D3 Finals Recap: Kingsley Flips The Script To Win First Title

<!-- wp:image {"id":909631,"width":"477px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/11/Kalamazoo-Christian-vs-Kingsley-26.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-909631" style="width:477px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='833201' first='Jenna' last='Middleton']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BATTLE CREEK – Kingsley coach Dave Hall knew that his Stags would be involved in the final point of the 2025 prep volleyball season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He wanted to make sure his team was on the winning end of it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good news for Hall, was that the Stags were, as they closed out the prep season by winning their first state championship, beating Kalamazoo Christian 22-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-12 in the Division 3 final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I said (to the team) that we're going to play the last single point of the entire volleyball season for the state of Michigan today, and it's going to be match point, and we're going to win this thing. So, thank goodness it worked out,” Hall said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's just surreal. I just told somebody it's probably going to be tomorrow before I realized what just happened. We're just enjoying a win right now.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third-ranked Stags (57-4-1) had their backs against the wall early in the match as sixth-ranked Kalamazoo Christian (30-12-3) took the opening set and had a 24-22 lead in the second set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But, that's where the matched completely flipped.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Comets committed an attack error to make it 24-23, then <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='833201' first='Jenna' last='Middleton'] </strong>got hot, recording three straight kills to give Kingsley the set, 26-24.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“These kids, the heart, they just never quit,” Hall said. “We got hammered in the first game, didn't play well, just error after error, tight. I don't know where they find it in them to come back to the second set, where we were down set point again, and somehow find a way to score a point and tie it. I mean, they just don't get rattled. I'm chewing my fingernails off and can't look half the time, and they just play volleyball. It's amazing.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That set seemed to take some life out of the Comets, and feed it into the Stags. Kingsley started 6-1 in the third and never trailed again in the match as Kalamazoo Christian couldn't stop the momentum wave.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I think we were playing really loose, having a lot of fun, and we were staying very disciplined on our passing and our blocking, and our inner serving,” Kalamazoo Christian coach Carlie Southland said of her team in the early stages. “When we get into tight games, we tend to rush things. So the talk was to try and slow things down on our end.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middleton finished with 19 kills and 15 digs to lead Kingsley in the win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='803492' first='Sarah' last='Wooer'] </strong>recorded 48 assists, while <strong>Aizlyn McKinley </strong>had 15 kills and 22 digs. <strong>Delaney Case </strong>added 12 kills, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='794601' first='Isabelle' last='Seitz'] </strong>had 28 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kalamazoo Christian was led by <strong>Eliana VanDusen</strong>, who had 18 kills. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='805267' first='Eliana' last='Keller'] </strong>added 13 kills, while <strong>Reagan Zuiderveen </strong>had 36 assists, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='796283' first='Lily' last='Manion'] </strong>had 28 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->