By Steve Gunn
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – Ward Burns waited a long time to hoist a district championship trophy at Fruitport Calvary Christian.
Burns coached the Eagles years ago, but stepped away from the job when the Michigan High School Athletic Association switched the volleyball season from the winter to the fall back in 2007.
Madison Heiss makes the block to win the match for Fruitport Calvary Christian. Photo/Jason Goorman
He returned to coach the varsity three years ago, after the previous coach stepped aside.
Through all of those seasons, in two different eras, Burns’ teams never made it through districts. Until Thursday, that is.
Fruitport Calvary Christian followed up on its stunning upset of Muskegon Catholic earlier this week with an impressive straight-set victory over Kent City Algoma Christian in the Class D district finals in Muskegon Catholic’s gym.
The set scores in the match were 25-8, 25-12 and 25-20.
‘I coached for about six or seven years, then when they switched seasons I retired and started traveling a lot,” said Burns, 67, whose granddaughter, Marcia Schreur, is a freshman on his team. “Then I had more time and I came back four years ago to coach the junior varsity, then took over the varsity again three years ago.
“I knew this team had a lot of talent coming back this year. Some of these girls I had four years ago with the junior varsity. They have finally matured to the level where they are playing now. They are really good athletes who play really hard.”
It was not only the first district title for Burns, but the first district volleyball championship in for the school. The Eagles players were glowing with pride after the match, knowing they are now a permanent part of Fruitport Calvary Christian history.
Fruitport’s No. 7 Audrey Vereeke makes the dig to keep the rally alive. Photo/Jason Goorman
“It’s amazing,” said junior Madison Heiss, who led the team with 19 kills against Algoma Christian. “It’s just great for us to do something so special and be part of school history. We prepared for this. We practiced a lot.”
“We talked about this the whole season – and last season too,” said sophomore Audrey Vereeke, a team captain, who had 20 assists in the match. “We just wanted to go out and win it.”
Both Burns and Heiss said the team was wary of a letdown after Tuesday’s emotional victory over Muskegon Catholic, which had eliminated the Eagles – and won the district tournament – for the six previous seasons.
“We talked about that last night at practice,” Burns said. “I was confident they would come back and play well.”
“We knew we had to keep up the same intensity,” Heiss said. “We prepared mentally for this.”
The Eagles dominated most of the match against Algoma Christian.
In the first set they went from a 6-3 lead to an 11-3 advantage on a long service run by Jessica Assaad, which featured two aces by Assaad and two kills from Heiss.
They cruised to the 25-8 win from there.
Fruitport Calvary’s No. 11 Rebekah Kozicki nearly has the point blocked. Photo/Jason Goorman
The teams played to a 4-4 tie early in the second set, and Fruitport Calvary only led 11-8 at one point. But then the Eagles turned on the jets, outscoring Algoma 14-4 the rest of the way. Heiss had three kills during the decisive run while Rebekeh Kozicki added two.
The third set was close for a while, with the teams playing to a 7-7 tie. Then the Eagles pulled ahead with a nine-point service run by Kyleah Sutherland, who capped off the spurt by serving three aces in a row.
Algoma Christian fought back, cutting Fruitport Calvary’s lead to 19-16, but the Eagles then scored five straight points to pull ahead 24-16. The Knights answered with four straight points, but Weiss sealed the set, match and championship with a soft tip that fell in for the final point.
Sutherland finished with five aces while Alyssa Johnson had two for Fruitport Calvary. Kozicki totaled 12 kills and two aces, Vereeke had 20 assists and Ally Richards had four blocks.
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- The Eagles squad reacts after scoring the winning point to capture their first Class D district title. Photo/Jason Goorman
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- The Eagles lift up their schools first Class D volleyball district title. Photo/Jason Goorman
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- No. 6 Kyleah Sutherland holds the trophy as her teammate look in awe. Photo/Jason Goorman
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- Ally Richards does a quick set over the net for the Eagles. Photo/Jason Goorman
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- Kyleah Sutherland prepares to serve for Fruitport Calvary Christian. Photo/Jason Goorman
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- Coach Ward Burns claps after an Eagle point. Photo/Jason Goorman
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- No. 4 Madison Heiss lofts the match-winning shot over the Algoma net. Photo/Jason Goorman
Great Job to all of the Eagles! #2 Alyssa Johnson, #6 Kyleah Sutherland, #9 Allyson Richards, #13 Emily Turbett,
#3 Jessica Assad, #4 Maddison Heiss, #5 Erynn Fullmer, #8 Sydney Ritsema, #11 Rebekah Kozicki,
#7 Audrey Vereeke, #10 Bree Johnson, #15 Meghan Heiss, #12 Kristina Warren, #14 Kelsey Richards,
#16 Marcie Schreur
Can you correct the article to change Jessica Assaad to Alyssa Johnson for the long service run?
Shout out to an “unsung hero” CCS Fruitport senior team captain defensive specialist Emily Turbett. She is this teams anchor. Her tenacity as team libero and her aggressive serving only can be compared with her ownership and leadership of this team. Exciting to watch!
Also, Awesome job from Asst. coach Stacey Veereke!
The Eagles could not have won the championship without her!
She is an talented coach and wonderful mentor for the young lady’s.