Muskegon-area volleyball roundup: Four teams served heartbreaking losses

ADA, MI – The unforgiving nature of postseason play was on full display Tuesday night as four of the five Muskegon-area volleyball teams remaining in the 2024 state tournament were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion.

Mona Shores, Fremont, Shelby and Western Michigan Christian all fell short of their regional championship dreams, while Fruitport powered past Forest Hills Eastern to advance to the Division 2 regional championship game on Thursday night.

Below is a recap of how all the Muskegon-area teams performed on Tuesday night.

St. Johns 3, Fremont 1

The Packers opened their match in impression fashion with a 25-13 win but couldn't slow down the Redwings the rest of the way, as they posted three straight wins by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-16 to advance to Thursday's regional final against Fruitport.

Senior standout Mia Clemence led the Packers with 13 kills, 15 digs, one block, one ace, while Brynna Barnhart added 26 assists and 11 digs. Averi Zimmer had nine kills, Grace Evans had 18 digs, Taylor DeKuiper added five kills and one block and Hallie Snyder had three aces.

"I thought we played really well in that first set and I saw a lot of good things as far as our effort and execution," said Fremont head coach Chris Bruggema after the match. "I think St. Johns did a good job of running their attack from the right side after that and that's something we haven't seen a lot of this year. We tried to prepare for it but we just didn't do a good enough job defending it down the stretch.

"Kudos to St. Johns for running their attack like that. They are a really good team with some strong hitters and we just had a hard time getting in system and getting our power hitters going against them."

Fremont finishes the season 43-8-1 overall and will graduate three senior leaders in Mia Clemence, Averi Zimmer and MacKenzie Gleason.

"They really set the tone for us," said Bruggema of his seniors. "Having that kind of senior leadership, that will to win and that never-give-up mentality is something you can't teach. Mia was a perfect example of that tonight. She dove into the stands to try and keep a ball alive, got a cut on her leg, patched it up and got right back into action. She's just tough and she's going to be difficult to replace next year."

Fruitport 3, Forest Hills Eastern 1

The Trojans opened the match with an impressive 25-14 win but let their foot off the gas pedal in Set 2 in a 25-22 loss to the Hawks before responding with back-to-back 25-18 wins to secure the win to advance to Thursday's regional final against St. Johns at 6 p.m. from Forest Hills Eastern High School.

Senior middle blocker Sadie Haase led Fruitport with 17 kills, four aces, seven digs and one block, while Ellie Stroup added 10 kills and 11 digs and Izabel Hanson-Wilbur had seven kills and 12 digs.

Gracelynn Olson had 10 digs and 34 assists, Emma Danicek had four kills, Emma Fecher had four aces and five digs and Tara Sweet had three aces and 14 digs.

"We talked about going back to what we know got us here," said Fruitport head coach Nicole Bayle of her speech to the team between Sets 2 and 3. "Serving is always huge for us and we know that if we can hit our service zones and we can get them out of system then their outside hitters aren't going to be as effective.

"We just went back to what our strategy was going into the match and reminded the girls that we need to think before we make a play. These girls play so hard all the time but they also have to think about the process and think about what the plan is before they even touch the ball. Once we got back to the gameplan, I thought we played really well."

Jenison 3, Mona Shores 1

The Sailors dropped the first two sets of their match with the Wildcats by identical scores of 25-20 but rallied to take the third set by a score of 25-20. Mona Shores couldn't force a fifth-set tiebreaker, however, as they fell in the fourth set by a narrow score of 29-27.

Grace Allen led Mona Shores with 17 kills and 11 digs, while Laynie Russell added 12 kills, Izzy Sturtevant had 25 digs, Elena Reister had 30 assists and 17 digs and Kyli Geoghan had five kills and 12 digs.

Mona Shores ends the 2024 season with a 32-9 overall record.

"What a great legacy these seniors have left for Mona Shores volleyball," said Mona Shores head coach Kathy Hellmann. "They have shown up and proved themselves every day. Thank you will never say enough."

Pewamo-Westphalia 3, Western Michigan Christian 1

The Warriors won the opening set of their match by a score of 25-17 but couldn't fend off the Pirates the rest of the way, as they dropped the next three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-20.

Abby Leffring led Western Michigan Christian with 15 kills, 10 digs and three blocks, while Madie Folkema added 12 kills and 15 digs, Hannah Heiss had 10 kills and 24 digs, Bri Warners had four kills and 42 assists and Emersyn Paling had 11 digs.

"It was a hard loss tonight against a very good Pewamo-Westphalia team," said Western Michigan Christian head coach Amber Gontjes. "We started off very strong in the first set, with only two unforced errors. From there, we really struggled offensively giving P-W 26 points from hitting errors.

"I am so proud of this team and the work they've put in this season. The growth they each have had on and off the court has been incredible and I cannot wait to see how the Lord continues to use them."

Roscommon 3, Shelby 0

The Tigers couldn't overcome a strong attack from the Bucks, as they fell in straight sets by scores of 25-15, 25-15 and 25-22 in the Division 3 regional semifinals at Houghton Lake on Tuesday night.

The loss brings a close to the historic career of Shelby senior Navea Gauthier, who recently broke the Michigan high school volleyball all-time kills record and finished her prep career with 3,706 kills in her four-year varsity career. The Ohio State University commit surpassed Alisha Glass of Leland, who recorded 3,584 kills from 2003-06.

Gauthier finished with 18 kills, 13 digs, two blocks and three aces to lead Shelby on Tuesday, while teammate Audrey Horton finished her career with 3,113 career assists.

Shelby finishes the 2024 season with a 23-13-2 record.

Below is a look at the road to a regional championship this week for all five Muskegon-area high school volleyball teams still alive in postseason play.

DIVISION 1

Regional 1 at JenisonSEMIFINALS (Nov. 12)

Rockford 3, Forest Hills Northern 1

Jenison 3, Mona Shores 1

FINALS (Nov. 14)

Rockford vs. Jenison, 5 p.m.

*Winner advances to D1 state quarterfinals on Nov. 19 at Hudsonville

DIVISION 2

Regional 10 at Forest Hills EasternSEMIFINALS (Nov. 12)

St. Johns 3, Fremont 1

Fruitport 3, Forest Hills Eastern 1

FINALS (Nov. 14)

Fruitport vs. St. Johns, 6 p.m.

*Winner advances to D2 state quarterfinals on Nov. 19 at Fremont

DIVISION 3

Regional 18 at Houghton LakeSEMIFINALS (Nov. 12)

McBain 3, Beal City 2

Roscommon 3, Shelby 0

FINALS (Nov. 14)

McBain vs. Roscommon, 6 p.m.

*Winner advances to D3 state quarterfinals on Nov. 19 at Grayling

Regional 19 at Kent CitySEMIFINALS (Nov. 12)

Pewamo-Westphalia 3, Western Michigan Christian 1

Morley Stanwood 3,Grandville Calvin Christian 0

FINALS (Nov. 14)

Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Morley Stanwood, 6 p.m.

*Winner advances to D3 state quarterfinals on Nov. 19 at Gull Lake

If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily,and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters.

Love reading about local sports? Don't miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription and get full access to every story on MLive.