (338 kills, 77 aces, 333 digs); Tatum Kareck, 5-8 jr. OH (338 kills, 83 aces, 364 digs); Jana Molby, 5-5 jr. S (757 assists, 62 aces).
Finals forecast: Leland is another regular at Kellogg Arena for the season’s final weekend, with this its sixth trip to the Semifinals over the last seven seasons. And there’s some additional intrigue this time, as every player on the roster is a junior except for freshman setter Alexis Luce. Kareck and 6-0 junior middle Sarah Elwell (250 kills, 91 blocks) were in the starting lineup for last season’s championship match, and junior libero Mia Osorio is a returning Division 4 all-state second teamer. Leland again loaded its schedule to prepare for this point. The Comets played only 13 Division 4 opponents before the playoffs and at one point stood 6-9-2 before locking in to win 37 of their next 43 matches.

MENDON
Record/rank:
 38-9-6, No. 1
Coach: Heather Bowers, second season (87-15-9)
League finish: Second in Southwest 10 Conference
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2018). 
Best wins: 3-1 over No. 2 Camden-Frontier in Quarterfinal, 3-0 over No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip in Regional Final, 2-0 over Division 2 honorable mention Hopkins, 3-0 over Sturgis.
Players to watch: Anna Smith, 5-9 jr. OH (660 kills, .380 hitting %, 104 aces, 73 blocks, 304 digs); Taylor Heitkamp, 5-8 sr. MB (263 kills, 105 aces); Gracie Russell, 5-3 sr. S (1,224 assists, 276 digs).
Finals forecast: Mendon has lost just one set over six postseason matches despite facing the Nos. 2 and 3 teams over the last two rounds, and another championship would give former Hornets’ standout Bowers her second in two seasons to begin her head coaching career. Smith and junior middle Andrea Hoffman (210 kills, 71 blocks) are the only starters back from last season’s Final, but they’re significant. Smith made the all-state third team as a freshman before moving up to the first team last fall. Mendon did finish second in its league, but to Division 3 No. 8 Centreville.

RUDYARD
Record/rank:
 35-4-3, No. 10
Coach: Ellen Perry, 27th season (630-414-155)
League finishes: First in Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference and second in Straits Area Conference
Championship history: Upper Peninsula Class A-B-C champion 1996, runner-up 1995 and 1997. 
Best wins: 3-1 over honorable mention Carney-Nadeau in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 over Onaway in the Regional Final, 3-1 over Division 3 honorable mention Manistique.
Players to watch: Nina Alpers, 6-0 sr. MH (360 kills, 84 aces, 63 blocks, 318 digs); Sara Beelen, 5-9 jr. OH (251 kills, 546 digs, 116 aces); Brooklynn Besteman, 5-9 soph. M (222 kills, 75 aces).
Finals forecast: Rudyard won its first Regional title in 2017 and has taken the next step by earning its first Semifinal appearance despite graduating three players this spring who earned all-state recognition last year. (The Regional title and Semifinal berth are the first since the Upper and Lower Peninsulas joined for a combined MHSAA Tournament in 2000). The Bulldogs have lost just 19 sets this season and only two over five postseason matches. This is another team that could be in this mix for a few seasons; Alpers is the only senior. Junior Chesney Molina (603 assists) has handled most of the setting.

SOUTHFIELD CHRISTIAN
Record/rank:
 29-7-4, No. 4
Coach: Mike Van Dyke, ninth season (176-134-18)
League finish: Tied for first in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final. 
Best wins: 3-0 (District Final), 3-0 and 3-0 over No. 9 Plymouth Christian Academy; 3-1 over No. 7 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 3-2 over Division 3 No. 6 Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep, 3-0 and 3-0 over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 2-0 over Detroit Cass Tech.
Players to watch: Emily Van Dyke

SMCC's Windhams Agree to Coach Together - 'Us or Nothing' - Then Win It All

By Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com

November 26, 2024

When Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central was down to needing just one point to clinch the Division 3 volleyball championship Saturday, assistant coach Randy Windham was fighting back tears.

Southeast & Border“Just because I’m crying doesn’t mean this match is over,” Randy said in the huddle.

A few seconds later, it was over. SMCC had clinched the championship, and Randy had a front row seat to watch his wife, head coach Kim Windham, accept the  trophy.

“I always call her the best coach in the family,” Randy said.

The Windhams are a coaching couple. They have been married since 1992, operate a business in Monroe together and this fall, for the first time, coached together.

It clearly was a winning combination.

When Kim was approached about coaching SMCC prior to the season, she said Randy – who has been the head boys basketball coach at SMCC since 2009 – talked her into taking the job.

“I said, ‘I’ll take it if you’ll coach,’” she said. “’If you want me to coach, then obviously you are going to coach along with me. It’s us or nothing.’ He was all in from the get-go.’”

Randy, she thought, would bring an extra element to the bench that the Kestrels needed.

“He’s so good with the mental side of things with kids,” Kim said. “I knew how much he could contribute with that. All I wanted to do was coach. I wanted to do the Xs and Os, the practice plans and teaching and let him do the rest. He’s been absolutely fabulous.”

She said having Randy near helped her, too.

“Before every match, he’s my calming force. I lean on him a lot.”

During matches, Kim said Randy was often the person talking during the huddles.

“With volleyball you only have only three minutes between sets,” she said. “You have to figure out the rotations, who is going to start, what we are going to do … so as I’m at the table figuring that out, he’s talking to the group about what just happened or what we are going to do next.

The Windhams exchange a fun glance during Saturday’s Final. “It’s good to know he’s there taking care of things, saying the things the way I know I would want them to be said.”

While SMCC has had several deep MHSAA Tournament runs in recent years and an outstanding volleyball tradition, this year’s team did lack experience coming into the season. Windham was named head coach in May.

“We only really had three returning starters coming back,” she said. “When we started the season, the question was how we were going to get everyone else up to speed. We knew we had our work cut out for us. We had to figure out how we were going to make the puzzle pieces fit.”

Randy said he was confident Kim could get the job done.

“She’s been known to build programs,” Randy said. “It really isn’t about how good the players are, but what they will buy into. She’ll get them there. We had some good players, but she took them to the next level with her coaching.”

Kim set out to change the culture around an ultra-successful volleyball program. Early in the season, for example, the team focused on the fundamentals.

“We went back to basic fundamentals,” Kim said. “We knew if we wanted to be good, we had to be fundamentally sound first.”

Kim graduated from SMCC in 1990 after an outstanding volleyball career and went on to play two years at the college level. She launched her coaching career in 1996, only a few months after their son Bryce was born.

“I would take him with me to practice in his car seat, set him on the mat and coach,” she said.

Sports have been a common denominator for the Windham family for years.

Randy opened Monroe Sports Varsity Athletic, a screen printing and embroidery business, in 1991, a year before he and Kim were married. An assistant coach at SMCC since the 1990s, he also played professional slow-pitch softball for years. Bailey, a college volleyball player herself after playing at SMCC, lives in Indiana where she is a nurse. Bryce, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and played several seasons of Minor League Baseball, is working at the family business and is an assistant basketball coach at SMCC for his dad.

Kim started working full-time at the business in 2003. The day after winning the Kestrels’ most recent championship, the Windhams were back at the shop, working on filling orders.

The family bond is special.

“Randy and I just love spending time together,” Kim said. “Sometimes during basketball season Randy will be gone late or watching film. We almost get more upset when we are not together.”

Doug DonnellyDoug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central head volleyball coach Kim Windham, right, and assistant coach/husband Randy hold the program’s latest championship trophy. (Middle) The Windhams exchange a glance on the court at Kellogg Arena. (Top photo courtesy of the Windham family. Middle photo by Stephanie Hawkins.)