2023 D2 Player And Coach Of the Year

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division 2 was dominated this year by one team, so it should be no surprise to see North Branch leading the way when it comes to postseason awards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The challenge was actually determining which Bronco deserved the Player of the Year honor, as the team was stacked with outstanding performances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>D2 Player Of The Year – [player_tooltip player_id='110301' first='Hailey' last='Green'], North Branch</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":480478,"width":"235px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/State-Finals-Part-4-10.jpg?w=827" alt="" class="wp-image-480478" style="width:235px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='110301' first='Hailey' last='Green']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was certainly no lack of talent on the North Branch roster this year, which is why the Broncos have a valid argument for being the top team in the state regardless of division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Branch could attack you from every position on the court and finish at a high rate, but in order to have that kind of offensive success, it had to have great passing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green has always been the spark plug of the North Branch success, as her elite defensive play and composure in the back row keep everything running smoothly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green gets the ball to setter [player_tooltip player_id='110302' first='Adrienne' last='Greschaw'], who then feeds the ball to the hitters. Rinse and repeat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Statistically speaking, Green had one of her lower dig totals this year, but that was due to a few factors. First, North Branch didn't lose many sets to extend matches. Second, teams did all they could to try and avoid her. But, her quickness and instincts for the ball couldn't be denied.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green still tallied 549 digs on the season and came up just two digs shy of 2,500 in her North Branch career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Miss Volleyball finalist was also a real threat from the service line with 73 aces. She gave North Branch everything they could ask for over her prep career and is a big reason the Broncos won back-to-back D2 state titles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky'], North Branch; [player_tooltip player_id='153672' first='Audrey' last='Geer'], Frankenmuth; [player_tooltip player_id='110335' first='Avery' last='Woodard'], Marysville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>D2 Coach Of The Year – Jim Fish, North Branch</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":479598,"width":"187px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/D2-Semi-2-13.jpg?w=832" alt="" class="wp-image-479598" style="width:187px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jim Fish</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lot of people could look at North Branch's roster and say “I could have coached them to a state title.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You're probably wrong, but there was no denying that the Broncos were the most talented team in D2 this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, Fish deserves Coach of the Year honors as he made sure to challenge this team as much as he could during the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fish didn't just rest on past success and let this team coast, he put them through the toughest schedule in the state and made them even better than what most thought they could be.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Throughout the year, Fish's Broncos went 56-4-1 with more than 40 of those matches coming against teams that were ranked in the state of Michigan or nationally ranked.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's why his team looked so dominant on state finals weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fish deserves his due for pushing his team to greatness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>Molly Campbell, Orchard Lake St. Mary's; Amy Huisken, Grand Rapids Christian; Kellie Kryscynski, Marysville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->