Ten Division 2 state title contenders in 2020
We have seen Grand Rapids Christian volleyball team take home the Division 2 state championship the last two years despite some worthy contenders standing in their way. Will the Eagles be a top contender again in 2020? Here’s 10 teams…
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Continue ReadingWe have seen Grand Rapids Christian volleyball team take home the Division 2 state championship the last two years despite some worthy contenders standing in their way. Will the Eagles be a top contender again in 2020? Here’s 10 teams we like to be in the thick of the title race next fall.
*Teams listed are based on 2019 division ranking. It is possible some teams could move to a different division by the start of the next school year.
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Evelyn DoezemaGrand Rapids Christian – The Eagles certainly have some big question marks to address before 2020, mainly replacing Miss Volleyball finalist Jordyn Gates at setter and Ayva Kooistra in the middle. However, GRC still brings back a very talented roster in a quest for three consecutive titles. Addie VanderWeide played about as well as anyone in any division at Battle Creek. She will be the new face of the team in 2020 as a senior outside. Lauren Peal will be a big piece as well as a senior libero, while sophomore Evelyn Doezema showed a lot of improvement this fall and could turn into a dominant player herself for her junior year on the outside. Stephanie Stewart is likely to take on a bigger role in the middle. Finding a setter to replace Gates will be difficult, but the supporting cast around the new setter should keep GRC as a top contender.
Lakewood – The 2019 D2 runner-up won’t be lacking in motivation to get the job done in 2020 and will have the talent to do so. The Vikings graduate just three from their squad. They do lose libero Kiana Hummel, but the Lakewood attack will still be loaded. Aubrey O’Gorman and Maradith O’Gorman were both first team All-State selections by MIVC and will be back for their senior and junior years, respectively, next fall. Skylar Bump will also be back at setter after a dynamite freshman season.
Aly BorellisNotre Dame Prep – Always a threat in the state picture, the Irish were able to reach the state semifinals this year with a roster that included only two seniors and one junior. The Irish return a deep crop, including four players with All-State honors. Aly Borellis is one of the top members of the Class of 2022. She does it all for the Irish and is only getting better. She’s sure to be even more polished a year from now. Sophia Sudzina and Bianca Giglio are also sophomore hitting options that improved a great deal in 2019, as did freshman middle Grace Wenaas. The Irish should arguably have the best back row in the state behind libero Olivia Kowalkowski and DS Josie Bloom. With another strong defense and an improved attack through another year of experience, NDP should be even better than it was in 2019.
Coopersville – The Broncos took Grand Rapids Christian to the brink in their regional final, but came up short over five sets. Coopersville graduates a big class of six players, but the Broncos will still return one of the best players in the Class of 2020 in middle hitter/outside Abby Olin. Olin is capable of taking over games and she will have to shoulder the load early next season while the Broncos develop new starters at setter, libero and the outside.
Hamilton – The Hawkeyes were a regional champion this year and fell to GRC in the quarterfinals. Hamilton graduates five from this year’s team, but will still be very experienced in 2020 behind a junior class of seven players. Among the returning juniors is AJ Ediger, a first team All-State middle that is very athletic. She’s a difficult player to defend and a difficult block to hit past.
Warren Regina – The Saddlelites had a breakout season by claiming a regional championship before falling to Notre Dame Prep in the quarterfinals. Regina did this with just one senior on their roster. Jenna O’Brien is a standout outside hitter that has been on the All-State list the last two years. She will be a senior leader in 2020. Leadership will be a big strength as the Saddlelites will have seven returning juniors. Regina should be able to build off right where it left off and look in midseason form quickly into the 2020 season.
Nyla MuskovinDetroit Country Day – The Yellowjackets were young, but talented, in 2019 and both of those factors showed. Country Day had some impressive wins, but also went through some lulls. Good news for DCD is it graduates just one from the roster and returns three All-State honorees. Serena Nyambio and Morgan Lockhart are a great 1-2 punch at the net and both are just sophomores. Nyla Muskovin is another sophomore that plays OPP and setter and will be back to run the offense in 2020.
Montague – The Wildcats won a district championship in 2019 with just one senior on the roster. There are just a handful of teams that can claim they return three All-State honorees for 2020. Junior middle Ally Hall and junior outside Reilly Murphy combined for over 1,100 kills between them this fall and will be back to push for even more next year. It should be possible with junior setter Raegan Murphy also coming back for Montague. The Wildcats graduate their libero, but have a lot of young and capable DS options to build off of.
Cadillac – The Vikings went five sets in a regional final with Kingsley and came up on the short end, but Cadillac will bring back one of the most productive players of the entire 2019 season in junior outside Macy Brown. She put up 831 kills this fall, which puts her in the top 20 in MHSAA history for kills in a season. Brown will also have her setter, sophomore Renee Brines, on the floor with her to keep that great connection going. If the Vikings can find their new libero and develop some young hitters to compliment Brown, they could very well find themselves in Battle Creek next November.
Marshall – The Redhawks claimed a district championship in 2019 and will bring back 11 of their 14 players from the roster. Included in that is a pair of great junior hitters in outside Abby Welke and middle Olivia Webber. Marshall will have a lot of options to handle the back row and setting duties. If they can pass the ball well in 2020, they will be tough to stop. Finishing points won’t be a problem for Marshall with those hitters.