A new class of candidates for the 2025 Michigan Miss Volleyball Award has been announced.
For the past 22 years, the Detroit Free Press has sponsored the award given by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association. The organization nominates a group of seniors based on each player’s team success along with indvidual and academic achievements and “the characteristics of scholarship, sportsmanship and citizenship,” according to their website.
Here are this year’s 10 nominees, in alphabetical order:
Ella Andrews
School: Farmington Hills Mercy.
Position: Middle blocker/outside hitter.
Height: 6-4.
Stats: None provided.
The buzz: Andrews is looking to become the second consecutive Marlin to win the honor (after Campbell Flynn in 2024) and fourth in school history. Last season, Andrews earned first-team all-state honors, was named to the Catholic School League’s All-Catholic team and was one of four girls from Michigan to be named an All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The Marlins finished last season with a 30-3 record and won a district championship.
College plans: Stanford.
Karis Chatfield
School: Jenison.
Position: Outside hitter.
Height: 5-11.
Career stats: 1,296 digs, 1,432 kills.
The buzz: Chatfield could become the first Miss Volleyball in Jenison history. The outside hitter earned all-conference, all-region and academic all-state honors the past three seasons. In 2023, she earned second-team all-state honors and was named first-team all-state last season as a junior. The Wildcats won a conference and district championship last season and made it to the regional finals.
College plans: East Tennesse State.
Aubree Deshetsky
School: North Branch.
Position: Outside hitter.
Height: 5-10.
2024 Stats: 937 kills, 424 digs, 66 blocks and 78 aces.
The buzz: Deshetsky aims to be the first Bronco in 17 years to win the state’s top honor (after Olivia Kohler won in 2008). The outside hitter’s 937 kills ranked second both in Michigan and the nation, two behind the nation’s leader. She led the Broncos to state championships in 2022 and 2023 and earned first-team all-state honors in 2023 and 2024.
College plans: Indiana Wesleyan.
Gabby DiVita
School: Grosse Pointe South.
Position: Rotation 6 outside hitter.
Height: 6-1.
Career Stats: 1,553 kills, 864 digs, 190 aces, 89 blocks.
The buzz: The senior hitter will look to close out her high career on a high note as she tries to capture the Blue Devils’ first volleyball championship and win Miss Volleyball. DiVita earned first-team all-state honors last season and was the MAC Red Conference MVP.
College plans: Nebraska.
Elise Hiemstra
School: Birmingham Detroit Country Day.
Position: Outside hitter.
Height: 6-0.
Career Stats: 888 serve receptions, 662 kills, 535 digs, 114 aces, 42 blocks, 63 assists.
The buzz: A three-sport athlete for Country Day, Hiemstra has found success in softball and bowling along with volleyball. The four-year starter for the Yellowjackets led the program to a 36-1 record and its first state championship last season.
College plans: Columbia.
Olivia Hosford
School: Rockford.
Position: Outside hitter.
Height: 6-0.
Career Stats: 1,529 kills, 978 digs, 273 blocks, 110 aces.
The buzz: Hosford has been named all-conference, all-region and all-state for the past three seasons. She helped led the team to a state championship game appearance last season in a matchup against Northville.
College plans: Oakland.
Emma Keeping
School: Imlay City.
Position: Setter/right side.
Height: 5-11
Career Stats: 785 kills, 679 assists, 462 digs, 131 aces, 91 blocks.
The buzz: Keeping has earned first-team all-state, all-region and all-conference honors during her high school career. She has also earned first-team all-state recognition in tennis and was all-conference for bowling.
College plans: Wake Forest.
Eva Long
School: Fenton.
Position: Setter.
Height: 5-11.
Career Stats: 2,181 assists, 708 kills, 742 digs, 243 aces, 136 blocks.
The buzz: Long is a three-time first-team all-conference and all-region honoree and a back-to-back Player of the Year winner for the Flint Metro League. She made a leap in her accomplishments, going from all-state honorable mention in 2023 to first-team all-state in 2024. Last season, Long led the Tigers deep into the postseason, making it to the Division 1 semifinals.
College plans: N.C. State.
Kayla Nwabueze
School: Bloomfield Hills.
Position: Middle hitter/outside hitter.
Height: 6-1.
Career Stats: 1,466 kills, 769 digs, 123 aces, 103 assits, 65 blocks.
The buzz: Nwabueze has been named to the Division 1 first-team all-state team in each of the past two seasons. The Bloomfield Hills hitter has led her team to various levels of success, including a district championship in 2023 and a 25-15 record last season, with wins over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, L’Anse Creuse North, Lake Fenton and Lake Orion.
College plans: Harvard.
Lexie Stotenbur
School: Forest Hills North.
Position: Setter.
Height: 5-10.
Career Stats: 2,727 assists, 689 digs, 184 kills, 107 blocks, 94 aces.
The buzz: Stoten’s high school career has been one for the record books. The two-time all-state honoree first etched her name into MHSAA history in September 2023 when she recorded 49 assists in a single game. She also led the Huskies to the Division 1 state semifinals in 2022 and followed it up with an appearance in the state finals in 2023.
College plans: Mercer.
TO YOUR INBOX: Sign up for our weekly Michigan Preps newsletter to get high school sports and news sent directly to you!
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @EricGuzman90.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Meet the finalists for the 2025 Michigan Miss Volleyball Award
Reporting by Eric Guzmán, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
