LocalSportsJournal.com
How sweet it is to win. Breaking a 23-year volleyball district title drought is even sweeter.
The Mona Shores volleyball program is celebrating a milestone it’s been only able to accomplish one other time in school history and that’s to win a district title.
The Sailors did just that on Thursday night, taking down Coopersville in four sets for the Division 1 district championship. Mona Shores won, 26-24, 18-25, 25-16 and 25-16.
“It’s kind of unbelievable, amazing, the girls have worked so hard to just get to this point,” said Mona Shores coach Kathy Hellman. “There was not a player that wasn’t ready to go, every huddle, it was truly fun.”
Mona Shores’ Izzy Sturtevant lunges for the dig. Photo/Eric Sturr
Mona Shores had to dig deep to find the energy needed to top Coopersville. The Sailors have lived in the shadow of state powerhouse Grand Haven for a very long time. They lost in four tough sets to the Bucs last year, but the Bucs’ 17-year district title streak was snapped on Tuesday night when they fell to Coopersville, setting up Mona Shores for a new opponent in the finals.
“Coopersville has a phenomenal team, I figured they’d have a battle (with Grand Haven), but we were up for whoever we were going to play,” said Hellman. “We had to be prepared for anything. We split with Coopersville and Grand Haven during the season, so we knew we’d have to be ready for either.”
Cece Gappa with the outside hit for the Sailors. Photo/Eric Sturr
The Sailors were ready, but had to overcome a challenging start. Winning Game 1 (26-24) while falling in the second game, Hellman had to make sure her team did not give up.
“Maddie (Russell) came clutch with her serves in the first set,” said Hellman. “After losing the second set, there was no let down in the huddle, they were focused, ready to go. They were like, ‘let’s take care of business now.”
Mona Shores took care of business in the following two sets, posting a pair of convincing 25-16 wins.
“They were super easy to move, we had players step up, it was a holistic team win,” said Hellman. “Coopersville’s blocking was super effective, but we came through with hitting and Izzy (Sturtevant) dug out a ton.”
The win for the Sailors is a culmination of Hellman’s determination to put together a solid program that she took total control of 6 years ago. She was there with Mona Shores as the JV coach in 2001 when it won its first-ever district title.
“I just wanted to change the program,” said Hellman. “There’s a chance we can beat the Grand Havens and Jenisons with the kids we have in the district. We just had to get the girls out and believe they can be successful.”
Hellman said the Sailors’ big win over Coopersville was a total team effort on the night. There was not a player who wasn’t ready to go.
Mona Shores’ Laynie Russell spikes through the Coopersville block. Photo/Eric Sturr
“Every huddle, it was truly fun. The girls were so pumped up, so energized, I stood there and they did it,” said Hellman. “My assistant coaches were clutch, I trust them immensely. We had a really nice crowd that came to supports us. That’s huge in girls’ sports and volleyball when you’re away.”
Four seniors have helped lead the team to a 32-8 record this season and on Thursday night, the same starting four seniors came through for Mona Shores.
The senior leaders of Grace Allen, Sturtevant, Cece Gappa and Skyler MacLachlan continued their strong leadership on Thursday. Allen led Mona Shores in kills with 14. Sturtevant, the leading libero, had 28 digs, three aces and seven assists. Outside hitter, Gappa, had seven kills and middle hitter, MacLachlan, had six blocks up front.
Also leading the Sailors were Maddie Russell with 9 kills, 4 aces, and 4 blocks. Laynie Russell had 7 kills, and 3 blocks while Elena Reister posted 21 assists, and 16 digs.
“To see their faces, I’m dreaming, because this is their goal, this has been a mindset the entire year,” said Hellman. “They had fun tonight, when we have fun, we get the job done. We’ve never been in the situation when we’ve won and now we have.”
The Sailors had been an honorable mention in the state rankings all season long. But leading up to Thursday’s game, for some reason, Mona Shores didn’t get the honorable mention nod in the rankings.
“We were honorable mention ranked, but we got taken off for the first time this week, the last week of rankings,” said Hellman. “Exclamation point, yes.”
Mona Shores’ advances to Tuesday’s regional semifinal when they will face host Jenison at 7 p.m.
Coopersville’s Laci Geurink and Mona Shores’ Elena Reister battle for the point at the net. Photo/Eric Sturr
Mona Shores’ Laynie Russell spikes through the Coopersville block. Photo/Eric Sturr
Elena Reister with the set to Laynie Russel for the Game 2 winning kill. Photo/Eric Sturr
Skyler MacLachlan gets the successful block for a Sailor point. Photo/Eric Sturr
