The Rockford Rams topped Cedar Springs 0-3 in second round Districts action at Northview High School on Tuesday, November 4, bringing the Red Hawks season to a close. Rockford, ranked 10th in Division 1, claimed a 8-25, 12-25, 12-25 victory before going on to win Districts on Saturday.  Red Hawk Varsity volleyball ends the season 4-20 overall and 1-8 in conference.

 “It was a year of growth and development for our team and program in the midst of the pandemic,” said Varsity Coach Ashley Lowing. “Our girls handled themselves so well given the situation, worked hard, improved each match, and we are very proud of them for that. We look forward to getting to work in the off season and coming back strong next season.”

Senior Arianna Rau led the Red Hawks with 5 kills, 3 service points and 9 digs. Setter Makenna Outwin recorded 9 assists, 2 kills and an ace. Alyssa Detweiller added 4 kills and a block. Kennedi Jager tallied 2 kills and 4 digs. Brandy Singleton had 3 digs and a team high 15 serve receptions. Sophomore Courtney Page stepped up to add 4 digs, 7 serve receptions and an assist. 

Makenna Outwin was a force at the net and Elizabeth Fettig at the service line and on defense while three Lady Red Hawks led the way in kills when the Varsity volleyball team defeated Ottawa Hills  25-14, 25-7, 25-12 on last week Tuesday. Outwin had 13 assists, 2 blocks and 3 kills while Fettig finished with the team high 6 aces, 18 service points, 14 digs and 11 Serve Receptions. Gracie Garchow chipped in with 3 kills and 2 aces, while Arianna Rau had 3 kills, 2 blocks and a dig. Cassidy Canfield recorded 2 blocks.  

The Freshman Red hawks closed the season with a 27-25, 23-25, 16-14 nail biter against Ottawa Hills.  JV concluded their season with a victory, defeating Ottawa Hills 27-25, 25-10.  

Regular season play for the Varsity team ended with losses to Kent City (18-25, 21-25), Fremont (13-25, 21-25) and Comstock Park (22-25, 25-19, 13-15) at the Kent City Quad on Saturday, October 13th. Leaders on the day include Alyssa Detweiller with 8 kills and 5 blocks.  Arianna Rau tallied 10 kills and 3 blocks. Outside hitter Chloe Fish recorded 3 kills, 3 blocks, 4 aces and 11 service points.  Elizabeth Fettig put up 25 digs and 52 serve receptions. Gracie Garchow recorded the day’s kill high with 11 while setter Mckenna Outwin had 16 assists and 8 aces with 14 service points.  Kennedi Jager added 15 assists and 2 blocks. Aaliyah Calkins contributed 6 kills, 7 digs and 28 serve receptions.

 The Lady Red Hawks finish with a 2-8 conference record and are 4-19 overall heading into District play.  

 Varsity was scheduled to take the court yesterday, Wednesday, November 4, at 6:30 p.m. at Northview High School to take on the winner of the Northview/Rockford match in District action.  

The No. 2 ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central Cougars earned a home 25-9, 25-9, 25-6 sweep of the Cedar Springs Red Hawks on Tuesday, October 13 on the first night of the OK Gold Varsity Conference Tournament.  

Makenna Outwin handed out 12 assists and added five digs and three kills in the loss for Cedar Springs. Cassidy Canfield had 4 kills and three blocks, Elizabeth Fettig 11 digs, Gracie Garchow four kills and 3 digs, Brandy Singleton 12 serve receives.

Junior Varsity and Freshman both fell in 0-2 matches to Catholic Central on the opening night of the Conference Tournament.  

The teams traveled to Greenville on Thursday, October 15 where Varsity suffered a 0-3 non conference loss to the Yellow Jackets 17-25; 21-25; 13-25.  JV took a 21-25; 17-25 loss, and Freshman were defeated 15-25; 17-25.  

Varsity leaders include: Libero Elizabeth Fettig with 11 digs and 24 Serve Receptions, Arianna Rau tallied 3 kills and 2 blocks, Cassidy Canfield recorded 3 kills and block, Aaliyah Caulkins with 2 kills, Kennedi Jager 2 kills, Makenna Outwin 12 assists and 4 digs, Chloe Fish with 2 digs, Brandy Singleton 10 serve recieves and Avery Peterson with 5 serve receives.

The Lady Red Hawks are 2-13 overall and 1-7 in conference as of Monday. All teams were scheduled to play second round matches of the OK Gold Tournament on Tuesday, October 20, with Cedar Springs hosting Kenowa Hills.  

Cedar Springs Varsity Volleyball honored the contributions of its Seniors on Tuesday, October 6th at their final home match against the Kenowa Hills Knights. The Red Hawks took a conference loss in the hard fought match, falling 1-3 (25-18; 21-25; 22-25; 15-25) bringing their overall record to 2-11 and conference record to 1-6.

Leading on the night were seniors Aina Catala with 6 kills, 3 blocks, the team high 8 aces with 15 service points and 8 digs, while Cassidy Canfield recorded 7 kills and the team high 6 blocks, with 3 solo blocks. Middle hitter Arianna Rau recorded 5 kills while Libero Elizabeth Fettig tallied 21 digs, 37 service receives and 3 assists. Defensive Specialist Avery Peterson notched 12 serve receptions and 5 digs. Aaliyah Calkins led the night with kills, putting down 10 while earning 14 digs. Setter Makenna Outwin added 33 assists, 3 aces and 10 service points while Kennedi Jager had 6 kills and 5 digs.

“This year we graduate five seniors whose exceptional contributions, leadership and work ethic has personified the core philosophy and objectives of Cedar Springs Athletics while providing a solid foundation to build on our goals.” stated Varsity Coach Ashley Lowing.

Junior Varsity took the Knights to three, taking the loss 26-28, 18-25 and 15-17 after an outstanding 15-24 comeback in the first set deficit to win. The Freshman lost in a tight 22-25, 17-25 match.

This week begins the OK Gold Conference Tournament where the Red Hawks will travel to take on the #2 seed Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Competition begins with Freshman at 4pm, followed by JV and Varsity. Outcomes of these matches will determine the opponents and location for the second round of Tournament play on Tuesday, October 20. On Thursday, October 15, all levels travel to Greenville for a non-conference match.    

Through all the new changes including required masks, no hand shaking, limited crowd size and shorter preseason practice, one thing remains unchanged, the excitement to be back on the court and competing.

The Red Hawk Varsity Volleyball team started their shortened 2020 season with a full and aggressive first two weeks in a new conference division, the OK Gold. The season opener had the Lady Red Hawks losing in the first conference match at Forest Hills Eastern 0-3. 

On Saturday, September 12, the team traveled to NorthPointe Christian for a Varsity quad. They kicked off the day’s competition with thrilling 3-2 marathon match win over host NorthPointe Christian (25-23; 25-23; 23-25; 18-25 and 15-10), followed with losses to Greenville (19-25; 13-25; 20-25) and Hopkins (21-25; 16-25; 19-25). 

Week 2 began with the home opener on Tuesday, September 15, resulting in a tough 2-3 loss to Thornapple Kellogg (23-25; 25-11; 29-27; 25-23; 8-15). 

Thursday, September 17, brought the Red Hawks an 0-3 loss at Wayland. 

The week concluded at the Zeeland East Varsity quad on Saturday, September 19 with an opening 0-3 match loss to host Zeeland East, and followed by 0-3 losses to both NorthPointe Christian and Jenison. The Lady Red Hawks are 1-8 overall and 0-3 in conference.

 Stat leaders for the season to date include senior middle hitter Arianna Rau with 40 kills and 23 blocks (including 15 solo). Outside hitter Aaliyah Calkins has recorded 25 kills and 27 digs, while setter McKenna Outwin tallied 127 assists and team high 12 aces. Libero Elizabeth Fettig has 104 digs and 207 serve receives. Alyssa Detweiler has put down 24 kills and 20 blocks at middle and Kennedi Jager added 23 kills. Defensive Specialist Isis Polczsk contributed 111 serve receptions and 39 digs.  

“We graduated 5 of our 6 starters last year. The girls this year are working hard to learn the game together on the court and push and support each other to be the best they can be. We preach to the girls that this is a process, a marathon not a sprint, and if we keep working together, we will be where we want to be in the end,” stated Varsity Coach Ashley Lowing.

The Lady Red Hawks traveled to Catholic Central Tuesday, September 22. Next week the teams will host South Christian on Tuesday, September 29, then travel to Ottawa Hills on Thursday, October 1.  

Grace Pavelka, the daughter of Eric and Julee Pavelka, and a member of the Cedar Springs Public Schools class of 2020, has signed to continue her volleyball career at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan. A small outdoor signing ceremony was held at Cedar Springs High School on June 25 to commemorate the event.

According to CS Athletic Director John Norton, Pavelka was a highly decorated, four-year varsity volleyball player at Cedar Springs High School, earning numerous post-season accolades, as well as having a very successful club volleyball career.

Madi Outwin officially signed at a small ceremony outside Cedar Springs High School on June 16  to continue her volleyball career at Great Lakes Christian College In Lansing, Mich. Family, friends and coaches were there to commemorate the event. 

Madi has been a two-sport standout (soccer and volleyball) throughout her four year career at Cedar Springs. She is the daughter of Amy and Ryan Outwin.

Red Hawk varsity volleyball played three conference matches last week beginning with a commanding victory at Ottawa Hills Tuesday, Oct 8 25-6, 25-10 and 25-12. Thursday, October 10th produced 0-3 losses against Lowell and Northview at the Northview triangular. The Lady Red Hawks are now 13-17-2 overall and 3-5 in conference.

Stat leaders for the Ottawa Hills match included Grace Pavelka with 10 kills, 5 aces and a block; Arianna Rau added 5 kills and 2 blocks while Kayla Andres recorded 3 kills, 2 aces and 6 digs. For the Lowell games, Grace Pavelka had the team high 5 kills while setter Madison Outwin recorded 6 assists, 2 service points and 6 digs. Cassidy Canfield contributed a kill, 3 blocks and 2 digs while Kyla Andres had 12 digs. In the final match against Northview, Kayla Andres led in kills with 8, followed by Grace Pavelka who put down 6 kills. Arianna Rau stuffed 7 Northview hitters for the team high while Kyla Andres led defensive efforts with 16 digs and 21 serve receptions. Elizabeth Fettig added 7 digs and setter Madison Outwin led on service points with 12.

Cedar Springs volleyball returned to action at home Tuesday evening, October 15, to play Forest Hills Central when the seniors and their families were honored. (Read results in next week’s paper.) Varsity then travels to Sparta for tournament action on Saturday, October 19 at 8 a.m.  

The Cedar Springs Varsity volleyball team came back from a 0-2 deficit to beat Northview 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-11, 15-10) in an impressive five-set match on Tuesday, Sept 24, during conference play at home. This was the Red Hawks second conference win improving their record to 11-11-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play. 

Statistically, senior opposite hitter Grace Pavelka dominated the match with 27 kills and a .337 hit percentage. Senior middle hitter Arianna Rau led at the net with 8 blocks, while Kaylie Andres and Madi Outwin recorded 15 service points each. Outwin also had 44 assists. Kyla Andres held the defense with a team high 30 digs and Grace Wilcox contributed 9 kills and 2 aces. 

“We are proud of the way the girls fought back and competed against Northview,” said head coach Ashley Lowing. 

The Red Hawks hosted a second conference match on Thursday, Sept 26 to third state-ranked Lowell, losing in three sets. The Lady Red Hawks were led by Grace Wilcox with 5 kills, while defensive specialist Elizabeth Fettig had 2 aces and 2 digs. 

The Junior Varsity team defeated Northview 25-22 and 25-18, lost to Lowell 16-25, 25-19, and 15-17 on Thursday before claiming the Championship at the Hesperia Invite on Saturday, Sept. 28. The JV team went 3-0 in pool play beating Chippewa Hills’ freshman team, Morley Stanwood and Holton. In the semi finals they beat Fremont’s freshman team 25-10 and 25-11 bringing them to the Gold final championship match against host Hesperia, where they claimed the tournament title in two sets (25-18; 25-21) 

The Lady Red Hawks hosted Forest Hills Northern in their Volley for the Cure Pink Game on Monday, Sept. 30. (See next week’s paper for those results.) Varsity then travels to the Chippewa Hills Invite on Saturday, October 5 at 8:00 am.

Red Hawk Varsity volleyball (10-10-2) had an active competition week playing two conference matches and a tournament. On Tuesday, September 17, the Lady Red Hawks traveled to state ranked Forest Hills Central to open conference play, taking a hard loss 21-25, 13-25 and 21-25. Thursday, September 19 resulted in a definitive victory at rival Greenville, 25-23, 25-20 and 25-23. On Saturday, September 21, tournament play at the Zeeland East Invite culminated in a 3rd place pool finish against several ranked teams including Hudsonville and Jenison. The ladies finished 2-3 on the day, losing in bracket play to Hopkins 22-25 and 18-25.  

“The team built a solid foundation for us to build on during the first week of conference play. The competitive play at FHC and win at Greenville are huge confidence boosters for us moving forward,” remarked Head Coach Ashley Lowing.

 Stat leaders at FHC included Kyla Andres with 6 kills and 5 digs; Grace Pavelka registered 6 kills and 2 blocks; Arianna Rau tallied 3 kills and 3 aces. Greenville match pacesetters included Kaylie Andres, who had a tenacious match culminating in 8 service points, 9 digs, 16 serve receptions and 4 kills. Grace Wilcox added 6 kills and 9 digs; while setter Madison Outwin put up 18 assists, and 2 kills. At the Zeeland East Invite, Nicole Baker showed her flexibility by playing three different positions in five matches and contributing 4 kills,16 service points, 4 aces and 15 assists. Grace Pavelka had a team high 26 kills, while Arianna Rau led in blocks with 7. Kyla Andres capped the defense recording 48 digs and 80 serve receptions.

Junior Varsity lost to Forest Hills Central 10-25 and 22-25, while taking the victory against Greenville 25-21 and 25-18. The freshman team had an exciting three set victory over Greenville 17-25, 25-20 and 15-9.   

The teams resumed conference competition this week hosting Northview on Tuesday, September 24 followed by home matches versus Lowell on Thursday September 26. Freshman and JV begin at 5 pm, followed by Varsity.  

The Cedar Springs Varsity Volleyball team (7-6-2 overall) competed in the NorthPointe Christian Invite Saturday, September 14th finishing 5-1 and 3rd on the day. The Red Hawks were undefeated throughout Pool and Crossover play with decisive victories over Fruitport Calvary, Ottawa Hills, Wellspring Prep and Loy Norrix. In the Gold bracket matches, the team won 25-10 and 25-16 in the semifinal match vs Grand River Prep before taking a tough loss to host team NorthPointe Christian 25-27 and 19-25. 

Leading the Red Hawks was Middle Blocker Arianna Rau with a team high 10 blocks, 33 kills, 20 service points and 7 aces. Grace Wilcox tallied 34 kills, 14 aces, and 32 digs. Setter Madi Outwin put up 66 assists, 11 aces and 43 service points, while Kyla Andres contributed 17 kills and 25 digs. Libero Elizabeth Fettig led the defense with 48 serve receives and 24 digs. Nicole Baker recorded 7 aces and 4 blocks, while Alyssa Detweiler also had 4 blocks. Rounding out contributions to the team’s success were Kayla Andres adding 8 kills and 21 serve receives; Kalli Green with 5 kills and 3 aces; Cassidy Canfield with 2 kills and a block; and Avery Peterson recording 9 serve receives.  

“The girls remained consistently competitive throughout the day and worked hard to push their mental toughness” states Varsity Head Coach Ashley Lowing.

The Junior Varsity Team also competed Saturday, September 14, when they traveled to the Reeths Puffer Invite, finishing the day in 2nd place after falling in the Gold Championship match to Kenowa Hills.

All levels begin conference play this week when they travel to Forest Hills Central Tuesday, September 17, and to Greenville on Thursday September 19. Freshman and JV matches begin at 5 p.m. followed by the Varsity match. Varsity and JV then compete in tournaments Saturday, September 21 at 8:30 a.m., with Varsity at Zeeland East and JV at Jenison.  

Varsity Volleyball competed in the WMVOA’s advanced Invitational on Saturday, September 7th. The Lady Red Hawks finished the tournament with a tough loss in the Bronze Bracket finals to Catholic Central (25-23; 23-25; 8-15) after overpowering Zeeland West in the semi finals (20-25; 25-21; 15-13). The team played solid matches in Pool play against proficient programs from Grandville, Forest Hills Eastern and Spring Lake. 

Leaders on the day included outside hitter Grace Wilcox with 27 kills,3 blocks,23 digs and 62 serve receptions. Libero Elizabeth Fettig held the defense tallying 45 digs and 73 serve receptions. Setter Maddie Outwin put up 68 assists, while middle blocker Arianna Rau had a solid day with 14 kills, 7 aces, 26 service points and 8 blocks. Grace Pavelka recorded 27 kills and 7 blocks and Kalli Green added 7 aces with 15 service points.

Varsity Volleyball continues the season on Saturday, September 14th when they travel to the Northpointe Invite in Grand Rapids. The Lady Red Hawks are 2-5-2.