Volleyball

Buchanan may never have another class of volleyball players like the one winding down its final high school season for the Class B third-ranked Bucks this fall. In her 13th year coaching the team, Lisa Holok isn’t taking it for granted.

Mikaela Kubiak is a fierce competitor on the volleyball court. But the Portage Central senior setter had an even harder fight off the court her first two seasons. Kubiak, who has been instrumental in the Mustangs’ run to a 23-3 start and No. 5 ranking in Class A...

Buchanan has risen to join the state's elite volleyball programs during Franki Strefling's four years as captain.  She earned the Michigan National Guard "Performance of the Week" for helping the No. 3-ranked Bucks past nemesis Battle Creek Harper Creek at the Bat...

Juliana Phillips is diversifying her game on the volleyball court this season. The 6-foot-4 Traverse City St. Francis senior, one of the top players in the state, is now setting for the Gladiators in addition to her featured roles as an outside hitter and middle blocke...

Lexi Nordmann had a hard time finding her place at first after joining DeWitt’s varsity volleyball team four seasons ago. A rare freshman playing for one of mid-Michigan’s top programs, Nordmann played the middle, just like then-junior Abby Nakfoor &ndash...

Michigan athletes enjoyed another banner showing at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro that wrapped up Sunday.  We cheered for them all – but paid special attention to a handful who previously competed in MHSAA sports before achieving more at the internat...

Four decades of MHSAA volleyball have included some of the most impressive champions in any of this state's high school sports – and some of the most successful winners nationwide as well. Today's "Through the Years" takes a look at one of the most popular gir...

Betty Wroubel still remembers the first pop fly she caught 57 years ago. Perhaps fleeting for most, it was one of the earliest memorable moments that eventually led to a career stretching four decades and impacting thousands of high school athletes across our state.

All that the Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard volleyball team accomplished this season is still sinking in. November's Applebee's Team of the Month became the first Michigan high school team since Marysville in 1998-99 to finish as an undefeated MHSAA champion, rolling to a 4...

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard finished the final set of the 2015 MHSAA volleyball season Saturday evening the same way it finished every match beginning in mid-August.  As the winner.

Novi was plenty familiar with Romeo heading into Saturday’s Class A Final at Kellogg Arena.  And the Wildcats had more or less memorized last season’s championship match loss to the Bulldogs. “I watched that game … a lot,” Novi seni...

Alexa Ratkowski wears jersey number 1, and so she was first through the hug line as Bronson accepted its Class C championship medals Saturday at Kellogg Arena.  She had a smile across her face until she hugged coach Jean LaClair and the first tears fell. Every te...

A championship trophy wrapped in her arms Saturday, minutes after one of the most memorable wins in recent MHSAA Volleyball Tournament history, Leland senior Maddie Trumbull said she would remember those post-match moments for the rest of her life. And she’ll sur...

The Grand Rapids Christian volleyball team has enjoyed one of its best seasons in school history. One main reason for the Eagles’ unbridled success: Experience.

This weekend's Volleyball Finals at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena will be filled with history-making opportunities, in addition to the usual significance that comes with winning an MHSAA championship.  In Class B, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard is seeking to finish a pe...

The numbers tell the story – 10 consecutive District titles, nine of 10 Regional crowns, three MHSAA Semifinal appearances. It's been quite a run for coach Michelle Brines and her Cadillac Vikings volleyball program.

Finally, the time has arrived to put volleyball on the sports map at Manistique High School. Under coach Amy Nixon, the Emeralds take an 18-0 record into this week's Regional. Their first District title came on the heels of their first Mid-Peninsula Conference champion...

Meredith Norris has traveled all over the United States thanks to her ability to crush a volleyball and stop opponents from doing the same. The Corunna junior knows where she'll play in college, and she's already tasted international competition. But home is never far...

It was early in the volleyball season when Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard went to the Novi Invitational as the only Class B team in a talent-rich tournament full of highly-ranked Class A teams. “We really hadn’t made a name for ourselves yet,” Fight...

Emma Hess has spent much of her young life chasing dreams and overcoming odds. The 5-foot-8 outside hitter became an all-stater last season as a junior, another starring role to add to credits she earned acting in three films as a middle schooler.