#TBT: Miss Volleyball Winners Hold Court
October 5, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It was likely a coincidence that Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Linsey Taatjes and Fraser’s Angie McGinnis both wore jersey No. 9 as their teams met in the 2003 Class A Volleyball Final at Western Michigan University.
It hardly was a coincidence that both had led their teams to the final day of the season – Taatjes, a senior, was named that winter the state’s first Miss Volleyball Award winner; McGinnis, a junior, would be named Miss Volleyball in 2004.
In fact, the teams also had met in the 2002 Class A Final, won in three sets by Forest Hills Northern.
But the rematch would go to Fraser. Forest Hills Northern still ranks fourth in MHSAA history for winning 81 matches in 2003 but suffered its only loss in that championship decider, winning the first set 15-9 before falling 15-11, 15-4 over the last two. Taatjes had a team-high 14 kills, plus three blocks, four assists, seven digs and a pair of aces. McGinnis, meanwhile, had 36 assists, 11 kills and 10 digs as the Ramblers won their first MHSAA title in the sport. They would go on to sweep East Kentwood in the 2004 Class A Final as well.
Taatjes went on to play at Taylor University in Indiana, an NAIA school, and she was named Mid-Central Conference Player of the Year in 2004.
McGinnis went on to become a three-time All-America selection and two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year at Florida, finishing in 2007 as the program’s career leader in assists. She played in a number of events for the U.S. Women’s National Team and was an alternate for the 2008 Olympic team, and also played professionally overseas.
Click to visit the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association website for this year’s Miss Volleyball Award candidates and all past winners. Among finalists this time is Rockford setter Hailey Delacher, whose father Kelly was Forest Hills Northern’s coach during Taatjes’ career.
PHOTOS: Angie McGinnis, left, set Fraser to the win in the 2003 Class A Final, while inaugural Miss Volleyball Linsey Taatjes put up a strong block and plenty of hitting for Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
Fowler Seniors Make Childhood Dream Come True with 1st Finals Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
BATTLE CREEK – The Fowler volleyball team called its shot in January, naming its group chat “State Champs.”
But the Class of 2026 has believed that was the endgame for much longer than that.
Behind the leadership of nine seniors, they made it happen Saturday, as the Eagles claimed the school’s first volleyball Finals title, sweeping Mendon 30-28, 25-19, 25-22 in the Division 4 championship match at Kellogg Arena.
“I think we’ve known the whole time that if we stick with it and we push each other, that we could do good things,” senior middle hitter Josie Simon said. “I think especially last year, we wanted to do it for those seniors, and that hurt us. We knew during that Regional Final game that it was the big game, so when we lost we knew we had to come in this year and we were ready to go. We knew what we were chasing.”
Saturday’s Finals appearance was just the second in school history for Fowler, and first since 2017. That year, Simon and her classmates were fourth graders, and several of them were at Kellogg Arena watching.
The following year, their own journey began.
“I’m super thrilled for them, and they literally have been talking about this since they were in the fifth grade when they started playing volleyball,” Fowler coach Patty Feldpausch said. “To want something so bad and know you have to stay focused, and know that mistakes don’t matter because the next ball matters, that’s a big deal. We don’t have our individual names on the back of their warm-up shirts. Their name is not on there because that’s not important. It’s what we’re doing together, that’s what’s important. They believed it, and that’s why we’re sitting at this table being the champions.”
While they’d rather not wait another eight years, the Eagles know they could have sparked that same drive and belief in a group of girls watching Saturday.
“Making history and showing little kids that it’s possible, like it’s hard, but we did it and they can do it,” senior Myah Pohl said. “For the kids that we waved at, and they supported us – they can do it, too.”
Those kids witnessed an incredible team effort that led to a title, as the Eagles had 10 players record a dig, and five add at least seven kills to the attack.
At the heart of that were a trio of seniors, as Paige Thelen had 21 kills, Rachel Wirth had 21 digs and Neelah O’Rourke had 48 assists.
Fittingly, that trio combined for the final dig, assist and kill of the game, as Thelen pounded home an O’Rourke set, which came off a Wirth pass, for match point.
O’Rourke’s 48 assists are the most in a three-set Finals match since the move to divisions in 2018.
“She’s the only player I hugged – we got rushed around,” Feldpausch said with a laugh. “She just did a great job today. Our defense was giving her good balls to feed and our hitters did a great job against their big block. Neelah just kept her composure. She was amazing, she did great.”
Skylar Fowler was a big part of that attack as well, recording 10 kills, while Pohl had nine, Elizabeth Wirth had eight and Simon had seven. Selena Stump had 13 digs for the Eagles (36-8-2), with O’Rourke adding 12 and Thelen 11.
Most of the drama in the match came during the first set, as it took 30 points to settle it. While each point was tense, the final point featured a long back and forth that ended with a block from Simon and Stump.
“It’s tough to lose an opening set like that,” Mendon coach Kenneth Herbert said. “We’ve said it all season long, that we’re never out of a match. Even though we lost that first set, we felt from that moment we could still battle. And even to the last point, I felt that we were still battling. That’s all I can ask for out of these girls.”
Cienna Nightingale led the Mendon attack with 14 kills, adding 12 digs, while Gracie Shultz had nine kills and 19 digs. Karyssa Holtz had 24 assists for the Hornets (38-7-1), while Jadyn Samson had 20 digs.
“Good for them, they found our weaknesses and found ways to shut us down,” Schultz said. “We played as well as we could. I wouldn’t have done anything different. We gave everything on the court.”
PHOTOS (Top) Fowler’s Skylar Fowler (7) powers a kill past Mendon’s Gracie Schultz (7) and Sabrina Monroy (12) during Saturday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) The Eagles’ Paige Thelen (13) connects as Karyssa Holtz (3) and Lashell Blair line up to block.