2023 MIVCA Miss Volleyball Nominees: Who Made the Cut?

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It’s one of the most prestigious awards in all of Michigan High School Volleyball – The Miss Volleyball Award.

Every year, 10 seniors from around the Mitten state are nominated for this award with a winner voted upon in the latter portion of the season. This is an award voted upon by the members of the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA) and awarded to one senior.

In its 20th anniversary, this award holds home to some incredible past recipients. Players that went on to not only have lucrative collegiate careers, but even professional as well.

Some of the top names to have received this honor in the past include Rio Olympic Medalist, 2006 Alisha Glass (Leland/Penn State), 2009 Jordan Fish (Virginia Tech/North Branch), 2013 Carli Snyder (Dakota/Florida), 2015 Gia Milana (Romeo/Baylor), 2019 Jess Mruzik (Mercy/Penn State), and, most recently, 2022 Harper Murray (Skyline/Nebraska).

Who will be the next big name to join these illusive ranks?

Miss Volleyball Nominees

Gianna Bender Gianna Bender 5'4" | DS/L Hudsonville | 2024 State MI – Hudsonville	Cayla Cogan Cayla Cogan 5'10" | OH Clarkston | 2024 State #97 Nation MI – Clarkston
Hailey Green Hailey Green 5'1" | DS/L North Branch | 2024 State MI – North Branch	Adrienne Greschaw Adrienne Greschaw 5'9" | S North Branch | 2024 State MI – North Branch
Carley Piercefield Carley Piercefield 5'4" | DS/L Lakewood | 2024 State MI – Lake Odessa Lakewood	Isabelle Swiercz Isabelle Swiercz 6'2" | OH Hudsonville | 2024 State MI – Hudsonville
Taylor Smith Taylor Smith 6'1" | S Pewamo Westphalia | 2024 State MI – Pewamo-Westphalia	Zoey Dood Zoey Dood 6'2" | S Grandville | 2024 State #67 Nation MI – Grandville
Avery Weslow Avery Weslow 5'11" | OH Forest Hills Central | 2024 State MI – Forest Hills Central	Elana Erickson Elana Erickson 5'10" | OH Forest Hills Northern | 2024 State MI – Forest Hills Northern

Early-Career Front Runners

Early on in their careers, these players were easily put at the forefront of the 2024 class. L Hailey Green Hailey Green 5'1" | DS/L North Branch | 2024 State MI (North Branch/Michigan Elite), L Carley Piercefield Carley Piercefield 5'4" | DS/L Lakewood | 2024 State MI (Lakewood/FaR Out/Western Michigan) and S Zoey Dood Zoey Dood 6'2" | S Grandville | 2024 State #67 Nation MI (Grandville/MVA/Virginia) were, and still remain, three of the biggest names in this class.

Both Green and Piercefield made big waves early on in their careers with powerhouse programs North Branch and Lakewood. The two immediately grabbed onto the off-colored jersey and have both been rockstars for each program. Green has led the Broncos to a state title last season and looks to repeat this fall. And Piercefield has been the glue to the Vikings as well, leading them to final four appearances in her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Dood is an interesting piece. The 6’3 lefty setter out of Grandville came out of the gates with a lot of heat. One of the top national recruits, her high school teams haven’t had the most success. Despite this, Dood still remains a shining star and a front runner for this award.

Front Runners Making Big Waves as of Late

These are some more front runners. These front runners, however, have taken things up a few notches with every season througout their career. Up first is a pair of west side outside hitters with quite a bit of good on their resume. OH Isabelle Swiercz Isabelle Swiercz 6'2" | OH Hudsonville | 2024 State MI (Hudsonville/FaR Out/Central Michigan) and OH Elana Erickson Elana Erickson 5'10" | OH Forest Hills Northern | 2024 State MI (Forest Hills Northern/FaR Out/Western Michigan) are two of the top players in the state this season. Both have been four year varsity players that saw significant playing time right away.

Swiercz currently heads up an impressive Hudsonville squad, currently ranked No. 2 in the Division 1 rankings. Swiercz and the Eagles are a heavy favorite to make a return to Kellogg Arena after their appearance in 2021. Then, just as a sophomore, Swiercz showed how bright her star could shine, being the only Eagle to make an impact on the semifinal match versus Marian.

As for Erickson, she’s one of the most complete players you’ll find. A superb passer with a growing prowess on the offensive side of the game. There’s a reason Erickson has been crowned the top rated player in the 2024 class. Like Swiercz, Erickson led Forest Hills Northern to a semifinal match a season ago. She enters this season as the go-to weapon for the Huskies and looks to make a return trip to Battle Creek for her senior campaign.

Another pair of athletes making big waves as of late, we have OH Cayla Cogan Cayla Cogan 5'10" | OH Clarkston | 2024 State #97 Nation MI (Clarkston/Legacy/George Washington) and S Taylor Smith Taylor Smith 6'1" | S Pewamo Westphalia | 2024 State MI (Pewamo-Westphalia/Michigan Elite/Eastern Michigan)

Cogan was arguably one of the best players in the state during her junior season. An elite leaper with a growing grit to her offense, Cogan was unstoppable throughout the Fall of 2022. Nearly leading Clarkston to a Final Four run. On what would’ve been match point in the quarter final versus Marian, Cogan would go down with a season ending injury. Despite this, the start of the 2023 season has seen Cogan bouncing back quite nicely and could help her case with the MIVCA voters.

Taylor Smith Taylor Smith 6'1" | S Pewamo Westphalia | 2024 State MI , alongside Green and Greschaw, are the lone players to have a state title under their belts. Smith began her career as somewhat of an underrated prospect and since bloomed into a full-fledged superstar in the 2024 class. Not only is she one of the few players on the list with a title to her name, but her team at Pewamo-Westphalia was the first in program history to win a title. This fall is seeing Smith leading PW to what looks like another title chasing season.

Sleeper Nominations

Some Sleeper, or maybe surprise nominations, we see are a pair of west side players and another Bronco. L Gianna Bender Gianna Bender 5'4" | DS/L Hudsonville | 2024 State MI (Hudsonville/MVA/San Diego State), OH Avery Weslow Avery Weslow 5'11" | OH Forest Hills Central | 2024 State MI (Forest Hills Central/FaR Out) and S Adrienne Greschaw Adrienne Greschaw 5'9" | S North Branch | 2024 State MI (North Branch/Michigan Elite) round out the top ten finalists for this prestigious award.

Both Bender and Greschaw come as somewhat of surprise nominations, the surprise only comes from the fact both of their respective programs have double nominees for Miss Volleyball. These two are very deserving players nonetheless.

After taking over the reigns at libero at Hudsonville from sister Carlina Bender, Gianna has done huge things for the Eagles. Bender currently sits with 1455 career digs and could very easily reach the 2,000 career dig mark by the end of her career in November.

As for Greschaw, alongside Green and Smith, she’s one of the lone state title winners in the group. She’s been running the Bronco offense almost entirely on her own since her freshman season. She owns a career average of 8.4 assists per set and is almost guaranteed to break 4,000 career assists sometime throughout her final season. The Broncos look to Greschaw to lead them to not only a third straight title game appearance, but a repeat title victory!

As for Weslow, this is a player that has REALLY come into her own in the last year or so of her career. After playing in a smaller role her sophomore season, Weslow came into last season swinging with something to prove. And she didn’t stop there! Last season saw Weslow put up over 500 kills on the season, averaging 4 kills per set. Fast forward to this season, Weslow is averaging nearly 5 kills per set and acts as the main source of offense for FHC.

Who Could’ve (Should’ve?) Been Nominated?

One may argue this the biggest snub of the 2023 nominations. Early on in this group’s career, there were four underclassman to watch, Dood, Green, Piercefield and Mallory Bohl Mallory Bohl 6'3" | MB Saline | 2024 State #69 Nation MI ! MB Mallory Bohl Mallory Bohl 6'3" | MB Saline | 2024 State #69 Nation MI (Saline/Legacy/Notre Dame) has been one of the top players since she first stepped onto the court in 2020. Her sophomore season saw her post over 200 kills and 100 blocks. Her junior season, however, was cut short due to an early season ending knee injury. Regardless of this missed season, Bohl had not only proven herself in the high school circuit, but club level as well.

Another surprise to NOT see on this list would be OH Allison Pilat Allison Pilat 6'2" | OH Plymouth Christian | 2024 State MI (Plymouth Christian/Michigan Elite/Cedarville). Pilat had a lot of pros going her way going into the nomination process. She comes from one of the top D3/4 programs in the state with Plymouth Christian, she’s been a top attacker in both the middle AND the outside position her entire career. In fact, Pilat is one of the few players in this class to have been named to the All-State list in each of her first three seasons, including a First Team nod in her sophomore year.

Now, may not be a huge snub, but this player was bringing a LOT of momentum into her senior season and going into the Miss Volleyball nomination discussions. OH Audrey Geer Audrey Geer 5'10" | OH Frankenmuth | 2024 State MI (Frankenmuth/Legacy/Marshall) has done some tremendous things throughout her career at Frankenmuth. Known for their prowess in the track and field world, Frankenmuth is slowly turning into a volleyball school as well. This is much to thank to Geer’s time in this program. A six rotation attacker since her first steps onto the court, Geer was one of the top players in all of Division 2 last year.

Not only did we see one program receive double Miss Volleyball nominations, but we saw TWO programs with two players nominated on this year’s list. Of all the programs in the state with a strong senior presence on their squads, I was expecting a double nomination to go to Forest Hills Northern with MB Kendall Hopewell Kendall Hopewell 6'1" | MB Forest Hills Northern | 2024 State MI (FHN/FaR Out/Northern Kentucky). Hopewell, while one could argue a late bloomer, has become one of the most dominating middles in all of Michigan. When one thinks of middles, they expect these players to do their thing in the front row and be done. That’s not the case here. Not only could Hopewell go toe-to-toe with the best attackers and blockers in Michigan, but she could do the same with some of the best passers and defenders!

This year’s list sees no representation for Kalamazoo Area/Southwest portion of the state. A missed opportunity and arguably a snub with the likes of S Sophie Crawford Sophie Crawford 6'1" | S Gull Lake | 2024 State MI (Gull Lake/Dead Frog/Miami (OH)). Crawford has cemented herself as one of the top setters in this class alongside Smith, Dood and Greschaw. Much like Smith, Crawford comes from a lesser known program and throughout her career has led Gull Lake to be quite a power in their respective division. En route to amassing over 2,000 career assists, Crawford led Gull Lake to the Division 1 Quarter-Finals last year and nearly took out Saline by herself in the match.

Rounding out the list of the “could’ve, would’ve, should’ve”, we have MB Fiona Moord Fiona Moord 6'2" | MB Leland | 2024 State MI (Leland/Northshore). Much like Geer, Moord has grown leaps and bounds throughout her career. Moord was building up some pretty solid momentum going into the nomination process. A returning D4 First Team All-State performer for one of the most lucrative programs in all of Michigan High School Volleyball. I had a feeling we would be seeing Moord be amongst the final 10 players. This also marks the third straight season with no representation from a Division 4/Class D progra,.

Expected Winners

It may be early on in the season to pin point who will be crowned the Miss Volleyball honor. In the past, there’s typically been a player or two with an undeniable resume. For this class, however, it could very well be anyone’s game. If I had to guess, I’d narrow it down to five players from the 10 nominees.

Could 2023 be the first time the Miss Volleyball award goes to a libero?! I think it could – and for the fact of it being a first – I hope it does. Two of the leading candidates for this history making win would be between Carley Piercefield Carley Piercefield 5'4" | DS/L Lakewood | 2024 State MI and Hailey Green Hailey Green 5'1" | DS/L North Branch | 2024 State MI . Like we mentioned early on in the article, these two players have been darlings in the high school space all throughout their careers. The two have combined for two Division 2 Final Fours each. In 2021, they’d go head to head in the semis, with Green edging out Piercefield in four sets. 2023 is shaping up to see maybe a similar match-up between the two at the end of the season. Not only on the court, but in the Miss Volleyball race as well.

Given the awards’ history, it could very well NOT go to a libero. Of the other Miss Volleyball nominees, I could see this award going to one of two pins from the greater Grand Rapids Area. Elana Erickson Elana Erickson 5'10" | OH Forest Hills Northern | 2024 State MI and Isabelle Swiercz Isabelle Swiercz 6'2" | OH Hudsonville | 2024 State MI have positioned themselves quite nicely to be crowned the top volleyball player in this class. We’ve delved deep into both of their arguments. But like Green and Piercefield, these are the other two nominations who have not only had deep post season success, but they’ve been major impact players for their respective programs all throughout their careers.

Rounding out my pick on the 5 front runners that I could see winning the award, it could be Zoey Dood Zoey Dood 6'2" | S Grandville | 2024 State #67 Nation MI . Dood has been a darling in this class since even before her high school career began. She had become a household name in Michigan early on. However, comparative to the four other clear front runners, Dood has only made one appearance past the district rounds. Yet, I still wouldn’t count Dood out for a potential win for this award.