Eventually, the sun will shine ...
April 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We all believe that, right?
Rain – and snow for some – has been the buzzword of this spring sports season. Just about every newspaper is writing about it and every athletic director, coach, player and parent is dreading it on a now-daily basis.
But eventually, we expect the weather to clear up and teams to play catch-up. To that end, there are limitations teams in some sports face when attempting to make up their games – but also opportunities to take advantage of while trying to fill out their regular-season schedules.
- Girls soccer and girls and boys lacrosse teams may play only three games during a week, Monday through Sunday. A weekend tournament – which generally includes 2 to 3 shortened games – counts as only one in this equation.
- Baseball and softball teams can play as many games as they want in a week, but no more than two on a school day – and baseball pitchers must not pitch for two days following their 30th out in a week.
- For tennis, an individual may not play more than three matches in one day – unless she or he is playing in a league championship tournament featuring more than eight schools for which a fourth match would decide the championship. That player also could not have played more than six sets that day heading into that fourth and final match.
- Golf and Track and Field do not have weekly contest limitations. Track and field athletes can compete in only four events per day.
As expected, a number of teams – especially for baseball and softball – are scheduling to smash in as many contests as possible into the next four weeks. Postseason play for tennis and lacrosse begins May 16 – three weeks from today.
But teams do have options.
One rarely used but anticipated to be used more this spring is an opportunity to continue playing regular-season contests through the final day of the MHSAA tournament in that sport. For example, a baseball team can continue making up games through June 15, the day of the MHSAA Finals in Battle Creek. A tennis team can play regular-season matches through June 1, etc.
Also, the MHSAA Executive Committee approved Thursday to allow for this spring two additional multi-team tournament dates for soccer and lacrosse, which will give those teams an opportunity to get in a few more games. That means soccer teams will be allowed to play in four multi-team tournaments instead of two, boys lacrosse four instead of two and girls lacrosse five instead of three.
Teams will have to do some juggling, no doubt, and all other tournament stipulations still apply (games generally are shortened so more can be played, etc.). But with a little creativity, teams could at least get in a few of their make-up games in this way.
Also, the Executive Committee approved a motion to waive the four-contest MHSAA tournament entry requirement for all Upper Peninsula schools in all sports this spring. As of the weekend, snow still covered parts of the U.P.
Gaps shrinking
Much has been discussed about minimums for all four MHSAA classes for 2013-14, and how they are the lowest student totals in at least a decade.
It’s true. The floor in Class A is 893 (down from 911 this school year), Class B starts at 429 (down from 449), Class C at 207 (down from 217) and Class D at 206 (down from 216).
However, there is a better way to crunch the numbers: Consider the shrinking gaps between the largest and smallest schools in each class.
For 2013-14, the gap in Class A is 1,888 students – 261 students fewer than 2007-08 and nearly 900 students fewer than in 2005-06. The gaps between largest and smallest in Classes B, C and D also are trending smaller – which means each class actually includes schools more similar in size, instead of a perceived other way around.
SAC 2013-14 on the way
We’re thankful for a valuable group of students who help us throughout the school year – our 16-member Student Advisory Council, made up of eight seniors and eight juniors from all over the state who are charged with providing feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, while also assisting at MHSAA championships and with special projects like the “Battle of the Fans.”
Selecting the next class to join is a highlight of every spring – but hardly an easy process.
A six-member selection committee, myself included, considered 62 sophomore applicants today from all over the Lower and Upper Peninsulas, representing all four of our classes and nearly every sport we sponsor.
Every candidate is impressive for a variety of reasons. That’s what makes this difficult – we could pick any number of combinations to make up our new SAC class, and no doubt leaders galore will emerge from another impressive group.
But there are only eight spots on the council. And we’ll announce who received them later next week.
PHOTO: A golfer attempts to keep warm during a round on a dreary day earlier this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Lowell Follows Lone Senior to Inaugural MHSAA Boys Volleyball Championship
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
BATTLE CREEK — Drew Davidson left Kellogg Arena on Saturday with the first Division 2 Finals championship trophy awarded by the MHSAA for boys volleyball – and also with a pocket full of timeouts.
Davidson’s Lowell boys volleyball team defeated Grand Rapids South Christian in the best-of-5 final, 3-1. Despite an up-and-down, back-and-forth match with Lowell prevailing 25-23, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-18, Davidson called no timeouts during the Final.
“I like seeing them get flustered and see how they respond,” Davidson said. “You saw in the third game where we responded poorly and couldn’t side out, and then what happened in the fourth game? We responded and came back out and finished the job off.
“For a young team, it’s not always going to be perfect, but to see how they respond to getting flustered, I like to see that.”
Saturday’s historic championship marked a culmination of more than two years’ work since the May 2024 announcement of the boys volleyball tournament joining the MHSAA postseason schedule.
That fact was not lost on Davidson nor his younger brother Max, the lone senior on a team that had collected three consecutive state volleyball championships (awarded previously by the coaches association) entering Saturday’s Finals.
“It’s the first and the fourth for us,” Drew Davidson said. “It’s Max’s senior year so he’s won every year, so that’s kind of a cool way to send him out. With it being an MHSAA sport now, it’s just makes it even better to bring the first one home and have that on the record books.”
Max Davidson led a team of 11 total — including six freshmen — and turns the setting reins over to freshman Issac Kissinger.
“I don’t have to worry about the program after I leave,” Max Davidson said. “I know Issac can take over. He’s definitely better than when I was a freshman, so I can’t imagine how good he’s going to be as a senior. And all the other freshmen who came in and filled really big roles, they did a really good job.”
They needed to in order to defeat a talented and senior-laden South Christian team for the third time this season. The Sailors had a lead in every set and the first set knotted at 23-23 before Lowell won the last two points.
The second set was back and forth as well, with neither team holding a lead larger than two points until consecutive aces by Lowell junior Lincoln Pollema put the Red Arrows up 19-16. South Christian tied it at 19-19 before Lowell scored six of the next seven points, including the set-winning kill by Kissinger.
The third set featured just about everything from both sides — with South Christian jumping out to a 17-11 lead, a Brock Hoekwater one-armed dig finding the floor on the other side the final point of four straight.
Drew Davidson did not call timeout, and his team responded on Pollema’s serve, scoring eight in a row for a 19-17 lead. With the score tied 23-23, seniors Jack Borisch and Carson Joldersma each had kills to close the set for South Christian.
“We’ve played Lowell three times, but we stood in it with them today, and I thought we played an incredible match,” South Christian coach Mya Udell said. “I just can’t be more proud of the guys, how they worked together and how they’ve come together. They’ve been a huge support for each other, and it’s just been great to be a part of.
“We took a set off Lowell, and they’re an incredible team.”
Lowell jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the fourth set before a South Christian timeout ignited a six-point run that included three straight Joldersma kills — but did not result in a Lowell timeout.
Instead, the Red Arrows took serve on a kill by Kissinger, got two Jaeger Smith kills and with freshman Teylon Compton serving, closed it out with a Kissinger kill and block kill by junior Josh Wolfers.
“That was a crazy game. South Christian brought it,” Drew Davidson said. “They played really well, so that was fun to come against and have to overcome. The boys did eventually.”
The Sailors lose seven seniors from this year’s runner-up squad that finished 28-14-2, and Udell said the group leaves behind a lasting legacy.
“I think for them, their legacy is they can always be known for that first season, making it to a state championship and having a great record,” she said. “But they’re also great men. They love the Lord, they care about others and they’re going to do great in the real world.”
Lowell, which finished the season 27-6, likely will not be a stranger to the MHSAA Finals. Of the 11 players on the roster, four are juniors and six are freshmen — with six additional freshmen on the way.
“We’ve been playing four, five, six freshmen, so it’s super exciting to see those guys grow,” Drew Davidson said. “The opportunity they get to play with the older kids and then what that’ll do for next year, that’s exciting.”
PHOTOS (Top) Lowell players huddle on the court during their Division 2 championship win Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) The Red Arrows’ Will Selent elevates during a serve.