2025 D1 Regional Predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a thrilling week of district play, we enter regionals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division 1, there's a lot of high-profile matchups that will play out and it is anyone's guess how things will work out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yet, we tried to guess anyway.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 1 at Mt. Pleasant</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Traverse City Central vs. Cadillac; Flushing vs. Davison</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>TC Central wants to show just how good it is, and now it gets to do so against a competitive field at Mt. Pleasant. Cadillac has held its own since moving up to D1 a few years ago and the Vikings have one of the most impactful freshman in the state in setter/outside [player_tooltip player_id='782164' first='Isabelle' last='Brown']. TC Central and Cadillac split two meetings during the season, so this semifinal should be a thriller. Davison has a great defense, and it owns a win over Flushing earlier in the season, but it was a very close match. Flushing will be hungry to avenge that defeat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>TC Central over Davison</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 2 at Hudsonville</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Forest Hills Northern vs. Grand Haven; Rockford vs. Hudsonville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>Not that it is anything new, but this region is an absolute monster. For top-ranked Rockford to reach the quarterfinals, it will have had to beat No. 8 Lowell in a district final, No. 9 Hudsonville in a regional semifinal, then either No. 6 FH Northern or No. 10 Grand Haven in a regional final. The Rams have saw their way through nearly every test this year, but will have to be on its game this week. Whichever team comes out of this region will have earned it because you can't have an off night and beat any of these teams. Rockford has proven itself too much this season to not ride with the Rams through this rocky road.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Rockford over FH Northern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 3 at Portage Northern</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Mattawan vs. Byron Center; Caledonia vs. BC Lakeview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>Byron Center has been flirting with the state rankings all season, so the Bulldogs should be playing with a chip on their shoulder this week and look like the team to beat. They've picked up wins over both Mattawan and Caledonia on the season. Lakeview has picked up a lot of wins this season, but the competition level is taking a big step up this week. Defensively play should be the key factor, and Byron Center has the advantage there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Byron Center over Caledonia</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 4 at Mason</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Ann Arbor Skyline vs. DeWitt; Mason vs. Saline</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>This is a nice clash of the Lansing area with the Ann Arbor area. Skyline continues to find ways to make a playoff run, and took down a solid Dexter team in the district final. DeWitt fought past Grand Ledge and has tested itself throughout the season. Mason bested Okemos on the road and the Bulldogs look to be playing their best volleyball right now. The same can be said of Saline, which got past Bedford and seems to have learned a lot from a very competitive schedule. Those big matches early in the year seem like they are going to pay off for the Ann Arbor-based programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Saline over Skyline</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 5 at River Rouge</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Detroit Cass Tech vs. Trenton; Allen Park vs. Livonia Franklin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>This is a regional full of teams hoping to shake up the run to Battle Creek. All four teams swept in their respective district finals. Neither is familiar with the other this season, so there could be a lot of feeling out. Ultimately, Trenton has managed to string together the most wins in 2025, so its confidence should be high this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Trenton over Allen Park</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 6 at Hartland</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>South Lyon vs. Brighton; Mercy vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary's</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>Mercy comes in as the lone ranked team at No. 3, but three teams that have been ranked or Honorable Mention await. The Marlins also could still be dealing with some roster shortage as freshman setter [player_tooltip player_id='709559' first='Kaelyn' last='Easton'] and sophomore middle Mckenzie Andrews are competing for Team USA's U17 squad in Costa Rica through Sunday. Mercy doesn't lack depth, so it can still come through without those players, but it won't be an easy road. South Lyon took a set from Mercy earlier this year, while Brighton and OLSM have some big arms to deal with. The Eaglets also have a lengthy win streak going, so shaking their confidence won't be easy. This should be an action-packed regional with plenty of drama.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Mercy over Brighton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 7 at Marian</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Bloomfield Hills vs. Grosse Pointe South; Birmingham Groves vs. St. Clair Shores Lakeview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>No. 2 Bloomfield Hills got a big district final win over No. 4 Marian thanks to [player_tooltip player_id='226909' first='Kayla' last='Nwabueze'], who had one of the best performances of the season in the win. She's got a high-profile clash with other elite hitter [player_tooltip player_id='226886' first='Gabby' last='DiVita'] in this semifinal. Groves and Lakeview each took some lumps during the season, but managed to turn that into a district title last week. Their semifinal should be very competitive, but it's hard to see anyone stopping the Black Hawks right now, especially after that big win they had over Marian.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Bloomfield Hills over Lakeview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Regional 8 at Clarkston</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Chippewa Valley vs. Oxford; Romeo vs. Dakota</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakdown: </strong>This region saw some big surprises as Oxford won its first district since 2002 by dispatching HM Clarkston, while Romeo defeated No. 7 Eisenhower in a five-set thriller last week as well. Chippewa Valley will look to slow down Oxford, but the Wildcats defense is playing as well as anyone right now. Romeo and Dakota have met twice this season, with Romeo winning both. However, Dakota took at least one set in each meeting. If the Cougars can limit errors, they have a real shot to advance further.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction: </strong>Romeo over Oxford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->