2019 MHSAA Season Preview: Breaking down the CAAC
The greater Lansing area has a lot of hungry volleyball teams coming into the 2019 season. Three divisions exist in the Capital Area Activities Conference and each has some contenders in the state picture. Here’s a closer look at each…
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Continue ReadingThe greater Lansing area has a lot of hungry volleyball teams coming into the 2019 season. Three divisions exist in the Capital Area Activities Conference and each has some contenders in the state picture. Here’s a closer look at each of the three divisions for 2019.
CAAC Blue Breakdown
DeWitt is coming off a perfect run through the division a year ago, but the Panthers will have a big hole to fill in the loss of Miss Volleyball finalist Desiree Becker (Northwestern). Becker was a big presence at the net in both hitting and blocking. Good news for the Panthers is they had just three seniors graduate, so they return a solid foundation for 2019. Defense should be a strength behind Grace Marshall while Morgan Nobach, Karen Collins and Megan Poszgai will also be key. If DeWitt can develop some new go-to hitters, the Panthers will be a force in Division 1 again. Okemos finished two games back of DeWitt last year. The Chieftains lose four seniors, but have a lot of experience back, led by senior setter Natalie Thom. While losing some key hitters, Thom is an aggressive setter and Okemos was able to develop Bethany Hartman as a freshman in hope of a breakout season this year.
Holt and Grand Ledge were able to be within striking distance last year. The Rams will have a foundation of defense behind senior libero Katelyn Whiteman. Holt also returns some experienced hitters in junior Bailey Long, junior Jersey Schram and senior Delaney Darling. Holt’s big challenge will be finding the new offensive general at setter. The pieces are there for the Rams to really make a splash this year. The Comets also return a lot of experience this year with a big senior class. Megan Mida and Peyton Goshka are two senior hitters that will be leaders on the court. Everett, East Lansing and Waverly will continue to have uphill battles this year, especially with the division looking so balanced up top. The top four teams all have some arguments to be made for the division. The Panthers have been on top and still seem like the team to beat based on their program pedigree, but Holt and Okemos definitely seem ready to make things interesting.
CAAC Blue Prediction: DeWitt
CAAC Red Breakdown
Mason dominated an otherwise balanced division in 2018, going a perfect 10-0 while St. Johns, Haslett and Fowlerville were all within a game of each other in the standings. The Bulldogs graduated three All-Region selections, but do return junior outside Sage Kissman, who is one of the top outsides in the Class of 2021. Haslett reached a district final in 2018 before falling to Mason. The Vikings graduate a big senior class, which will leave some questions for this fall. Jordan Valley (South Florida) was a big-time player for them last year and leaves a big leadership hole. St. Johns was tied with Haslett for second in the Red last year, as the two split a pair of four-set matches. The Redwings graduated five seniors, but return a lot of hitters from last year’s balanced attack. Kiana Martens is a big asset at the net when it comes to blocking. She will be one of four returning hitters that were regularly in the rotation last year. Kylee White was a captain as a junior and returns for her senior year. The six-rotation player can do it all and will be the heart of this year’s team. The Fowlerville Gladiators couldn’t really find the consistency they needed last year to contend and that could be an issue again this year after losing setter Danielle Ryan. Williamston and Lansing Eastern could see improvement this year, but not enough to contend for the division title. I like what St. Johns brings back this year, but they have a lot of ground to make up in order to jump past Mason. The Bulldogs have built a winning culture over the years and won’t be willing to give that up easily.
CAAC Red Prediction: Mason
CAAC White Breakdown
Ashley NordmannLansing Christian followed the trend of unbeaten division winners by going 10-0 in the White last season. That was three games better than Portland and four better than Ionia. Eaton Rapids, Charlotte and Sexton made up the bottom three of the league. The Pilgrims had just three seniors a year ago and they return one of the top players in the Class of 2021 in outside Ashley Nordmann. She can single-handedly take over games and will be the top player in the division, if not the entire CAAC. Katelyn Bontrager is another returning hitter that could give the Pilgrims a solid 1-2 punch. Setter Abby Iversen is also back, as is the foundation of the defense, Olivia Mosher. The Portland Raiders were a very veteran team in 2018 with six seniors and seven juniors. Portland loses most of its hitting outside of Faith Russman, so finding the new arms in the lineup will be a big challenge. That could be made easier with senior setter Emma Johnson back, but Portland has big holes to fill on offense and defense.
Ionia returns Sidney Casillas in the middle and Anna Brown on the outside to give the Bulldogs some nice hitting options to build off of. The key will be replacing setter Tori Wolcott (Grand Rapids CC), who was a two-year captain.
Portland was able to give Lansing Catholic some scares last year and the Raiders were clearly the Pilgrims’ top competition in the division. Portland could be the best competition again this year, but the Raiders lost a lot and the Pilgrims still have the most dynamic player in the division. I expect another repeat here as well.
CAAC White Prediction: Lansing Catholic
2019 MHSAA Season Preview Content
O-K Gold, Green and Blue Breakdown