2023 D3 Player And Coach Of the Year

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division 3 had one of the most competitive battles to earn Player of the Year in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This division featured Miss Volleyball, as well as the state's kill leader.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a lot of great play and performances this year, winning the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honor in D3 is truly something special in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>D3 Player Of The Year – [player_tooltip player_id='156343' first='Navea' last='Gauthier'], Shelby</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a rare thing to see a player record 1,000 kills in a season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year, [player_tooltip player_id='156343' first='Navea' last='Gauthier'] became just the fourth player in MHSAA history to do so.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gauthier's 1,034 kills ranks third all-time in a season. During this remarkable season she recorded 50 kills in a four-set match, becoming the first in MHSAA history to do that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When you reach those kinds of levels, you can't be ignored as the Player of the Year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gauthier certainly is as valuable to her team as anyone in the state, as she's nearly pushed Shelby to Kellogg Arena appearances the last two years, only to come up just short. This season she accounted for 83.4% of the team's kills.<br>On top of that, Gauthier also had 498 digs, 94 aces and 31 blocks for Shelby this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gauthier now sits at 2,615 career kills. That already ranks ninth in the MHSAA record books and is 969 shy of Alisha Glass' record of 3,585 from 2003-06.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What Gauthier is doing is truly special and it's unfortunate that she has just one season left to amaze.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156307' first='Shelby' last='Ignash'], Cass City; [player_tooltip player_id='153663' first='Allison' last='Pilat'], Plymouth Christian; [player_tooltip player_id='172203' first='Taylor' last='Smith'], Pewamo-Westphalia</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>D3 Coach Of The Year – Carlie Southland, Kalamazoo Christian</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":490432,"width":"197px","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/5/2023/12/DSC_5985.jpg?w=687" alt="" class="wp-image-490432" style="width:197px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Carlie Southland</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been an impressive 2-year run for Southland at Kalamazoo Christian.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After finishing D3 runner-up in 2022, she guided the Comets to the title in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kalamazoo Christian certainly wasn't being looked at as a favorite, either.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While being ranked all season, most were looking at 2022 champ Pewamo-Westphalia and top-ranked SMCC to be the top title contenders this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How did the Comets respond to that? By sweeping P-W in the quarterfinal and then sweeping SMCC in the semifinal. Following that, the Comets best Traverse City St. Francis in the final in four sets to win their first state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southland unquestionably had her team playing their best volleyball at the right time and they truly raised their game in pressure situations. That has led her to earning D3 Coach of the Year honors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention: </strong>Amy Cuthrell, Cass City; Cassandra Haut, SMCC; Kathleen Nance, Traverse City St. Francis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->