GULL LAKE — Three Rivers’ volleyball team played to a 1-3 record Friday, Aug. 22 at the Gull Lake Invitational.
The team lost to Battle Creek Lakeview 25-15, 22-25, 10-15, lost to Niles 25-15, 22-25, 13-15, defeated host Gull Lake 25-23, 25-21, and lost to Edwardsburg to end the day 23-25, 19-25.
Miley Southland had 85 assists on the day from the setter position, giving the senior 3,000 assists in her career; she also notched 17 digs, 15 kills and six aces on the tournament. Allie Yost led the team with 22 kills to go with nine digs and three aces, Dani Glass had 20 kills and 31 digs, London Hoffmaster added 20 kills and six blocks, Braylee Burg had 17 kills, Abby Pettit had 12 kills, and Leah Kane had 44 digs.
Bulldogs first in pool, go 2-1-1 at St. Phil tourney
BATTLE CREEK — Centreville’s volleyball team had a solid day, but got bounced in bracket play at the St. Phil Carrie Adams Tournament at Harper Creek High School Saturday.
The Bulldogs split with Concord to start the day 25-21, 23-25, then defeated St. Patrick 25-20, 25-15 and Camden Frontier 25-16, 25-20 to finish first in their pool and notching the top seed in the Gold Bracket. Their day would end in the first round losing to Kalamazoo Central in straight sets, 14-25, 20-25.
“We had a good start to the season and we were able to figure some things out. I think our defense played well and kept us alive in many circumstances,” head coach Deric Mostrom said. “We also had a strong serve, ending the day with 35 aces.”
Mary Stears led the way for the Bulldogs with 31 kills, six aces and 15 digs on the day. Kalee Griggs added 12 kills, three digs and two blocks, Livia Jacobs and Adyson Mastny had nine kills each, Kalli Sneed had 10 aces, 55 assists and six digs, Ariana Six had six aces and 22 digs, Drew Alexander had six aces, 43 digs and three assists, Nikki Lennard had five aces and eight digs, Keturah Younts had four kills and two digs, Tyla Yoder added one ace, and Emma Perez notched one kill and one dig.
Vicksburg sweeps home round robin tourney
VICKSBURG — Vicksburg’s volleyball team got off to a hot start, winning all three matches in their home round robin tournament in straight sets Wednesday, Aug. 20.
The Bulldogs took down Dowagiac 25-15, 25-11, defeated Niles 25-16, 25-14 and bested St. Joseph 25-20, 25-14 in pool play. In bracket play, Vicksburg defeated Dowagiac again 25-18, 25-20, and then won the finals against Niles 25-20, 25-11 to take the crown.
No stats were reported for the tournament.
White Pigeon, Sturgis compete at Sturgis Quad
STURGIS — The White Pigeon Chiefs got off to a 1-2 start on the season, competing in the Sturgis Quad volleyball tournament.
The Lady Chiefs defeated Buchanan 25-20, 25-23, but dropped matches to Coldwater and host Sturgis. White Pigeon was out-pointed by the Cardinals 25-23, 25-17, and the Trojans prevailed over the Chiefs, 25-18, 25-15.
“One and two with an eight-player varsity team isn’t a terrible way to finish against some tough competition,” White Pigeon head coach Melissa Gales stated. “We played hard against every team, and I believe we’ll be a tough competitor this year.”
Kenlee Schrader recorded eight kills, 25 assists, one ace and eight digs for the tourney, while Sadie McDaniel had seven kills, one ace, five digs and six blocks. Addison Smith added five assists, one ace and 22 digs, and teammate Grace Bontrager had seven kills, two assists and 18 digs. Kadance Smith came up with 11 kills, two digs and three blocks, Mable Post contributed five kills, two assists and 18 digs, Jennafae Zehr added one assist, three aces and four digs, while Emily Miller booked one assist, two aces and four digs.
Gales also added that “We had our typical up-and-down emotional and mental part of the game, but for our first competition of the season, I’m proud of how we played. The more these girls play together, the better their game will get.”
Host Sturgis won two of its three matches in the quad, with the aforementioned win over White Pigeon, followed by a three-set victory over Coldwater, 25-19, 22-25, and 25-12. The Lady Trojans also went up against Buchanan, and the Bucks were able to hold on for a hard-fought 26-24, 23-25, 25-16 win.
“We played with a lot of intensity throughout the night and never gave up on the ball,” Sturgis coach Brian Jordan stated.
Angela Cary recorded 21 kills for the Trojans, followed by Cora Phillips and Kendall Oxender, with 18 and 10 kills, respectively.
Constantine 1-1-2 at Coloma Early Bird
COLOMA — Constantine’s volleyball team had an up-and-down day at the Coloma Early Bird Tournament Saturday, going 1-1-2 on the day.
The Falcons started the day losing in straight sets to South Haven 17-25, 16-25, then split their next two matches against Michigan Lutheran (25-15, 13-25) and Watervliet (24-25, 25-17) before ending the day with a 25-20, 25-10 win against Allegan.
“This is a great tournament to start our season out with. Lots of tough teams there that give us a better of idea of what we are doing well and what we need to work on at the beginning of the season,” head coach Tiffany Lewis said. “We started off slow and go in some ruts but the girls ended on a high note and know what we need to focus on.”
Jaedyn Herlein led the way for the Falcons with 24 kills, five blocks, five aces, and 10 digs. Raeann Michalek had 17 kills and 14 digs, Jaelyn Buglione had nine kills, four aces, and 10 digs, Kailee Jones had six aces, Kate Jones had two blocks and nine digs, and Anndee Evans had 45 assists.
Burr Oak defeats Litchfield; makes it to finals at Tekonsha Invite
LITCHFIELD — Burr Oak took a trip to Litchfield Tuesday evening for a volleyball match against the host Terriers, and while playing shorthanded, still managed to nab the four-set victory.
The Lady Bobcats came out strong in the first game, winning 25-12, however Litchfield rebounded with a 25-21 win in game two. Burr Oak then went on to win games three and four to nail down the victory.
“We only had six players to put on the court, some of them being our younger girls, so I’m really proud of them for stepping up and pushing themselves,” commented Bobcats coach Carly Hernandez. “We were led by our senior Kaila Hines, and we put a lot of pressure on her, but she’s been a really big bright spot for our team, and consistently shows up to play.”
Hines contributed 17 kills, 10 digs, and a pair of aces and assists, Linda Ultz added 26 assists, four kills, four aces and two digs, while sister Inez Ultz booked 12 kills, eight aces and one dig. Another Ultz sister, Anita, came up with six digs, one ace and a kill, followed by Raegan Swain and Makayla Ledyard, both with an ace, a kill and a dig.
“It was a great, all-around team win tonight,” added Hernandez. Results for upcoming games against Bangor (8-27) and Colon (9-2) will be in next week’s edition.
The Burr Oak volleyball team opened their 2025 season by placing second in the Tekonsha Invitational Tournament which was held last Saturday. The Lady Bobcats dropped host Tekonsha in their first match, 25-22, 25-16. Burr Oak then went on to face Will Carleton, and came up with a two-game split, losing 23-25, but coming back to take the second game, 25-20.
After completing pool play, the Bobcats took down Tekonsha again in the semi-finals, 25-13, 25-19, then moved on to go against Will Carelton in the championship match. The Lady Cougars, however, prevailed against Burr Oak, winning 25-19, 25-11 to secure their first-place finish. On the day, Peyton Roggow finished with 17 digs, 16 kills, 14 aces and four assists. Linda Ultz added 35 assists, 11 digs, nine kills, five aces and one block. Teammate Makalia Hines contributed nine kills, six digs, five aces, four blocks and three assists, while Inez Ultz had 10 digs, 10 kills, eight aces and four blocked shots. Also adding to the Burr Oak effort, Anita Ultz came up with 10 digs, two assists and an ace, followed by Makayla Ledyard, who recorded 13 digs and three aces. Rounding out the stats for the Lady Bobcats, Audrey Ahlgrim had seven kills and two blocks, Jersie Cornejo booked three digs and a kill, and Raegan Swain added a dig.
“It was a great opening weekend for our team,” Carly Hernandez said. “We have only three returning players from the 2024 season, so we’ve been working really hard to rebuild and regroup.”
Hernandez points to Hines and Inez Ultz to help ease the transition for their new teammates.
“They’ve been really crucial in taking the younger girls under their wings.” Hernandez also commented that, “I’m so proud of how fearless and hard they all played. They’re scrappy on defense, and they have the ‘we, not me’ mentality. I’m looking forward to seeing how much we grow on and off the court this season.”
