STURGIS — For the second year in a row, the Mendon Hornets are the best volleyball team in the county.
This year’s St. Joseph County Tournament was hosted by Sturgis High School. There, the Hornets beat all five opponents they faced and did not drop a single set on the day.
“I thought we played some very good volleyball today. While we lost three starters last year, we have a core group of seniors who lead the way today,” Hornet coach Kenny Herbert said. “We are both experienced and young at the same time with two freshmen in our starting lineup.”
Mendon beat Three Rivers in the finals, 25-18 and 25-21. To get there, the Hornets knocked off Constantine in the semifinals in a close match at 25-21, 25-20.
Pool play saw Mendon earn wings over Colon, Sturgis and Centreville.
Gracie Schultz led the way with 51 kills and 11 aces with 42 digs. Cienna Nightingale scored 41 kills with 34 digs and Kayrssa Holtz totaled 87 assists with 27 digs and 13 kills. Brooke Gerth added five kills and was in on eight blocks. Jadyn Samson had a team-high 60 digs with 13 assists.
Michelle Gomez-Sanchez added 23 digs while Lashell Blair finished eight eight kills, Sabrina Monroy totaled six kills and seven blocks.
“Our defense kept the ball off the ground which Jadyn Samson is the driving force in that,” Herbert said. “As far as offense, we have two very strong options in Gracie and Cienna who can find any part of the court and are terminal.”
Sturgis finished the day with a 2-2 record, beating Centreville and Colon but falling to Three Rivers and Mendon.
“We played OK and need to make some adjustments on some things and come out swinging for the start of tough conference play,” Trojan coach Brian Jordan said.
Angela Cary logged 21 kills to lead Sturgis, Cora Phillips scored 13 kills and Myah Burkey registered 11. Chloe Patrick handed out 23 assists, Riley West finished with 21 assists.
Three Rivers beat White Pigeon and Constantine in pool play before knocking off Sturgis in the semifinals.
Miley Southland passed out 90 assists with 10 kills and 29 digs. Dani Glass finished with 20 kills and 45 digs while London Hoffmaster scored 24 kills with seven blocks. Braylee Burg added 20 kills with six blocks, Allie Yost scored 17 kills.
Constantine beat White Pigeon but dropped matches to Mendon and Three Rivers. Jaedyn Herlein scored 25 kills, Raeann Michalek added 13 and Jaelyn Buglione totaled nine kills. Herlein added 13 blocks while Anndee Evans passed out 51 assists.
Centreville split with Colon and dropped matches to Mendon and Sturgis. The Bulldogs were led by Mary Stears with 22 kills, both Adyson Mastny and Kalee Griggs scored six kills. Kalli Sneed handed away 33 assists.
Colon was led by Raegan Thaxton with 18 kills and six digs, Taylor Wilson scored 15 kills and four aces. Jillian Stabler passed out 12 assists with 22 digs and eight aces, Madison Kulpinski recorded nine kills with seven blocks. Amaya Johnson totaled 21 assists.
White Pigeon dropped a pair of matches on the evening, losing to Constantine 25-18, 23-25 and 24-26 plus falling to Three Rivers 20-25, 18-25, 21-25.
On the night, Kenlee Schrader passed out 36 assists with 11 kills and 22 digs. Schrader reached 1,000 career assists.
Sadie McDaniel led with 14 kills, adding seven digs and six blocks while Kadance Smith totaled 12 kills. Mable Post scored nine kills with 25 digs, Grace Bontrager totaled 24 digs with three kills. Jennafaye Zehr added 18 digs, Addison Smith scored 35 digs and Emily Miller recorded two kills.
Weekend wrapup
Three Rivers finished 1-3 at the Gull Lake Invitational on Friday. The Wildcats beat Gull Lake 25-23 and 25-21, but dropped matches to Lakeview, Niles and Edwardsburg.
On the day, Miley Southland recorded her 3,000th career assist. She finished with 85 on the day along with 17 digs, 15 kills and six aces. Allie Yost totaled 22 kills with nine digs, Dani Glass added 20 kills with 31 digs. London Hoffmaster finished with 20 kills and six blocks, adding 17 kills was Braylee Burg, Abby Pettit scored 12 kills and Leah Kane recorded 44 digs.
Constantine played to a 1-1-2 record at the Coloma Early Bird. The Falcons picked up a 25-20, 25-10 win over Allegan but dropped matches to South Haven, Michigan Lutheran and Watervliet.
Jaedyn Herlein led the team with 24 kills while Raeann Michalek added 17, Jaelyn Buglione recorded nine. Herlein totaled five blocks and five aces, Kailee Jones scored six aces and Anndee Evans handed out 45 assists.
Centreville won a pair of matches at the Carrie Adams Tournament on Saturday. The Bulldogs beat Portland St. Patrick 25-20, 25-15 and Camden Frontier 25-16, 25-20 plus split with Concord, winning 25-21 but dropping the second set 25-23.
Centreville qualified for the gold bracket, but fell to Kalamazoo Central 25-14, 25-20 in the opening round.
“We had a good start to the season and we were able to figure some things out,” Bulldog coach Deric Mostrom said. “I think our defense played well and kept us alive in many circumstances. We also had a strong serve, ending the day with 35 aces.”
Kalli Sneed handed out 55 assists on the day with 10 aces. Mary Stears led the way with 31 kills and 15 digs, Kalee Griggs scored 12 kills while Livia Jacobs and Adyson Mastny both totaled nine kills.
Burr Oak reached the finals of the Tekonsha tournament, but fell to Will Carlton 25-19, 25-11 in the championship.
The Bobcats were the top seed coming out of pool play, beating Tekonsha and Will Carlton in straight sets. They knocked off Tekonsha in the semifinals as well, 25-13 and 25-19.
Peyton Roggow scored 16 kills, 17 digs, 14 aces and four assists while Linda Ultz passed out 35 assists with 11 digs and nine kills. Makaila Hines finished with nine kills and four blocks, Inez Ultz had 10 kills and eight aces. Audrey Ahlgrim scored seven kills, Makayla Ledyard added 13 digs.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Mendon repeats as county volleyball champs; milestones hit at White Pigeon, Three Rivers
Reporting by Brandon Watson, Sturgis Journal / Sturgis Journal
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