Stat Leaders on Day 1 of the 2025 MHSAA FINALS (D1/D4)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Be sure to follow&nbsp;@lshotvb&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lshotvb/">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lshotvb?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc">Tik Tok&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/LineShotVBall">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for all things volleyball!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>The Prep Dig Exposure Tour is coming to Michigan on December 21! This is for all 2026-2029 prospects.&nbsp;<a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/2032/register/prep-dig-exposure-tour-michigan#register">Click here to register</a>, and use promo code&nbsp;“LSHOTPD25”&nbsp;to get $10 off your registration.</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>–</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nearly 12 hours of volleyball later and we have made it out of Day 1 alive... Barely. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Excluding the fairly dominating sweep by Mendon over Ubly, it was a five set extravaganza here in Battle Creek. We started off the day with the defensive clinic and cardio workout put on by Fowler and Crystal Falls Forest Park, then after the second part of the Division 4 Semifinals, we had ourselves a real treat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division 1, it was an absolute masterclass in some of the state's most elite volleyball talent going at it on one stage. The future Nebraska Cornhusker, [player_tooltip player_id='454351' first='Mallory' last='Johnson'] had the Mercy Marlins on the ropes, take the opening two sets. But behind the efforts of freshman phenom and, now, NORCECA Gold Medalist, [player_tooltip player_id='709559' first='Kaelyn' last='Easton'], the Marlins were able to hang tough for three straight sets to avoid one of the biggest upsets of the year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The match following left nothing left to be desired either. The match between Bloomfield Hills and Rockford was an absolute slugfest. It surely will go down as an all-time classic in Kellogg Arena. The team that seemed untouchable, the unanimous No. 1 team throughout the entire fall, Rockford, and all of their pieces, were just no match for [player_tooltip player_id='226909' first='Kayla' last='Nwabueze']. In a historic performance, Nwabueze dismantled Rockford's championship hopes with 43 kills. It was quite incredible.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You never know what you may get coming into Battle Creek, but there is always amazing stories that come when you leave. Day 1 set the bar high for the weekend, take a look at some of the top performers from Day 1 of the MHSAA Championship weekend here in Kellogg Arena.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":909231,"width":"248px","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/DSC01086.jpg?w=769" alt="" class="wp-image-909231" style="width:248px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='226900' first='Liv' last='Hosford'] </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">Semifinal Results</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Division 1</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Outlasts No. 1 Rockford, 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 3 Mercy Reverse Sweeps No. 15 Byron Center 25-27, 24-26, 25-16, 25-17, 16-14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Division 4</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 2 Fowler Halts No. 4 Crystal Falls Forest Park's Comeback, 26-24, 30-28, 20-25, 19-25, 15-8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 Mendon Sweeps No. 3 Ubly 25-18, 25-22, 27-25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Day 1 Kill Leaders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='226909' first='Kayla' last='Nwabueze'] - 43 Kills (.414) in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='836790' first='Paige' last='Thelen'] - 32 Kills (.329) in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442987' first='Kate' last='Kalczynski']</strong> - 30 Kills (.284) in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Ava Fischer</strong> - 28 Kills (.421) in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='226900' first='Liv' last='Hosford'] - 23 Kills (.340) in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Day 1 Dig Leaders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Rachel Wirth</strong> - 37 Digs in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Suzanne Smigielski</strong> - 30 Digs in Three Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='226944' first='Maya' last='Zarow'] - 29 Digs in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='454351' first='Mallory' last='Johnson'] - 27 Digs in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='462081' first='Jadyn' last='Samson'] - 23 Digs in Three Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:image {"id":909232,"width":"258px","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/DSC00777.jpg?w=769" alt="" class="wp-image-909232" style="width:258px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rachel Wirth </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Day 1 Block Leaders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='226875' first='Ella' last='Andrews'] - 6 Blocks in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='569766' first='McKenzie' last='Andrews'] - 5 Blocks in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='226899' first='Cree' last='Hollier'] - 5 Blocks in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='775900' first='Suri' last='Ewing'] - 4 Blocks in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='897539' first='Haley' last='Armock'] - 4 Blocks in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Day 1 Serving Leaders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Neelah O'Rourke</strong> - 7 Aces in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Josie Simon</strong> - 5 Aces in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='454351' first='Mallory' last='Johnson'] - 3 Aces in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='765310' first='Harper' last='Anderson'] - 3 Aces in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Rachel Wirth</strong> - 3 Aces in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Day 1 Assists Leaders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='709559' first='Kaelyn' last='Easton'] - 61 Assists in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Neelah O'Rourke</strong> - 53 Assists in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='226887' first='Izzie' last='Delacher'] - 52 Assists in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='512892' first='Brynn' last='Wilcox'] - 51 Assist in Five Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Karyssa Holtz</strong> - 40 Assists in Three Sets</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->