#TBT: MHSAA Hosts 1st Volleyball Finals

September 7, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Girls volleyball has seen its share of changes over more than four decades as an MHSAA sport – its season moving from winter to fall and the addition to rally scoring in 2005-06 surely would be counted as the most significant.

Along the way, it has become the most popular high school girls sport in the state in terms of participation, with more than 19,000 athletes taking part last season.  

The legacy will continue later this season when the MHSAA crowns its 42nd class of champions in the sport. Here’s a look back at the first championship day in 1976, written by MHSAA historian Ron Pesch for a “Finals Flashbacks” published in the 2006 MHSAA Finals program:

The sport of volleyball was invented in 1895 at Springfield College in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Added to the Olympics in 1964, the international amateur athletic event exposed the power game to a broad audience.

In the winter of 1976, the MHSAA added volleyball to the array of championships sponsored by the organization. A total of 458 teams participated in the first volleyball tournament. Broken into three classifications, Class A contests were played on the campus of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, while Class B games were held at Read Field House at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Bay City’s Delta College played host to the Class C-D tournament.

Eight teams qualified for the finals in each classification. Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final matches were played on the same day, made possible because games were timed during that first year.

Dearborn Fordson had won a non-MHSAA tournament in 1975, and led by tri-captains Lynn March, June Scott and Joan Ferguson, the Tractors earned the MHSAA’s first Class A title by disposing of Grosse Pointe North in the Semifinals, 15-6, 15-4. Fordson then knocked off previously unbeaten Ferndale in the Final, 15-13, 15-5 for the crown.

Parchment carried a nine-player roster, including five seniors, into the first Class B tournament. The Panthers thumped Sturgis, 15-0, 15-8 in the Semifinals, then downed Tecumseh, 15-8, 15-11, to finish the year with a 30-3 record.

Undefeated Flint Holy Rosary, led by coach Jo Lake, rolled to the 1976 Class C-D crown with a 14-5, 13-8 win over Kalamazoo Christian in the Final. The team snagged the Class D title the following year as well, establishing a winning streak of 92 straight matches.  

PHOTO: Michigan high school volleyball teams compete during the early days of the sport in this state. (MHSAA file photo.)

Cass City Focused on Moment but Playing for Biggest After Back-to-Back Semifinal Trips

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

September 5, 2024

For the Cass City volleyball team, the goal is clear in 2024.

Bay & ThumbThe Red Hawks, who have played in back-to-back Division 3 Semifinals and feature eight returning seniors – including four who were part of both long tournament runs – want to get back and finish on top in Battle Creek.

But for coach Amy Cuthrell to get her players to that big goal, she’s asked them not to think about it and focus on the smaller, daily ones instead.

“It’s details, the little things,” Cuthrell said. “You get better in practice, and in the game stage is where we show our skills. Practice has been intense. I do demand a little more in certain areas, and they’re responding. They know where we need to get better. They’re just good kids. I don’t think every day they think it’s fun, but for me, personally, I’m not going to settle. I want their dreams to be made. These are their memories.”

Cass City has made plenty of memories over the past two seasons, charging to the Semifinals for the first time since they made back-to-back runs in 1976-77. Like those late 70s runs, both ended with losses one match short of the Final. 

“I’ve been thrilled to get there,” Cuthrell said. “But I just want to get over that hump.”

That’s about all Cuthrell will say about getting back to Battle Creek, however. While she’s perfectly fine using the past as motivation, she doesn’t want her team getting caught looking toward the future.

Easier said than done.

Red Hawks coach Amy Cuthrell talks things over with her team during that match at Kellogg Arena.Led by Texas Tech commit Shelby Ignash and fellow four-year player Kacee Gray, who has committed to Alma College, the Red Hawks seem to have been built this season for their longest run. 

Isabelle Phillips and Alexis Champagne are in their third years on varsity, having also experienced both Semifinals. Kylie McKee, Mia Caister, Katelyn Rockwell and Alysa Fritz also return from last year’s team, which won the first set in the Semifinal against Traverse City St. Francis before falling in four.

“Growing up, we have all been playing volleyball together, all eight of us, since the sixth grade,” Gray said. “We’ve known we’re a special group and that we have a group of special athletes. So we’ve been putting the time in day in and day out, pushing each other to be a better team. Now we’re here, and we’re still hungry and ready for more.”

Cuthrell is doing her best to feed that hunger with as much on-court knowledge as she can. While the losses at Kellogg Arena were certainly learning experiences for the players, they were the same for the coach.

“I’ve looked at all the tapes, and I really had to reflect on what I can change as a coach,” she said. “I’ve broken down some of the things that I’m going to have to really focus on, different elements of the game. This is a complex game. It may not seem complex to some, but it’s a very detailed sport.”

Better communication on the court and the ability to move on from one play and focus on what’s next is something Cuthrell said she’s focused on this season. Through two early-season tournaments, she’s also liked what she’s seen from her team’s ability to analyze opponents during a match. Cass City is 5-4-1 after trips to the Frankenmuth Invitational and Warrior Showdown, and has wins over the past two Division 3 Finals champions – Pewamo-Westphalia and Kalamazoo Christian. Cass City also split its match against Traverse St. Francis.

Kacee Gray serves during the Semifinal.The tough early schedule is by design, of course, to better prepare the Red Hawks for November. It’s also going to set them up for a tough league schedule, which will be played with a massive target on their backs.

“I think everyone wants to beat us,” Ignash said. “It makes it more exciting, too. You never know, someone can pop out and give you everything.”

That has certainly helped hammer home Cuthrell’s message about staying in the moment.

“I can’t say how they think all the time, but I do know they meet the daily grind, and we do not speak of the future in our practices – we talk about today,” Cuthrell said. “I think humility is important, and we’re lucky to have a very strong program and tradition. They understand the culture, and they are humble in knowing this is one day at a time.”

You can’t block out all outside noise, though, especially at a time when statewide results and weekly rankings are so easily accessible. The most recent poll from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association has Cass City ranked No. 3.

That will filter through the Cass City team, but in a way that Cuthrell certainly won’t mind.

“Any time a new ranking gets posted, we’re sending it to the group chat,” Gray said. “But seeing it is more motivating, because we’re not at the top.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Shelby Ignash sends the ball over a block during Cass City’s Semifinal match last season against Traverse City St. Francis. (Middle) Red Hawks coach Amy Cuthrell talks things over with her team during that match at Kellogg Arena. (Below) Kacee Gray serves during the Semifinal.