2018 MHSAA Season Preview: Breaking down the SMAC
One of the stronger conferences on the west side of Michigan is the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference. This conference is made up of two competitive divisions and should bring plenty of fireworks in the 2018 MHSAA season. SMAC West…
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Continue ReadingOne of the stronger conferences on the west side of Michigan is the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference. This conference is made up of two competitive divisions and should bring plenty of fireworks in the 2018 MHSAA season.
SMAC West Breakdown
The big change for this year has Mattawan moving from the East Division to the West. The Wildcats look like they could be one of the best teams in the entire state in 2018. Mattawan reached the Class A regionals last season and returns five All-Region players from that squad, including two All-State honorees. Leading the team is junior libero Allison Wiese and junior outside Taylor Rutgers. The Wildcats also bring back junior middle Natalie Foster, senior setter Taylor Candey and senior DS Madison Marucci. They also have a promising sophomore outside in Madison Dorff.
The division won’t be easy for Mattawan as Portage Central, Portage Northern and Niles looks to be ready to contend for the title as well. Niles lost three All-Region players from the 2017 season, but still returns senior middle Abbie Harpenau and junior libero Bianca Pickens.
Portage Central also returns a pair of All-Region seniors in outside Ryann Jaqua and middle Megan Seeley. They also have promising juniors in the middle in Lauren Richardson and Maizie Brown, as well as sophomore setter Elise Eichman. On paper, Portage Central could be another top team in the state.
Portage Northern loses two key senior leaders from last year in Ella Lewis and Emily Lewis. They still have some potential behind one of the top 2020 prospects in hitter Makayla Smith.
SMAC West Prediction: Mattawan
SMAC East Breakdown
The SMAC East should be highly competitive as well. The team that really stands out right now is Richland-Gull Lake. The Blue Devils were a Class A regional finalist last season and bring back a pair of All-State players and a total of four All-Region honorees from 2017. Junior setter Lexie Beeke and senior outside Kenzie Corstange will lead the way, but they have support in senior middle Jenna Burkhardt and senior outside Lauren Esman.
Battle Creek Lakeview returns a lot of talent from a solid 2017 team as well. The Spartans have one of the best players in the state leading them this season in senior outside Sidney Schiller. She is currently 10th in our 2019 player rankings. They also return senior hitter Karlie Kucharczyk, who was All-State in 2017 as well. The two hitters will have senior setter Chloe Baum feeding them the ball, giving the Spartans a tremendous attack.
Kalamazoo Central fell to Mattawan in last year’s district tournament, but was still a competitive team in the conference. Unfortunately, they come into 2018 with a lot of questions after losing three All-Region seniors in Talia Edmonds, Josephine Fonger and Kennedy Livers. With Gull Lake and Lakeview looking so strong, Kalamazoo Central may not have time for a learning curve.
SMAC East Prediction: Gull Lake
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