St. Mary Sends Tuller Out as Champ
November 22, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central wasn’t always the best team in Class C this season.
Longtime coach Diane Tuller wasn’t sure at the start of this fall if these Kestrels had “what it took” to win the school’s fifth MHSAA championship and second in three seasons.
But she never told them that. Every time St. Mary stepped on the court this season, Tuller always told her players they were the best – and in the end, it proved true again.
The Kestrels dropped the first set of Saturday’s Class C Final to second-ranked Schoolcraft, 25-23, but won the next three 29-27, 25-20, 25-22, to defend their top ranking and send Tuller into retirement with one more title.
“There’s no words to describe how much it means for us to leave her with something – her last state championship, for us to be the last team she gets to coach – you’ll never find another coach like her,” St. Mary senior Cassandra Haut said, “and I know we’re all honored to be able to play for her.
“She tells us all the time we’re the best team in the state, and I think even if it wasn’t (true) she knows in our heads coming from her that means more than anything and gets us ready to play every time we step on the court.”
The Kestrels finished this fall 45-8-2, Class C champions for the third time in five seasons after making the Quarterfinals in Class B a year ago.
Tuller will retire from coaching having led St. Mary to all five of its MHSAA titles and 595 wins over 17 seasons (with 188 losses and 51 ties).
She had a great starting point for her final season in a strong senior class including Haut, a 6-foot-2 middle who was a finalist for the Miss Volleyball award and will play collegiately at Eastern Michigan University.
“They’re a great team and improved every single time they stepped on the court. That’s all I ever ask of anybody,” Tuller said. “It’s not so much the state championship that means a lot to me now, but the fact that at the beginning of the season I wasn’t sure this team had what it took to get there. They’ve been improving, working hard, doing everything I asked them. I get a little screamy sometimes, but they put up with me, worked really hard. They did it.”
St. Mary gave up only two sets in eight tournament victories – the first to Ottawa Lake Whiteford in the District opener, and the last to Schoolcraft, which led by as many as five points during the first set and also in the second and as late as 23-22 before the Kestrels came back to finish on a 7-4 run.
Haut and her teammates expected the Schoolcraft surge – the Eagles had dropped their first two Semifinal sets to Roscommon before coming back.
St. Mary never trailed in winning the third set, and came back from six down in the fourth to finish its run.
“The momentum just kept changing. We played chaotically a little bit in Game 2, and there were moments of it in Game 3,” Schoolcraft coach Erin Onken said. “But I was proud of how we did fight back, even though we had those moments.”
Haut finished with 23 kills – tied for 13th most in an MHSAA Final during the rally scoring era beginning in 2004-05 – and senior Sydney McGinn’s 48 assists tied for sixth-most in Finals history.
Senior Marianne Douglas capped her all-state career with 17 kills and 14 digs, and senior setter Sarah Wisser had 44 assists as Schoolcraft made its second championship game appearance and first since winning Class C in 2008.
The Eagles finished 46-11-1, and Onken said she expected her team to make this run. “I said if you’re going to go down, write a story, make it awesome, show people how good you are,” she added. “I think we can walk away happy; I think our fans can walk away happy.”
St. Mary’s finish seemed a little destined as well, even if that’s not quite how Tuller would describe her final team’s effort.
“I don’t know if ‘destined’ is the right word. But they were determined and disciplined in what they had to do this year,” she said. “It’s all on them.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central coach Diane Tuller holds up the MHSAA championship trophy to her team. (Middle) St. Mary setter Sydney McGinn moves the ball to a teammate while Schoolcraft prepares to block. (Click for action photos and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
SCHOOLCRAFT PREVAILS IN FIRST SET - Schoolcraft made some nice defensive plays pay off for set point in the first against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
BLOCKING FOR A TITLE - On match point, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central blocks the Schoolcraft attack.
You can watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Block Party: 2026 Girls Volleyball Week 7 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 7, 2026
Just as the girls volleyball regular season begins speeding toward its conclusion, clicks on our Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) page are sure to accelerate over the next three weeks.
District play begins Nov. 2, and brackets will be announced eight days earlier on Oct. 25. MPR is used to seed the top two teams in every District, and although there’s only one example below, references to how teams stack up on those lists will become more prevalent in our weekly reports as we close in on the start of the playoffs.
Records below are those reported and tracked on this website, and rankings referred to below reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Saginaw Valley Lutheran d. Plymouth Christian Academy (25-21, 25-17) The Division 3 top-ranked Chargers (36-4-1) finished 6-0 at the D3/D4 Showcase, with this win arguably the most notable as Valley Lutheran remains No. 1 statewide this week but PCA (21-6-4) bumped up from honorable mention to No. 2.
2. Grand Rapids Christian d. Hudsonville (25-19, 25-19) Division 2 top-ranked Christian (22-3) avenged a pool play loss to Division 1 No. 5 Hudsonville (26-3) at the Jenison Invitational to win this rematch in the championship round.
3. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s d. Detroit Country Day (25-19, 25-16, 25-23) The Division 1 honorable mention Eaglets (13-8-1) continued their climb with a sweep of the two-time reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 2 Yellowjackets (12-6-1).
4. Kingsley d. Elk Rapids (25-15, 25-17, 25-11) This Northern Shores Conference matchup saw a pair of ranked teams face off and the Division 2 No. 5 Stags (29-3-1) prevail over the Division 3 No. 5 Elks (13-7-3).
5. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian d. Hart (24-26, 27-25, 25-18) While Division 3 No. 3 WMC went on to defeat Fruitport and Muskegon Mona Shores to win the latter’s Best of the West tournament, this win over No. 10 Hart (19-10-3) sticks out as well as the Warriors (23-2) came back after losing the first set.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (22-8) The honorable mention Huskies opened this week with a notable four-set victory over honorable mention East Grand Rapids, which is listed ahead of FHN in Division 1 MPR. Six of Forest Hills Northern’s losses have come against top-10 teams in Division 1, and six wins have come against opponents ranked or honorable mentions in Divisions 1 or 2, including Division 1 No. 4 Byron Center.
Hudsonville (26-3) The No. 5 Eagles were runners-up at the Jenison Invitational thanks to a split with Division 2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian, but that championship match defeat broke a 13-match winning streak. The Eagles’ only other losses have come versus Brighton and Division 1 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian, and Hudsonville has defeated No. 8 Lowell, honorable mention Forest Hills Northern twice, No. 4 Byron Center, No. 9 Grand Haven, No. 7 South Lyon East, honorable mention South Lyon twice and GR Christian another time as well.
DIVISION 2
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (25-3-2) The Irish are an honorable mention in Division 2 and finished second in the Catholic High School League AA to Dearborn Divine Child, thanks to early-September back-to-back league losses to the Falcons and Jackson Lumen Christi. FGR’s only other defeat came to No. 3 Parma Western during opening weekend, and the Irish have won 16 straight matches and their last three tournaments.
Edwardsburg (21-5) The No. 7 Eddies defeated honorable mention Marshall and Division 1 honorable mention Zeeland East over four wins to claim the Portage Central Tournament title on Saturday, and their win over the host Mustangs also avenged Edwardsburg’s most recent loss from Sept. 19. A championship at the Gull Lake Invitational to start this season included a win over Niles, which ended the Eddies’ 2025.
DIVISION 3
Calumet (14-9-1) After opening the season 0-4 at the Cadillac Invitational – which included defeats against Division 1 honorable mention Zeeland East, Division 3 No. 8 Cass City and honorable mention Manton – the honorable mention Copper Kings are 8-2-1 against in-state opponents. They’ve defeated Division 4 No. 7 Crystal Falls Forest Park and went five sets before losing to Division 4 No. 9 Hancock, and they saw more of the state’s best taking a loss but also tying Division 3 No. 2 Plymouth Christian Academy at the D3/D4 Showdown.
Plymouth Christian Academy (21-6-4) The Eagles returned to the Quarterfinals a year ago and are in the midst of an 8-1-1 surge this fall that’s sent them back up to No. 2 in the weekly coaches poll. Their D3/D4 Showdown weekend included the above-noted loss to No. 1 Valley Lutheran but also wins over No. 5 Clinton, No. 8 Cass City and honorable mention Calumet among others. Only two other losses this season came to Division 3 or 4 opponents.
DIVISION 4
Crystal Falls Forest Park (26-3-1) The Trojans reached the Semifinals last season for the third time in four years and haven’t slowed down, falling only to No. 4 Traverse City Christian, No. 9 Hancock and Division 3 honorable mention Calumet. They’re up to No. 7 in the Division 4 rankings while riding a 14-match winning streak and coming off a 6-0 day at the Escanaba Invitational. An opening-weekend trip downstate included the loss to TC Christian but also a win over No. 10 Onekama and tie versus No. 3 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Traverse City Christian (23-5) The No. 4-ranked Sabres have strung together two straight trips to the Quarterfinals and won their first 10 matches this fall including a three-setter over Division 3 top-ranked Saginaw Valley Lutheran. The losses are pretty impressive as well, to Division 3 No. 3 Roscommon, twice to Division 3 No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis, and then to Division 4 No. 3 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart and No. 10 Onekama. A home match against Division 3 No. 5 Elk Rapids on Oct. 15 will be another important test.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – Baraga (19-0) at Hancock (17-2-1) – The undefeated Vikings have an opportunity to establish themselves among Division 4 teams to watch with this trip to meet the No. 9 Bulldogs.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series Championship at UWM Sports Complex – The finale of this season’s series begins with power brackets, and the most intriguing includes Division 1 No. 6 Utica Eisenhower, honorable mention Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Rochester Adams and Division 2 No. 9 North Branch.
Saturday – Hanover-Horton Invitational – An impressive field of 12 teams includes Division 2 No. 3 Parma Western, Division 3 No. 2 Plymouth Christian Academy, No. 6 Grass Lake, No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis and the honorable mention Comets, and Division 4 top-ranked Adrian Lenawee Christian and No. 2 Battle Creek St. Philip.
Monday – Roscommon Quad – Mount Pleasant (20-8-2), Essexville Garber (22-11-4) and Division 3 No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis (21-9-1) will join the No. 3-ranked Bucks (26-6-5) for a high-powered night.
Monday – Midland Dow Quad – Another impressive group will visit the Chargers (31-4-4), with Bay City Central, Division 2 No. 4 Frankenmuth (17-0) and Division 3 No. 1 Saginaw Valley Lutheran (36-4-1) taking the court.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Sienna Musachio (14) gets positioned to play the ball during her team’s sweep of Macomb L’Anse Creuse North on Monday. (Middle) A pair of Mount Pleasant blockers rise above the net during an outdoor match against Alma this fall. (Country Day photo by TCP Photography. Mount Pleasant/Alma photo by High School Sports Scene.)