4 Too Early Exits from Top Ranked Teams in the MHSAA Post-Season

<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Be sure to follow @lshotvb on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter for all things volleyball!</em></h6>   <h6 class="wp-block-heading"><em><a href="https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/">Join us at the Prep Dig Top 250 Expo</a>! </em><em>Use code LShotVBExpo2023 for 10% off your registration fee.</em> (APPLICABLE TO ALL EXPOS)</h6>   <h6 class="wp-block-heading">–</h6>   <p>We are at that point of the season. It is do-or-die!</p>   <p>With every match that goes on, the pool of teams get smaller and smaller as we go. But in 2023, we are seeing some of the best teams in the state bow out earlier than their resume would offer up. </p>   <p>Going into the Sweet 16, we already have one No. 1 ranked team knocked out of the tournament. In Divisions 1 and 2, 10 Top Ten ranked teams have waved goodbye to their season. Here are 4 of the most shocking early exits this 2023 Post-Season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DI No. 1 Hudsonville</h2>   <p>In what might be the biggest shock of the regional rounds, DOWN GOES No. 1! While it's always a good time for an upset or two, was the regional semifinal the time to pit the top team versus the No. 5 team, Forest Hills Northern against each other? This was a match that featured 3 Miss Volleyball candidates and 5 collegiate bound players. The two teams combined for 87 wins coming into the night. A match that could've very easily been played inside the confines of Kellogg Arena was had in the round of 32. </p>   <p>Hudsonville waves goodbye to an amazing class that includes Miss Volleyball nominees [player_tooltip player_id='172198' first='Isabelle' last='Swiercz'] (Central Michigan) and [player_tooltip player_id='110279' first='Gianna' last='Bender'] (San Diego State). Swiercz ends her career just shy of 1400 career kills meanwhile Bender was 10 digs shy of 1900. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DII No. 3 Marysville</h2>   <p>While this didn't end in an upset, it almost did. Marysville, the dark horse team of the 2023 season had the Broncos on the ropes. Up 2-0, it took a miraculous effort on North Branch's part to take over a reverse sweep. Another match that included the top team in the state, but this time No. 3. One has to ask, why are we having top ranked teams brawl it out in the early goings of the tournament? A 5 set brawl, made perfectly for the lights and drama of Kellogg Arena, had to settle for this. Marysville has been considered one of the best defensively sound team in the entire state. With a slate that included wins over Saline, Notre Dame Prep and Mercy, this is a group that cooked up a resume worthy of a deep post-season run.</p>   <p>The Vikings graduates a massive senior class that includes their <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">five</span></strong> leading scorers. Offensively, Marysville has been led by MB <strong>Janae Hudson</strong> with over 300 kills on the season. Running the offense, and arguably the heart and soul to this team, S [player_tooltip player_id='110335' first='Avery' last='Woodard'] ends her short career with over 1000 assists and 400 digs on the season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DII No. 4 Lakewood</h2>   <p>Now, we're digging even deeper here. No. 4 in Division II, bowing out of the tournament in the District Finals last week. If a top five ranked showdown was bad in the round of 32, imagine how silly it must be to have a top five showdown in the round 64! Lakewood, the perennial power of the Division II space taking on another power in Grand Rapids Christian in the opening weekend of the post-season. This game went out with a sweep, but in a game of high-level, high-intensity volleyball. It was a brawl 'til the end. Unfortunately though, teams that usually see each other in the Final Four, were paired up in the district rounds. </p>   <p>Lakewood volleyball says goodbye to quite more than a really strong senior class. While the end of the season marks the end for Miss Volleyball candidate L [player_tooltip player_id='110318' first='Carley' last='Piercefield'] (Western Michigan), it also marks the end for longtime HC <strong>Cameron Rowland</strong>. Piercefield ends her career with over 2,000 digs in a Vikings jersey. Meanwhile for Coach Rowland, he tail-ends his career with the Vikings 175-55-5 as head coach. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DII No. 5 Notre Dame Prep</h2>   <p>This may be the first time in well over a decade that Notre Dame Prep does not advance past the District rounds. This isn't a sign of a declining program, but a result of being put through the gauntlet off the bat. Not only was NDP faced with having to square of with a talented Orchard Lake St. Mary's squad (ranked No.6). But they had to have a battle with Detroit Country Day, too! All of this proved too much for the Irish, despite still being a top contending team.</p>   <p>NDP ends the season with a 40-9-2 record. The Irish send off another impressive group of seniors that include MB [player_tooltip player_id='261138' first='Delaney' last='Zielke'], who posted over 350 kills in her final season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why are we seeing so many good teams bow out, so early?</h2>   <p>A simple resolution to this question would come down to implementing a seeding system in future post-season tournaments. In the 2023 edition of the MHSAA tournament, for Divisions 1 and 2, the bracket is very lopsided. For Division 1, we see 13 of the top 18 ranked teams all on one half. In Division 2, only 8 of the top 17 ranked teams remaining going into the round of 16. Division 4 is another very top-heavy group. With a lot of small school talent going on in the Battle Creek/Kalamazoo area, the area boasts 6 of the top 13 teams. Only one spot is available for those teams in the Final Four. </p>