December 13, 2005

Spikers go for another triple threat

3 local teams have been in each of last 2 Final Fours

By
Record-Eagle staff writer

BIG NORTH
      The Big North Conference title was shared between Traverse City West and Central last season. Both teams are coached by former players, Emily Lovejoy for West and Kelly Larkin for Central.
      TC WEST followed its co-league title by beating Central in the district tournament. The Titans then added a regional crown before falling in the Class A quarterfinals.
      Five key players return from last season's 34-11 team: senior outside hitter Kelsey Sears, senior setter Kalyn McPherson, senior middle blocker Marta Hunt, senior right-side hitter Jenna VanZee and sophomore middle blocker Jessica Oakley.
      Lovejoy, the all-time kills leader at Central Michigan University, expects the Titans to contend for the league crown once again.
      "I was very impressed with how we played (at the Portage Central Invitational)," said Lovejoy, who helped lead the Titans to the Final Four in 2000 and 2001. "We had a lot of girls step it up.
      "We still have some things to work on. But I think we'll compete again for conference champions. I'm very excited; we have a good group of girls."
      Adding to the mix for West this season will be sophomore outside hitter Jordan Davenport, senior libero Elizabeth Donn, senior defensive specialist Tillie Redmond, senior setter Amanda Foust and junior defensive specialist Jena Shaw.
      The libero is a back-row specialist that can't serve and doesn't count as a defensive substitution.
      Larkin inherits a TC CENTRAL team that went 35-11 a season ago. The 2003 grad had her collegiate career at St. Cloud State (Minn.) cut short by injuries.
      But Larkin has the same enthusiasm going into her first coaching job as Lovejoy.
      "I am really excited to be here coaching," Larkin said. "We have a lot of talent and a lot of potential with this group of athletes. I am very optimistic about this season."
      Like West, Central has a lot of senior players.
      Seniors Corie Larkin - the coach's sister - and Lyndsey Forton are back as outside hitters as are seniors Victoria Klauer and Caurey Ashton in the middle.
      Also back for the Trojans are senior defensive specialist Lydia Connors and senior Trish Mayo on the right side.
      CADILLAC's season took a hit before it even started when senior middle hitter Megan Duley was lost for the season because of a foot injury on the eve of its first match.
      But the Vikings, 36-21 last season, aren't writing anything off.
      Cadillac still brings back senior setter Callie Youngman, who will run a 5-1 offense. Youngman had 679 assists a season ago in a 6-2.
      Senior middle hitter Beth Erdman (194 kills, 82 blocks) and senior outside hitter Kendra Tropf (278 kills, 63 blocks) give Cadillac plenty of strength at the net.
      Three other seniors give the Vikings plenty of experience.
      "I'm very excited about the season," Cadillac coach Michelle Brines said. "It should be a good one."

NORTHWEST
      Splitting the Northwest Conference championship last season were Kingsley and Suttons Bay.
      SUTTONS BAY topped Kingsley in the regional final and went on to reach the Class C semifinals before losing.
      A senior-laden Suttons Bay team went 46-6-4 last season and reached the Class C semifinals.
      Holly Orban, honorable mention all-state, is the lone senior back from that squad. She'll be counted on heavily to lead a young team that features one freshman and five sophomores.
      Junior Kelsey Wick and sophomore Charlotte Stowe are other key pieces for the Norse this season.
      KINGSLEY comes into the current season with three straight 50-win campaigns, including a 55-9-4 mark last season.
      The Lady Stags also got a late start to volleyball, but it didn't seem to carry over as Kingsley opened its season by winning the Pellston Invitational.
      "The girls made a nice run in basketball this year and we started a little late," Kingsley coach Dave Hall said. "We might start a little slow, but if the players can find their roles and continue to improve, we could have a solid season."
      One role Kingsley doesn't need to fill is its offensive leader.
      Senior middle hitter Jill Walton, a three-year varsity starter, banged out a school-record 616 kills a season ago.
      Senior outside hitter Lauren Summerfield is also a three-year starter who missed a lot of time last season with an ankle injury. Summerfield still managed to have 150 kills and 200 digs.
      Senior defensive specialist Lindsay DeFrance, who started 40 matches in the back row, and senior outside hitter Ariel Egan will also have expanded roles this season.
      Sophomore setter Brittany Denter is up from a 36-6 JV team to run the varsity offense.
      Looking to move up in the conference is MANTON.
      The Rangers return five key seniors in libero Lacie Miller, setter Kacy O'Dell, outside hitter Tiffany Gilmore, middle/outside Kayla Nielson and setter/right-side hitter Jaime Heft.
      "I have a fun group of girls who work hard and enjoy playing together," Manton coach Alaina Olds said. "I am making many changes and the girls are doing a wonderful job of adapting to those changes with a positive attitude. We are looking forward to an exciting and successful season."
      GLEN LAKE is coming off a 22-22-2 campaign. Senior outside hitters Chelsea Klumpp and Jessica Odziana and senior setter Lindsey Dusen are back as the Lakers look to climb past the .500 mark this winter.
      "I'm very excited to start the new season," Glen Lake coach Melissa Skipski said. "I can't wait to see what the girls will accomplish this year, not only as a team, but also as individuals."

LAKE MICHIGAN
      CHARLEVOIX won the last two Lake Michigan titles.
      The Rayders return four starters, but it'll be a young team for fifth-year coach Liz Grunch.
      Senior right-side hitter Sally Haselschwardt is the lone senior for Charlevoix, which had its string of two straight district titles snapped by Suttons Bay.
      Also back as starters are junior defensive specialist Emily Heffling, setter Zita Anderson and Bethany Pearson and Ashley Bradley in the middle.
      The 5-foot-11 Pearson and the 5-10 Bradley split time in the middle last season.
      Sophomore left-hander Murphy Gillespie will also man the right side for the Rayders, coming off a 29-9-6 campaign.
      "It's a young team," Grunch said. "We're really trying to work on somebody trying to step up and be the leader. Also we need to find focus and where that's going to come into play."
      Coming off a 10-4 mark in the Lake Michigan is TRAVERSE CITY ST. FRANCIS.
      The Glads finished with a 16-17-4 record and are looking for better things in coach JoAnn Droste's second season.
      The Gladiators will be led by senior co-captains Rachel Aboudib and Kelley Gavigan, who is coming back from an injury.
      St. Francis has an athletic group of juniors that includes setter DeLynne Montroy, honorable mention all-conference outside hitter Kristina Droste and middle hitters Alex Bower and Meg Swaney.
      "Captains Rachel Aboudib and Kelley Gavigan have accepted the responsibility of leading their team this year in their path for success," JoAnn Droste said. "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."
      Three returning letter winners and a JV team that was second in the conference last season have raised expectations at EAST JORDAN.
      Senior Sierra Roberts and juniors Jessica Roberts and Jill Drenth are back to lead the athletic, defensive-minded Red Devils.
      Drenth led the team in kills last season while Sierra Roberts led the squad in digs and was second in kills despite not playing as a sophomore. Jessica Roberts returns as the starting setter.
      "We have a very young team with two seniors, eight juniors and two sophomores," said East Jordan coach Paul Nachazel, whose team was 7-24-6 last season. "We need to get off to a fast start to build our confidence. The most important thing we need to do right now is get the sophomores and juniors up to speed on our formations and terminology.
      "How fast they adapt will determine our early success. It is critical that my returning lettermen step up and become leaders of the team. I don't see this as a problem."
      Another Lake Michigan team looking to improve is ELK RAPIDS.
      Five varsity players return for the Elks, including senior outside hitter Rachel Thelen and senior Jenny Vetter and junior Kelsey Hawkins in the middle.
      Vetter was among the team's kill leaders last season while Hawkins is one of the top blockers. Thelen was a defensive standout last season.
      "The leadership and experience of our returning varsity players will contribute greatly in reaching our goal of surpassing the total wins from last season," Elk Rapids coach Shawn Barrera-Leaf said.

CHERRYLAND
      LELAND returns three starters from last season's 66-8 team that were the Class D runners-up and one more from the 2004 team that made the semifinals.
      Senior outside hitter Alisha Glass, senior outside hitter Jennifer Hecht and junior middle hitter Anna Lau return from last season's team. Senior libero/right-side hitter Daina Parent is back after missing last season as a foreign exchange student.
      Bolstering the returning starters are senior right-side hitter Sarah Allington, junior defensive specialist Ashley Erhardt, junior outside hitter McKenna Haverberg and junior setter Whitney Grant.
      Sophomores Erica Breen and Erin Sneed give Leland even more depth.
      "I have some youth," Leland coach Laurie Glass said. "But I have solid passers in Daina, Alisha and Jennifer and Ashley is a fourth cog. If you have great passing, you can run a good offense. That's where it all starts."
      More often than not, the pass finishes with Alisha Glass. The Penn State-bound senior already holds the national record for career kills with 2,686 entering this season. She also has national marks for aces in a season (296) and a career (685).
      Serving is an emphasis for the Comets. Leland missed 10 serves in the final of the TC Central Invitational and lost by four points.
      Leland also had 37 aces in the tournament by 10 different players.
      "Key to success for us this year is the ability to serve aggressively while maintaining some consistency," Laurie Glass said. "We'll give up some, but we can't give up as many as we did on Saturday."
      Finishing back in the pack, but looking to make a move forward is TRAVERSE CITY CHRISTIAN.
      The Sabres return five of six starters from last season's 7-19-4 squad.
      "If this team comes together like I think they will, we will be much improved," TC Christian coach Russ Hansen said.
      Three of the returning starters for TC Christian are juniors: Kara Finney, Emily Morgan and Michelle Benson. Also back on the floor are sophomores Anne Friedlander and Amanda Send.
      TC Christian - switching to a 4-2 offense this season - has three seniors on the team that will be counted on to lead the Sabres higher in the conference standings.
      LEELANAU SCHOOL suffered through a winless campaign in 2004-05, but coach Katie Wright said it wasn't due to a lack of effort.
      Wright said the work ethic is carrying over into this season.
      "The majority of our girls have never played volleyball before and are already showing great potential," she said. "We've had a great turnout of enthusiastic girls who are excited to get the season under way."
      Among the key players back for the Thunderbirds are senior co-captains Sally Winther and Cristina Abilio. Winther is the setter and Abilio a third-year player.
      Seniors Soo Na Son and Molly Behar join juniors Natalie Stow, Alyssa Hirsh, Emilee Morse, Angela Park and Liz Fulghum. Stow was honorable mention all-conference a season ago.

SKI VALLEY
      PELLSTON has won the last five Ski Valley titles and returns five starters. In addition, the Hornets have a 54-match league winning streak.
      Plus Pellston, 51-11-4 last season, is back in Class D after playing up a class under 10th year coach Tim McNitt.
      Seniors Amy Bachleda (227 kills, 503 digs, 115 aces) and Gabby Bachleda (680 digs, 61 aces) are back up front as is senior setter Ashlee Lechowicz (438 assists, 48 aces). Junior outside hitter Holly Burkhart (716 kills, 54 aces) and junior setter Jill McNitt (1,200 assists, 109 aces) are also back in the lineup.
      Returning just four girls from last season's team is South Division champion FOREST AREA.
      Of the four back for the Warriors, three are third-year varsity players in setter Maria Babrick, middle hitter Kari Ingersoll and outside hitter Lizzy Shy.
      All three of the returning starters were all-Ski Valley Conference as juniors.
      Forest Area looks to better the 30-18-5 mark the Warriors posted last season.
      "We have a chance to improve if our passing comes together," Forest Area coach Ron Stremlow said.
      ONAWAY finished with a winning record a season ago and was third in the North Division of the Ski Valley.
      German exchange student Anna Wedemeyer joins a strong returning group for the Cardinals. Coach Steve Watson said Wedemeyer has a strong all-around game and could be one of the top players in the conference.
      Also back for Onaway are seniors Holly Nolde, Morgan McDowell and Danielle DeMaestri and junior Serena Green.
      Nolde, who sets and hits on the outside, had 128 kills and 108 assists last season. McDowell added 114 assists for the Cardinals, 20-19-2 last season.
      "We should have a very good team that, when playing to its potential, should compete against everybody," Watson said.

NORTHERN LAKES
      After falling in the Class D quarterfinals in 2004, HARBOR LIGHT CHRISTIAN broke through last winter and reached the semifinals.
      Harbor Light didn't just make a token appearance either, battling eventual state champion Battle Creek St. Philip before bowing out.
      Veteran coach Heidi Hewitt returns two key members of last season's 44-7-4 team in junior middle hitter Jessica Hass and junior setter Hannah Hewitt.
      Hass averaged 4.3 kills a game a season ago while Hewitt averaged 7.8 assists and was a 99 percent server.
      Juniors Sydney Kleinhenz and Torie McCray each had more than 100 kills from the outside.
      Harbor Light did graduate two seniors, including standout Jessica Fox, but the expectations for the new season are just as high.
      "I'm looking forward to another fun and exciting season of volleyball," Heidi Hewitt said.
      Finishing third in the conference was ELLSWORTH. The Lancers did claim a district title before getting knocked out of the regional by Hillman.
      Three seniors are back from last season's team in Hannah Boss, Karin Diebold and Amanda Leese.

OTHERS
      Winning the Northern Lakes Conference was BEAVER ISLAND.
      Beaver Island returns five key players off that team in seniors Krystle Timsak and Christine McDonough and juniors Emma Adams, Bailey McDonough and Brenna Green.
      Adams averaged more than three kills a game last season. Timsak was a 93 percent server for the Islanders while Bailey McDonough and Green were at 90 percent.
      "Our team is very hard working and motivated," Beaver Island coach Connie Boyle said. "We're looking forward to another great season."
      McBAIN started its season on Saturday by finishing second at the Roscommon Invitational.
      The learning will come quickly at MANISTEE CATHOLIC CENTRAL. The Sabers have three players on the varsity who have never played the game before.
      "There is a nice group of girls this year with a high learning curve," Manistee Catholic coach Nancy Nielsen-Sierra said.
      Senior outside hitter Sara Muszynski and sophomore setter Megan Johnson are expected to lead the Sabers this season.