Mona Shores adds more GMAA volleyball hardware to its already full trophy case

LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON – Mona Shores High School is going to have to build a bigger trophy case for its Great Muskegon Athletic Association city title hardware.

The Sailors have a case full of GMAA titles in their gymnasium. They have another display in a nearby hallway that is practically full of the same accolades.

After Saturday’s GMAA city volleyball tournament, Mona Shores now has another trophy to add to its collection: 2023 city volleyball champs. The big win was the second-straight year for winning the city title.

The Sailors (31-5, 7-1) defeated Montague in three sets on their home court in Norton Shores, winning 25-19, 25-17 and 25-17.

The win was extra special for Coach Kathy Hellmann and daughter, Kyann Hellmann. The warm moment came for the two when senior Kyann tallied her 2,000th career assist.

“I didn’t even know it was going to happen,” said Kyann of her milestone. “It felt good to have my whole team there with me to celebrate it.”

The senior setter was even happier to win the city title.

“It’s really cool (to win it) because we won it last year and before that we didn’t win for 13 years,” said Kyann. “We have a bunch of people from different grades and it’s nice because we celebrate each other.”

For Coach Hellmann, the combination of the milestone for Kyann and the city title was extra sweet.

“It’s huge because it tells you who is the best in the city,” said Coach Hellmann of her team’s back-to-back titles. “To win it two years in a row is huge for us because you want that momentum.”

The mom in Coach Hellmann kept the assist milestone a secret from her daughter for a good reason: She knows her daughter’s personality.

“She had no clue, or she would have killed me,” joked the coach about her daughter’s accomplishment. “She’s a very quiet leader, that’s why she loves to set. She doesn’t want the attention.”

Mona Shores had Montague on their back throughout the contest, but still had to find a way to get to the finals.

The round robin tournament started for the Sailors with a quick win over Ravenna 25-7, 25-15. Perhaps its toughest match of the day came against North Muskegon with a 25-12, 25-22 victory.

The Sailors were led by Kyann Hellman with 60 assist, 24 digs and four kills. Grace Allen finished with 22 kills, six aces and 18 digs. Skyler MacLachlan had 14 kills. Mallory Hogston had 28 digs, Izzy Sturtevant had 26 digs and seven aces while Jersey VanderWall had seven kills, seven aces and five blocks. Laynie Russell had 10 kills and four blocks and Maddie Russell had seven kills.

Montague reached the finals by defeating Whitehall 22-25, 25-17 and 15-7. The Wildcats defeated Fruitport in the semifinals 25-20, 25-20.

The Wildcats were led by Alissa Wynn with four aces and 38 digs while Ava Pumford had 17 kills and five blocks. Britta Johnson had six aces and 19 kills, Jaelyn Sundberg had 71 assists, five kills and 20 digs.

Jordan Netcott had five aces, 10 kills, and 37 digs. Maizie Collins had two aces, 18 kills, 22 digs and two blocks while Reagan Cederquist had nine kills and four blocks.