Detroit Country Day requires every student to earn eight Mission Points to graduate, meaning they must participate in activities such as theater, debate, robotics, arts, community service or athletics.
Many students get there by playing multiple sports, since each team counts for one point. That’s tougher for Elise Hiemstra, a senior recently named a Michigan Miss Volleyball finalist.
Sure, the 6-foot Columbia commit also plays softball, but she’s a year-round club volleyball player. Traveling with Legacy Volleyball Club to national tournaments often pulls her away from practices and doubleheaders in the spring, and too much time away could mean she might not earn that Mission Point. That’s why her “break-glass-in-case-of-emergency” sport has been — believe it or not — bowling.
During the Division 2 state championship in 2024, she tallied 21 kills to lead the Yellowjackets past Tecumseh for their first state title. A week later, she was at bowling practice.
“I actually really like it,” the outside hitter said after a Sept. 16 match at Fraser. “I did it with some of my teammates last year, and it’s actually been pretty fun. I think I’m actually going to do it again this year.”
Most of the 10 Miss Volleyball finalists stick to one sport. Her ability to pick up another so easily speaks to her versatility, which is the main reason she’s a finalist in the first place.
She grew up a defensive specialist, but a 5-inch growth spurt as an underclassman forced coaches to move her outside. Her height, strength and power were too valuable on offense.
Now she never leaves the floor. She can attack at the net, slide into the back row and handle serve-receive. Few players can be trusted in all six spots the way she can.
She entered senior year with 662 kills, 535 digs, 42 blocks, 114 aces and 63 assists in her career.
“My hitting game is something that has really evolved in the last two years,” said Hiemstra, DCDS’s third Miss Volleyball finalist in four seasons, following Yale’s Laurece Abraham (2022) and Colorado’s Olivia Grenadier (2024). “About two years ago, I started learning how to hit and how to hit hard. Plus, I’ve been working on my vertical training, so I think being well-rounded with my DS experience is something that sets me apart.”
She’s definitely known for hitting hard. Coach Kim Lockhart laughs about how often she’s accidentally pegged an opponent — or a teammate — on a monster swing.
Against Fraser, she smashed one so hard that it knocked a defender into the Ramblers’ tablet, knocking it off its tripod. Fraser missed filming a few points while its staff scrambled to pick up the tablet and get the tripod upright again.
“You better watch out because you never know when that’s going to happen,” Lockhart said. “And it’s funny because she’s just such a quiet and humble girl, but she’s just so fierce.”
Though this fall, Hiemstra has had no choice but to be more vocal.
Last year, she shared the spotlight with Grenadier, rotating between front and back row — only Grenadier was setting the tone as the team’s leader.
With Grenadier now in college, that responsibility has shifted to Hiemstra.
So far, she’s handled it well for the No. 1-ranked Yellowjackets.
“This year she has more pressure to be the leader,” Lockhart said. “But we’ve been preparing her for this since she was younger, knowing that when she was a senior she’d be in this position. She’s rising above, helping some of the younger kids on the team, too. She’s just been a great role model and people want to pick up their game and support her.”
If the Yellowjackets repeat as state champs and Hiemstra becomes DCDS’s first Miss Volleyball winner since MIVCA began the award in 2003, it would cement her as one of the state’s elite players.
But none of that excites her as much as what she’s done on the bowling team the past two seasons, including a 170 high game.
“I’ve actually gotten a lot better,” Hiemstra said, laughing. “I didn’t know bowling was something I could be good at, but I bowled a turkey, which is three strikes, and that’s my biggest accomplishment — even bigger than anything I’ve done in volleyball, to be honest.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Talking turkey: Here’s why Elise Hiemstra’s a Miss Volleyball finalist
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
