St. Philip Adds to 'Tradition'
November 17, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – The Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball team rushed the Kellogg Arena floor Saturday just as it has many of the other 17 times the Tigers have won the MHSAA Class D championship.
There’s no reason to do differently. As the saying goes, winning doesn't graduate. And it surely doesn't get old.
Beal City made it a little tougher than some others over the years. But like in all 72 of its wins this fall, St. Philip swept the Aggies to launch the latest celebration.
The Tigers finished this season with a 25-21, 25-15, and 25-18 victory to add another to their record championship total and pull it within one more of tying the longest volleyball title winning streak in MHSAA history.
“It’s seriously the same every time. We have the same excitement every time. It’s always special. We never get tired of it,” Tigers senior setter Lenae Lesiow said. “It’s obviously the best feeling in the world.
“It’s just tradition. We really know we have so many people supporting us. And we just want to make people proud, make ourselves proud, make our coach proud.”
Every team is different, and every coach is hesitant to compare them. But this Tigers team finished 73-2-1, setting a school record for wins and ranking as the 10th-most successful volleyball team in MHSAA history.
Beal City coach Kelly David, who has been immersed in Class D volleyball as both a player and now in her first season running the program, said this was, in her opinion, the best St. Philip team to come through.
And that made how her Aggies (45-11-1) hung close even more impressive.
Beal City was playing in its first MHSAA Final in any girls sport. Only three years ago, David was the setter as the Aggies made the Semifinals but lost to the Tigers in four games.
This time, Beal City played nearly point for point through the first and halfway into the second.
But eventually, St. Philip’s all-state hitting duo of senior Amanda McKinzie and junior Sierra Hubbard-Neil became the Aggies’ undoing.
McKinzie, named Miss Volleyball on Monday, finished with 19 kills, one short of making the MHSAA Finals record book. Hubbard-Neil, a sure contender for the statewide award next season, had 18 kills
She caught fire in the second game, while McKinzie unloaded powerful finishing shots in the third.
“They were close that whole first game, and I think we were a little bit nervous knowing, ‘Wow, they are so close,’” McKinzie said.
“We just had to relax and play our game,” Hubbard-Neil added. “When either of us as a hitter starts getting going, our setter will nail us. She just starts feeding us when we’re hot.”
Lesiow totaled 32 assists. McKinzie and senior Natalie Gallagher both had nine digs.
Beal City was led by junior middle Addie Schumacher, who had seven kills and five digs. Junior Melanie Schafer had six kills and nine digs, and senior Jade Kennedy had eight digs and 23 assists.
Kennedy and senior Monica David – the coach’s sister – were freshman call-ups for the 2009 Semifinal.
“Being freshmen, we were just part of the team and we got to cheer on our teammates,” Monica David said. “It was awesome coming back as a senior and being one of the leaders out there and being a big part of the team.”
And it couldn’t have hurt to be part of her sister’s first team as a coach.
“I lucked out having a good group of girls to start with," Kelly David said. “It’s hard to believe we’re in the Finals my first year, and it’s a lot of fun. But it’s the girls, not me. It’s the girls that got here, and I’m just excited for them.”
Groat’s program has plenty of family ties as well. With eight MHSAA championships, she’s now just one short of tying the total of her mother Sheila Guerra, her predecessor who died in 2006.
Groat found a card earlier this week that she’d gotten from her mom the year before her death. On the back was written the number “8,” and she had no idea why but thought about that over the last few days. “Maybe she knew something back then that she’s trying to tell me,” Groat said.
Another title win next season would tie Marysville’s record streak from 1997-2004. But the Tigers will have to do it with a number of new contributors.
They’ll graduate seven from this team, including four-year players McKinzie and middle Casey Gallagher and three-year players Sam Ellis and Natalie Gallagher.
“They’re like family to me. I watched them grow from little awkward freshmen to fine young ladies as seniors, and in June when they graduate it’s going to be a sad day because we’ve spent a lot of time together,” Groat said. “They’re part of my life forever.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek St. Philip celebrates briefly after a point on the way to celebrating another Class D championship. (Middle) Jaclyn Behnke (11) and Amanda McKinzie block a kill attempt by Beal City's Addie Schumacher.
Grand Rapids Christian Returning to Semifinals, Ready for Next Challenge
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS – A Regional exit from the MHSAA Tournament last year wasn’t necessarily the norm for the Grand Rapids Christian volleyball program.
The returning players aimed to change that and get the Eagles back where they are typically found during the final weekend of the season.
Grand Rapids Christian will make its return to the Semifinals in Battle Creek after defeating Tecumseh 3-2 in Tuesday’s Division 2 Quarterfinal.
It will be the Eagles’ fifth Semifinal appearance over the last seven years, but last season’s five-set loss to South Christian in a Regional Final has provided the fuel for this year’s tournament run.
“After that loss last year, it definitely wasn’t what we expected or wanted, and I think from the moment we lost that game all the returners just felt a different kind of hunger for next season,” Grand Rapids Christian junior standout Grace Goodyke said. “We were already talking about our plans and what we wanted to change and keep going forward with.
“I think we knew this was the season that we had the talent, and all the girls had a love for each other that was super special and we had the opportunity to go far. It came down to the work we were ready to put in.”
Eagles coach Amy Huisken, who returned eight players, said expectations were high coming into the season.
“This is one of the goals that our team set way back in the beginning of the season,” she said. “So this is where we expected to be and wanted to be. Every win and every loss was for this purpose.”
Goodyke, a three-year varsity player, has led the Eagles’ charge and amassed more than 500 kills.
She understood the winning tradition of the program as an incoming freshman. The Eagles won three consecutive Division 2 championships from 2018-20.
“I had to buy into the culture pretty quickly, and I think our upperclassmen did a great job of showing me about the legacy that they came into,” Goodyke said. “This season we talk a lot about playing for each other and just trusting everybody to do their roles. We are just super close, and we use that to our advantage.”
The Eagles have played this season without senior Mallory Bremer, who tore her ACL and MCL during club season. But a core of key players has stepped up to lead the way.
Junior captain Piper Cebulski has 490 assists and is nearing 1,000 for her career, while junior Taylor Frost has provided leadership on the court while reaching 1,000 assists during Districts.
Sophomore Mya McKinnon is a two-year starter in the middle and has a hitting percentage over .400.
“We obviously have talent, but if you don’t have anything to back talent then it doesn't take you too far,” Huisken said. “The girls know who they are playing for, and it's the person next to them. Everyone works so hard in their role, knowing it's what the team needs to be successful. No selfishness and everyone working for each other.”
The Eagles tied for the championship in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White, facing the likes of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Grand Rapids Christian also has played against the top teams from the other side of the state.
“It makes us a battle-tested team, so we’re ready for tough moments,” Huisken said. “We do that on purpose, and we understand that our end result isn't going to say we're 25-0. But the losses are part of our story and how we got here. It's important for us to have that tough schedule, and we've had it throughout the tournament, too. There’s only one team we’ve played that hasn’t been ranked.”
The Eagles (36-9) will clash with reigning champion Detroit Country Day (27-9) in Friday’s Semifinal.
“They are a very good team,” Goodyke said. “I think we expect it to be a highly-competitive match. We do know that our coach has scheduled us against top teams in the state all season long, and our conference is pretty difficult so that prepares us as well.
“Those are the types of games we like. We’ve trained for those types of games, and I think we are ready to go out and just have fun and show the work that we’ve put in.”
Two more West Michigan teams advanced to this weekend.
Byron Center is in the Semifinals for the first time in 32 years after sweeping Ann Arbor Skyline 3-0 in a Division 1 Quarterfinal.
“This team is very special and their team chemistry is as good as any team I have ever coached,” Bulldogs coach Missy Ritz-Johnson said. “They are exceptional teammates that work very hard together, and their success is largely due to who they are as people and how much they care for each other. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
The Bulldogs (37-5-2) will face Farmington Hills Mercy (40-5-3) today at 4:30 p.m., while Rockford (46-1-1) meets Bloomfield Hills (42-6-1) in the other Division 1 Semifinal.
The Rams, who lost to Northville in last year’s championship match, defeated Traverse City Central 3-0 in a Quarterfinal.
All four Finals are slated for Saturday.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian takes a photo with their newly-won Regional championship trophy last week. (Middle) The Eagles’ Grace Goodyke gets up for a kill attempt against Tecumseh during Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. (Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Christian girls volleyball program.)