Volleyball: Fly like an Eagle
November 11, 2011
Nicole DeGrace knew that with her father Chip as Frankenmuth’s volleyball coach, the Eagles would go places.
But when he told them where he thought they were headed, she didn’t believe him.
At the end of tryouts in August, Chip DeGrace -- promoted this fall after more than a decade coaching at lower levels in the program -- told his new varsity players they'd finish this season at the MHSAA Finals in Battle Creek.
“I didn’t think much of it. He believed it, but we were like, ‘Are you serious?’” Nicole said. “I didn’t know how serious he was.”
Serious enough that the Eagles are one win from making his prediction come true.
Frankenmuth, by many accounts, is a basketball school when it comes to girls sports. But the Eagles are headed to the last week of the season after upsetting No. 4 North Branch in five games Thursday for a Class B Regional title at Mount Morris Junior High (25-19, 19-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-7).
It was just one arguably unexpected result in what’s turned into a tournament full of them. Canton upset reigning Class A runner-up Farmington Hills Mercy to win its first Regional ever, and Macomb Dakota and Charlevoix also won Regionals for the first time. Tecumseh won its first since 1992, with Lake Orion and Livonia Stevenson also needing at least a few decades to recall their last Quarterfinal berth. Saginaw Valley Lutheran’s Regional championship was its first since 1983.
Thursday’s win gave Frankenmuth just its third Regional title in program history. All three have come during the last seven seasons, but the Eagles never have advanced further. And beating North Branch to get another shot made it arguably the best win in program history, adding to a season during which the Eagles (53-9-3) have set a school record for victories with four more than the previous best.
“Without a doubt, it’s the fact we have eight seniors on the team. That is the reason,” Chip DeGrace said, explaining why the program has taken such a big step this fall. “It’s (just) a coincidence my daughter is one of them. These kids came into high school as freshmen, and the combination of athletic talent, intelligence, competitiveness, and love for volleyball, you could see it.”
Granted, North Branch graduated significant contributors from last season’s Class B runner-up team. But the Broncos annually are considered a state powerhouse, with an MHSAA championship in 2009 and a Class A runner-up finish in 2007 helping boost that reputation.
Despite defeating the Broncos on Sept. 21 and eventually winning the Tri-Valley Conference East championship – the Eagles’ first league title since 2002 – Frankenmuth remained unranked and in the Broncos' shadow heading into Districts. North Branch closed the regular season by beating the Eagles at the all-division TVC Tournament, right after Frankenmuth lost senior libero Morgan Trinklein – who DeGrace called the best defensive specialist in program history – to a knee injury.
But there also was good news for the Eagles. Frankenmuth won its District, then beat No. 10 Mount Morris to open Regional play. Senior Emily Wee, an MHSAA hurdles champion, came back from an injury two-thirds of the way through the regular season and has provided reinforcement to a strong front line -- Nicole DeGrace’s 654 kills make the MHSAA record book list, as do junior Maddy Mertz’ 155 blocks. Three defensive specialists have upped their play in Trinklein's absence. And although senior Addie Loftus’ 839 assists fall a bit short of record book mention, they are all the more impressive considering the Eagles use two setters in their offense.
Thursday's victory also came near the end of a four-year string that included three coaches and the many system and position changes that come with turnover. When senior Olivia Shelton killed the final point Thursday, Nicole DeGrace said the feeling was a mix of validation and pride.
The Eagles will carry both into Tuesday’s Quarterfinal against another perennial power, Marysville, on North Branch’s home court.
“I think we’ve kinda learned it’s not as much about thinking. It’s more about just playing,” Nicole DeGrace said. “Most of the time in our huddle with my dad now, it’s ‘Stop thinking, just play.’ And when that happens, it’s crazy. It’s just awesome.”
Click for interactive brackets for all MHSAA classes.
Click for the Flint Journal story from Thursday's Frankenmuth/North Branch match.
PHOTOS
(Top) Frankenmuth celebrates its third Regional title ever after defeating North Branch in five games Thursday at Mount Morris High.
(Below) Senior Morgan Trinklein (10) injured her left knee in the final regular season match, but played a big part in the Eagles' TVC championship run.
(Photos courtesy of Frankenmuth volleyball.)
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.