#TBT: Mules Kick Into Championship Gear
November 6, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Temperance Bedford’s volleyball team entered this week’s MHSAA Class A tournament ranked No. 1 and in pursuit of its fourth Class A championship.
Their most recent titles, in 2001 and 2005, both saw the Kicking Mules come back to win after falling in the first games of their championship matches – with the 2001 team in particular traveling into unfamiliar territory on the way to finishing as one of the winningest in MHSAA history.
That Temperance Bedford team finished 82-1, with what remains the third most wins in MHSAA volleyball history. The Mules won 72 straight matches and nine tournaments for coach Jodi Manore, who entered this season with the second-most wins in MHSAA volleyball history and a record of 1,743-292-50.
The 2001 Final saw Temperance Bedford face Portage Northern in a rematch of the 1999 and 1992 LP Class A Finals, both Portage Northern wins during that program’s run of six titles over eight seasons.
The Mules dropped the first game in 2001 by a score of 15-8 and trailed 14-13 in the second before edging Northern 16-14 and then controlling the deciding game for the majority on the way to winning 15-11.
The final kill was put down by Missy Mohrbach, who had a team-high 15, off an assist by Lindi Bankowski – whose 39 total are tied for eighth on the now-retired Finals record list from the pre-rally scoring era. (Rally scoring was introduced for the 2004-05 season.)
Bankowski also had 10 kills and 12 digs and had played on the 1998 Class A championship team. She went on to play at Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne. After a record-setting career there and some coaching at the high school level, Bankowski (now Sallach) went on to coach at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee and then Mississippi State University until stepping down after the 2012 season.
Mohrbach played at Owens Community College in Ohio and then Wayne State University, while Melissa Meinhart (nine kills, 18 digs in the 2001 Final) also was on the 1998 Mules championship team and then played at IPFW. Erica Kaczorowski went on to play at Xavier University, and Jennifer Sulewski, a sophomore who came off the bench with nine kills, eventually played at Western Michigan University.
Bedford defeated a Portage Northern team that featured hitter Katie Bright, who went on to play at the University of Kentucky, and setter Laura Bellinger, who set a pre-rally scoring Finals record of 49 assists in the match and later played at Army and then the University of North Alabama.
Temperance Bedford faces Ypsilanti Lincoln in a District Semifinal tonight after opening with a 3-0 win over Ypsilanti Community on Tuesday.
PHOTO: Temperance Bedford's Missy Mohrbach winds up for the final kill of the 2001 Class A Volleyball Final at Western Michigan University.
Country Day, Senior Star Hiemstra Cap Repeat Run in Dominating Fashion
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
BATTLE CREEK – Elise Hiemstra’s final swing in a Detroit Country Day uniform was the perfect way to end her high school volleyball career.
The senior outside hitter took a well-placed set from sophomore Payton Woodruff, like she has so many times over the past two years, and spiked it through the Flat Rock defense onto the floor at Kellogg Arena.
Her 21st kill of the day closed out a 25-18, 25-19, 25-12 sweep for the Yellowjackets in the Division 2 championship match, and back-to-back Finals titles.
“I just really wanted Payton to get me the ball,” Hiemstra said. “I just really wanted to go out the best I possibly could.”
This weekend marked just the second time Country Day had even made the Semifinal, but the Yellowjackets (29-9) looked like seasoned veterans, clinically putting away Flat Rock in a dominant performance.
“Our goal today was just to kind of come in and take care of business,” Country Day coach Kim Lockhart said. “Go back to the basics, serve tough, pass the ball. Just go out there and do our thing, and I think that’s what we did. We handled ourselves well. I felt our nerves were settled right out the gate. We came in with confidence and a lot of communication.”
Flat Rock, meanwhile, felt the nerves and inexperience in this moment were a factor as the Rams (39-9) were making their first appearance at Kellogg Arena.
“I feel like the pressure, this was our first time even making it here, and I feel like we were just not used to that,” Flat Rock junior Sarah Giroux said.
Giroux’s assessment looked accurate, as Country Day’s athleticism and attacking movement seemed to catch Flat Rock flat-footed.
Woodruff had 35 assists in the match, spreading them out to seven attackers.
“Especially going through semis and quarters, I think their offense was a little bit quicker,” Flat Rock coach Morgan Delhey said. “I would have liked to see a little bit more competition coming up to this so maybe we were a bit more prepared. But, they’re a good team and I have to give credit to them.”
While Woodruff was spreading the wealth, Hiemstra was her favorite target, and for good reason. On Saturday, Hiemstra became Country Day’s all-time leader in kills, both for a career and season.
“When I look at Elise, she was a baby coming into all the camps I used to run when she was just so little and loving the sport,” Lockhart said. “Her sister was older than her, and she was kind of like, ‘I wanna be like my sister.’ She has just been here from the get-go, out of the gate, and has learned from some really great players along the way. Ever since she was a freshman, playing behind some big players. She’s really been a sponge. Going from playing back row, a (defensive specialist) when she was a freshman, to leading the team to back-to-back championships, there’s a lot to be said about her and her success at Country Day.”
While Country Day didn’t show any signs of stress Saturday, they did have to deal with the pressure of defending a title all season. It’s something they really embraced down the stretch.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure, but we took it and we used it to our advantage instead of letting it make us crumble,” Country Day senior Abby Pernick said. “I think that is really what pushed us through. We wanted it so much. That was the thing we talked about from Day 1, tryouts even. We came in, and we knew we wanted it.”
Demi McCoy led the Country Day back line with 14 digs Saturday, while Hiemstra added nine. Aliyah Potapenko had nine kills for the Yellowjackets, and Woodruff added four aces.
Giroux led the Flat Rock attack with 15 kills, adding nine digs defensively, while Zoe Ryan had 21 assists.
“I wouldn’t rather do it with anybody else than this team,” Flat Rock senior Reagan Higdon said. “I wouldn’t rather win or lose with anybody else. Especially for this program, this community, no matter how we came out, I’m still glad that we’re here. We’ve done something that’s never been done before.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day players celebrate their repeat championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Elise Hiemstra (9) smashes a kill attempt at a Flat Rock block including Jaclynn Motyka (14).