St. Phil Makes History with 8 Straight
November 23, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Sierra Hubbard-Neil finished the final roundhouse swing of her high school career and was on the Kellogg Arena floor with the rest of her Battle Creek St. Philip teammates Saturday before the ball hit the floor.
As with many of her swings during a four-year all-state career, this one finished a point – and one of the most historic victories during St. Philip’s heralded run.
That final kill sealed a 25-19 Game 3 win over Waterford Our Lady and another Class D title for the Tigers – their eighth straight, which tied Marysville’s teams from 1997-2004 for the longest championship streak in MHSAA volleyball history.
Although it’s debatable how much anyone believed it, some said St. Philip might have a tougher challenge this fall after graduating seven seniors in the spring including six starters and Miss Volleyball Amanda McKinzie. But despite only Hubbard-Neil as a returning starter, the Tigers simply rolled on with three more seniors taking on bigger roles.
“Everyone looks up to the seniors. The seniors are just like top dogs,” Hubbard-Neil said. “They lead the younger ones, and they try to keep that motivation through them and keep the enthusiasm to keep the tradition going.”
And so it did, in another way as well. The title was the ninth for St. Philip coach Vicky Groat, tying the total won by her mother, former Tigers coach Sheila Guerra, who died in 2006 but is frequently noted by Groat for her enormous influence on the program and its current coach.
St. Philip finished this run 64-7-2 while again playing some of the best from every class in the state – among those victories were wins over the top-ranked teams in both Class B and Class C at the end of the regular season, Hudsonville and Mendon, respectively.
“Marysville always has been a wonderful program. It’s an honor to be up there with them,” Groat said. “It’s pretty special, but I’m just glad we got nine. I wanted this one so badly for these girls, and to match my mom.
“She was an amazing coach, and I learned so much from her. Just to be on the same level as her; we have nine together, 18 as a family, and that’s pretty special."
The last time a team took St. Philip to a fourth game in a Final was 2007. But after beating back nerves during a first-set 25-12 loss, Our Lady gave the Tigers plenty to consider.
The Lakers were playing in their first MHSAA championship game after returning to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2001. After the team scored only 12 points in the opening set, hitters Allison Samulon, Courtney Wightman and Kristina Krupiak fell into stride.
“They first game was necessary to get the nerves out,” said Samulon, who finished with seven kills. The second and third games we fought hard, and there were a couple of things we could’ve done differently. But I think the first game had to happen for it to work.”
The Lakers three times gained the lead during a 25-22 loss in the second set, and wouldn’t go away during the third scoring three straight points to pull within 23-19 and cause Groat to call an impassioned timeout.
She’d watched Our Lady come back multiple times during the Semifinal against Leland, which the Lakers beat in three sets by a combined eight points.
“You get to that point, and (the players) know what’s in sight. So I just relaxed them a little bit,” Groat said. “And they responded after that timeout.
“Coach (Angela) Williams and I were talking about how much we love this team, how special they are. They just keep battling and working hard and trying to prove people wrong, and they did that today.”
Hubbard-Neil finished with 19 kills on 31 attempts for a match hitting percentage of .516. She’ll be playing next season at Western Michigan University. Junior Emily Schaub capped her season with 26 assists, four aces and six digs, and senior libero Rachel Gallagher had nine digs.
Wightman, a sophomore, led the Lakers with 11 kills, five digs and three blocks. Our Lady (41-6-6) will graduate the rest of its starting hitters and setter, but return next fall with a new expectation after watching a number of other teams at the school have championship success over the years.
“Now we have a measuring point. The girls know how hard they have to work,” Lakers coach Stephanie Swearingen said. “The younger kids have watched as our success has grown. I think it’s really going to excite the school. Hopefully we’ll be back soon.”
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Philip’s Sierra Hubbard-Neil sends one of her 19 kills during Saturday’s championship match. (Middle) The Tigers celebrate their eighth straight Class D title. (Below) Waterford Our Lady senior Amanda Ludlow returns the ball.
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 3 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 10, 2025
We’re having a party, and volleyball fans everywhere are invited.
Volleyball has become Michigan’s most popular girls high school sport, with nearly 20,000 high school players last season. “Block Party” is our newest MHSAA.com endeavor, and we’ll be providing glances at some of the best and brightest on courts all over the state during the buildup to our annual Finals weekend at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
We hope these weekly reports – as they have for football and basketball – shine more light on the week-in, week-out competition that shapes every season, and on programs you may already know about but also several more than maybe you’ll read about for the first time.
This season's first matches were played Aug. 20, making this the midst of our third week (and hence, our Week 3 Report). Records, results and schedules below are based on what’s posted for teams and used to calculate Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) on MHSAA.com. Rankings noted 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. North Branch d. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (25-17, 25-19) The Division 2 No. 3 Broncos finished 6-0 at the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Invitational, with this toppling of the No. 2-ranked team in Division 3 its best victory.
2. Rockford d. Grand Rapids Christian (25-19, 25-21) The Rams downed the Division 2 No. 2 Eagles and also No. 7 Grand Rapids South Christian among other notables during its Rockford Rumble.
3. Traverse City St. Francis d. Roscommon (25-23, 23-25, 25-20) The Division 3 No. 8 Gladiators’ win over top-ranked Roscommon made a big wave, although St. Francis did also fall to Division 1 Midland Dow on this night.
4. Bloomfield Hills Marian d. Utica Eisenhower (29-23, 19-25, 15-9) This was arguably Division 1 No. 3 Marian’s most impressive win during a MI Elite Program Cup run that also included a two-set sweep of No. 9 Brighton. Eisenhower was ranked No. 6.
5. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central d. Imlay City (25-18, 20-25, 15-11) SMCC’s only loss at Notre Dame Prep was to North Branch (above), and the Kestrels earned a notable victory over Division 2 No. 5 Imlay City along the way.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills (15-1-0) The No. 4-ranked Black Hawks did suffer their first loss of the season last week – in two sets to Marian. But they’ve otherwise have been unbeatable with wins over No. 5 Farmington Hills Mercy, honorable mentions Lake Orion and Novi and another Tuesday over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, which ended Bloomfield Hills’ season last fall in a District Final. The Black Hawks will see Marian again Thursday.
Rockford (16-0-0) As noted above, the top-ranked Rams cruised through their Rockford Rumble, never dropping a set during victories over South Christian, East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Christian and Division 1 honorable mention Mattawan. The win over the Eagles was Rockford’s second this fall; they’ve also downed No. 8 Grand Haven, honorable mention Byron Center and Division 2 No. 4 Holland Christian among several impressive squads over the first three weeks.
DIVISION 2
Grand Rapids Christian (7-4-0) The Eagles’ losses have all come to ranked Division 1 teams – twice to Rockford and once apiece to Grand Haven and honorable mention Hudsonville. Meanwhile, Grand Rapids Christian defeated Division 1 No. 7 Jenison and Mattawan at Rockford over the weekend, and most recently Grand Rapids South Christian and Holland Christian at a power-packed tri last week. South Christian had ended the Eagles’ season with a five-set Regional Final loss last year.
Parma Western (9-0-1) The Panthers will pick up Thursday after a two-week match break and are ranked No. 10 in Division 2 coming off last season’s Regional Final run. Their only non-win was a two-set draw with Division 4 honorable mention Adrian Lenawee Christian, and wins over Division 3 No. 4 Pewamo-Westphalia to start the season and No. 9 Hanover-Horton at the Chelsea Invitational stand out most. Parma Western will see No. 9 Tecumseh on Thursday.
DIVISION 3
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (10-1-1) The reigning Division 3 champion is off to another fast start, with that loss to North Branch over the weekend and an early two-set tie against New Boston Huron their only non-victories this fall – and the Kestrels have defeated Huron twice since including 25-18, 25-17, 25-12, on Tuesday. SMCC has lost only four sets total, and only one during an eventual match win.
Saginaw Valley Lutheran (9-2-1) The Chargers aren’t ranked at this time but may get some looks soon. They opened the season with a loss to Division 4 No. 7 Crystal Falls Forest Park at the Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart Invitational, but came back to defeat the Trojans in the semifinals that day before falling to still-undefeated Division 1 Greenville in the championship match. Valley Lutheran has lost only one set over six matches since, to Division 2 Williamston at the Owosso Tournament where the Chargers finished 4-0-1.
DIVISION 4
Hancock (8-1-1) The Bulldogs have followed up last season’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals with a fast start, finishing 4-1-1 at the Kingsford Invitational against a field including several larger opponents after finishing 1-2-1 at the same event in 2024. Hancock will have another chance to improve on last season when it heads to The Rock Invite on Saturday at Gladstone – where it went 1-1-1 in 2024.
Mendon (12-1-1) The Hornets are coming off their toughest weekend of these first few, having finished 3-1-1 at the Cereal City Classic with a loss to Division 1 Battle Creek Lakeview and draw with Division 2 Pennfield but wins over Division 1, 3 and 4 opponents. They also opened the fall with a 5-0 run through the St. Joseph County Tournament as they look to build on last season’s Regional Final run.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Wednesday – Flint Powers Catholic (7-5-1), Yale (14-2-0), Traverse City St. Francis (9-6-0) at Essexville Garber (9-6-2) – This quad features the No. 8 team in Division 3 – St. Francis – and the Division 2 honorable mention Dukes.
Thursday – Fowler (7-2-1) at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (8-3-3) – The Division 4 top-ranked Eagles visit No. 8 Sacred Heart, which reached the Semifinals last season.
Thursday – Frankenmuth (3-3-4), Rochester (1-6-0), Temperance Bedford (9-1) at North Branch (11-0-0) – In addition to North Branch being ranked No. 3 in Division 2, Frankenmuth is No. 8 and Bedford always is a top team in Division 1.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series at UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac – Division 1 No. 4 Bloomfield Hills, honorable mention Northville, previously-mentioned North Branch, Canton, and White Lake Lakeland will make for an intriguing field.
Saturday – Makayla Kohn Memorial Invitational at Caledonia – The field of Mattawan, Edwardsburg, Byron Center, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Ionia, Portage Central, Cadillac, Ada Forest Hills Eastern, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Traverse City St. Francis includes ranked teams from Divisions 1, 2 and 3.
PHOTO Laingsburg and Bath volleyball players meet over the net while connecting with the ball during a match Aug. 27. (Photo by John Johnson.)