MHSAA Spring Sports Lineup Welcomes Boys Volleyball, Revamped LP Girls Tennis Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 14, 2026
The inaugural season of boys volleyball as a Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sport has begun, headlining changes this spring as 12 sports are underway for an estimated 110,000 athletes competing for member high schools.
The MHSAA sponsors postseason competition each spring in baseball, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, girls and boys track & field, boys golf (Lower and Upper Peninsula) and girls golf (UP), and girls (LP) and boys (UP) tennis – and for the first time this year, boys volleyball, with 117 schools scheduled to participate in the first MHSAA Tournament in that sport.
Varsity teams have been classified into Divisions 1 and 2 and will compete across 16 Regionals – eight per division – with winners advancing to Quarterfinals on June 2 and then Semifinals and Finals to be played June 5 and 6, respectively, at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena, which also serves as home to the MHSAA Girls Volleyball Semifinals and Finals.
Another notable championship change will come in Lower Peninsula girls tennis, which like LP boys tennis this past fall, will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event May 27-28, followed by Division 1 on May 29-30, Division 2 on June 3-4 and Division 3 played June 5-6.
Additionally, a few on-field rules changes may be especially noticeable this spring.
In girls lacrosse, a change this spring requires, when a goal circle foul is committed, the offending player to move four meters away (instead of behind) from the player taking the free position.
In boys lacrosse, a change was made so that no defensive player other than a properly-equipped goalkeeper can enter the team’s own crease with the perceived intent of blocking a shot or acting as a goalkeeper. A defensive player doing so receives a personal foul for illegal equipment.
Two more changes in boys lacrosse enhance safety. The definition for a holding penalty has been expanded to include hooking, lifting or pinning an opponent’s body with the crosse. Also, a player losing a helmet will receive a technical foul for illegal procedure to encourage players to properly wear helmets and chin straps to ensure they stay on during play.
Also, as with boys soccer this past fall, a pair of changes in girls soccer address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline.
The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
The 2025-26 Spring campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals on May 27 and wraps up with Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball Finals on June 13. Here is a complete list of spring tournament dates:
Baseball
Districts – May 26-30
Regional Semifinals – June 3
Regional Finals, Quarterfinals – June 6
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Golf
LP Boys Regionals – May 26-30
UP Girls & Boys Finals – May 27
LP Boys Finals – June 5-6
Boys Lacrosse
Regionals – May 8-27
Quarterfinals – May 29-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 6
Girls Lacrosse
Regionals – May 14-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 5
Girls Soccer
Districts – May 20-22, 26-30
Regionals – June 2-6
Semifinals – June 9-10
Finals – June 12-13
Softball
Districts – May 26-30
Regionals – June 6
Quarterfinals – June 9
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Tennis
LP Girls Regionals – May 13-16
UP Boys Finals – May 27
LP Girls Finals – May 27-30, June 3-6
Track & Field
Regionals – May 14-16
Finals – May 30
Boys Volleyball
Regionals – May 26-30
Quarterfinals – June 2
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 6
Title IX at 50: From Gymnastics to Wrestling, Girls Opportunities Continue to Grow
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 7, 2022
Four teams will meet Saturday at Rockford high school to decide this season’s two MHSAA girls lacrosse champions, the 33rd and 34th titles winners since the sport gained MHSAA sponsorship beginning with the 2004-05 school year.
Lacrosse, for both girls and boys, is the most recently-added sponsored team sport among MHSAA offerings. The first girls sport to receive an MHSAA-sponsored postseason tournament was gymnastics, during the winter of the 1971-72 school year.
Below is a timeline detailing when every girls sport made its MHSAA postseason debut – including this winter’s Individual Wrestling Finals girls championship division. (Season played in parentheses.)
► 1971-72: Gymnastics (Winter)
► 1972-73: Golf (UP-Fall, LP-Spring), Swimming & Diving (Fall), Tennis (Fall), Track & Field (Spring)
► 1973-74: Basketball (Fall)
► 1974-75: Skiing (Winter), Softball (Spring)
► 1975-76: Volleyball (Winter)
► 1978-79: Cross Country (Fall)
► 1982-83: Soccer (Spring)
► 1993-94: Competitive Cheer (Winter)
► 2003-04: Bowling (Winter)
► 2004-05: Lacrosse (Spring)
► 2021-22: Wrestling Individual Finals (Winter)
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
May 31: Mumford Sprinter's Magnificent 2006 Final Remains Unmatched - Read
May 24: Scane, Whiteside Alone on 400-Goal, 500-Point Girls Lacrosse Lists - Read
May 17: Over 8 Days in 1988, Pair of Champs Set No. 1 Singles Standard - Read
May 10: Portage Central's Tarpley Scores as State's Superstar, U.S. Soccer Hero - Read
May 3: Prychitko 'Legend In Her Own Time,' Legend for All Time - Read
April 26: Braddock vs. Verdun Still Striding Among All-Time Sprint Matchups - Read
April 19: Holmes' Strikeout Record Rarely Approached, May Be Unbreakable - Read
April 12: Anticipation High as 45,000 Girls Return to Spring Sports - Read
April 5: Regina's Laffey Retiring as Definition of Legendary - Read
March 29: Edison's Whitehorn named 2022 Miss Basketball - Read
March 22: Carney-Nadeau Sets Girls Hoops Standard with 78-Win Streak - Read
March 15: Binder Among Voices Telling Our Story on MHSAA Network - Read
March 8: 28 Years, Thousands of Cheers - Read
March 1: Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes - Read
Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTOS (Clockwise from left) Potterville’s Kathy Gray reaches to make a play against Battle Creek St. Philip during the 1989 Lower Peninsula Class D Volleyball Final. Flint Beecher’s Carlotta Craven (41) and Frankenmuth’s Laura Butman (42) battle for a rebound during the 1987 Class B Final. The 1989 Detroit St. Martin dePorres track & field team shows its various trophies won during a run to the 1989 LP Class B title. Canton players celebrate their game-winning shootout goal against Livonia Churchill in the 1988 Class A Final. (MHSAA file photos.)