Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central secured the Division 3 MHSAA volleyball championship Saturday, sweeping Schoolcraft 25-19, 25-16, 25-8. For the second straight year and the third time, the Kestrels stopped the Eagles from getting their second volleyball title.
SMCC left no doubts in securing back-to-back championships and a seventh in school history as the Kestrels took control immediately at the Kellogg Arena. St. Mary junior Ava Kuehnlein started the match with a 6-0 run on her service. The lead never grew beyond seven, but Schoolcraft wasn’t able to climb out of the initial hole in the 25-19 first.
In the 25-16 second set, St. Mary again didn’t trail at any point. The Kestrels built up an 11-5 lead by the first timeout and went up by as many as 10 en route to the 2-0 lead.
The Eagles started the third set with hope, leading briefly and keeping the match tied at the 5-5 mark. SMCC went on a 5-0 run from there, then finished on a 15-3 tear for a far different finish than last season’s five-set classic.
Miss Volleyball finalist Mikayla Haut led the Kestrels with 17 kills and 12 digs. Abbie Costlow recorded 14 kills and Jaydin Nowak picked up 23 digs. For Schoolcraft, Maggie Morris topped the offense with nine kills. Kelby Goldschmeding led the defense with 15 digs.
Schoolcraft finishes the season at 37-4 following the school’s fourth finals berth. Graduating seniors are Maggie Morris, Allie Goldschmeding, Kelby Goldschmeding, Kayla Onken, Anna Schuppel, Lilli Curtis, and Hannah Grochowski. The group leaves an impressive legacy with back-to-back finals appearances and four district titles.
St. Mary closes at 39-2 with seniors Anna Dean, Abbie Costlow, Olivia Anderson, Mikayla Haut, Grace Lipford, Jaydin Nowak, and Kylie Barron graduating with back-to-back championships.
Listen back to Saturday’s championship broadcast here.
Schoolcraft Statistics
Maggie Morris 9 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Anna Schuppel 6 kills, 2 blocks
Kayla Onken 3 kills, 15 assists, 6 digs, 1 block, 1 ace
Allie Goldschmeding 3 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks
Camden Bruner 1 kill, 1 assist, 6 digs
Kelby Goldschmeding 15 digs, 3 assists
Sophie Ridge 3 digs
Allison Bailey 2 digs
St. Mary Statistics
Mikayla Haut 17 kills, 12 digs, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Abbie Costlow 14 kills, 5 digs, 1 block
Audrey Cousino 5 kills, 5 digs
Anna Dean 4 kills, 2 digs
Kylie Barron 4 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks
Kate Collingsworth 2 kills, 7 digs, 28 assists, 2 aces
Jaydin Nowak 1 kill, 1 assist, 23 digs
Ava Kuehnlein 1 kill, 2 assists, 3 digs
Grace Lipford 8 digs, 12 assists. 1 ace
Olivia Anderson 1 kill, 5 digs, 2 blocks