THE HASTINGS
Thursday, September 22, 2022Vikes see similarities with 2012 state champs
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There were moments of the Vikings
flashing things state champions need to do
Tuesday.
Senior defensive specialist Paige Wolver-
ton knocked a serve and then rushed up to left
post to keep an Olivet overpass from hitting
the floor. Junior middle Alivia Everitt dented
the floor with a swing when she had space on
the right side. Sets were on target from the
Vikings’ trio of setters Skylar Bump, Abby
Pickard and Emma Duffy.
There were moments that were just for fun
too as the Lakewood varsity volleyball team
dominated Olivet to improve to 3-0 in the
Greater Lansing Activities Conference on a
night that it celebrated the tenth anniversary
of the 2012 Vikings winning the MHSAA
Class B Volleyball State Championship.
All-state junior libero Carley Piercefield
hit the final kill off the match while playing a
middle blocker position to clinch the Vikings’
25-11, 25-11, 25-9 win.
“[Coach Cameron Rowland] said if we
kept them under eight I could go in the front
row,” Piercefield said. “Obviously, that didn’t
happen, but we convinced him to let me go
front row. I am a little short and I have never
played front row in my life. It went pretty
good. The overpass was a little further than I
thought, but it was a kill.”
With Duffy, a freshman setter, serving the
Vikings ran out to a 7-0 lead in that third set.
Senior defensive specialist Bailey Fifelski
started another Viking service run that pushed
her team’s lead to 17-2 before some miscom-
munication between Piercefield and Alli
Pickard allowed the ball to hit the floor.
Piercefield and Pickard have spent a few
years perfecting their back row communica-
tion, but Piercefield said she didn’t remember
until too late that she was chasing a ball not
meant for a middle to dig up.The Rowland Rowdies, Lakewood’s vol-
leyball student section, started chanting “we
want Liv!” as the third-set run by Fifelski
started drawing smiles from the senior out-
side hitter Liv Woodman on the bench.
“Liv was supposed to be going front row
for Emma [Duffy], but we didn’t quite rotate
soon enough, so I was like we’re not going to
get there. Go!,” said coach Rowland of the
decision to get Woodman on the court with
their team up 14-2 in the middle of Fifelski’s
service run.
Woodman played her turns in the front row
and then got a rare turn at the service line and
started it by smacking an ace.
“That is another nice thing with this group.
I don’t have to sub kids in during sets. We’re
going to have a different line-up each set in
the league,” Rowland said. “I get to manage
the kids on the court and I am not worried
about switching things up in the middle of
sets with this group. I can say, ‘here is the
lien-up,’ and they all have played enough vol-
leyball and played enough different positions
that they’re just like, okay, this is what that
kid does, so I go in and I play that position.
“We have had nine different line-ups in our
nine sets in the league.”
Abby Pickard and Alivia Everitt tied for
the team lead in kills with five each Tuesday
and Maryssa Goble and Izzy Wheeler had
four each. Wheeler took over Piercefield’s
libero position in that third set. Despite that
set in the front, Piercefield still had a team-
high eight digs.
Woodman’s ace was one of 23 by the
Vikings on the night. Fifelski had eight of
them. Duffy hit four aces and Alli Pickard
and Piercefield had three apiece.
Abby Pickard had a team-high nine assists,
Bump finished with eight and Duffy seven.
The evening started with the introduction
of the 2012 state championship team which
had about a dozen players and coaches onhand for the night’s ceremony. A recap of the
team’s state tournament run was shared before
a Finals video to the tune of Journey’s “Don’t
Stop Believin’” created by former Viking vol-
leyball player Kalli Barrone played next to the
state championship banner in the gym.
The team, including assistant coach Brooke
(Wieland) Francisco who was the setter on the
2012 state championship team, got to watch the
video for the first time in practice Monday.
“They had 13 players and they had seven
seniors, which is what we have this year,”
Piercefield said. “So, we think it is a little bit
too ironic that it is working out that way. We
actually got to watch the video in practice
yesterday. We all got goosebumps from it.
We’re working hard towards our goal and tak-
ing what they did and trying to continue it.”
She said she saw tears in coach Francisco’s
eyes as the video played Monday.
“She was just smiling, looking at Camer-
on, because of the big hug at the end,”
Piercefield said.
Cameron Rowland also featured promi-
nently in the video cheering from the far side
of the court in Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek
for the team coached by his parents, Kellie
and Clair Rowland.
Francisco said she never would have
imagined ten years ago that she’d be sitting
on the bench coaching the Vikings next to
Cameron. She sees some similarities between
that 2012 team and this 2022 team beyond
the seven seniors.
“Their chemistry and how hard they work
every day at practice,” Francisco said, “and
we tell them every day that can be you if you
continue to do this every day. You’re going to
have to work hard at it and it is not going to
come easy. But you can do it. I think they’re
starting to believe that as we are getting better
throughout the season. There is a common
competitiveness that we share. It is a compet-
itive group and that is how you win.”
Cameron Rowland is happy to have his
girls thinking about winning a state champi-
onship. It is after all the goal for the end of
every Lakewood volleyball season. Lake-
wood came into the week ranked third in the
state in Division 2 behind only North Branch
and Detroit Country Day.
“This group talks about it a lot,” Cameron
said. “This group is not afraid to talk about it,
which I think is really important, where I think
the last two years’ groups were a little afraid to
talk about it. Because, for us to do it with this
group we’re going to have to have zero fear.
“I think we do that. A lot of times this group
just goes after it. A lot of times, it is hard to tell
in the league matches, but a lot of times when
we’re playing teams that are much more phys-
ical than us on weekends they just don’t care.
They just continue to go after it. We played
some very large humans this weekend. McBain
is massive and athletic. [Traverse City] Cen-
tral is big and athletic. We just knew, okay
we’ll just serve and pass them off the court
and that is why we won this weekend.”
At the Cadillac Invitational Saturday, the
Lakewood ladies defeated McBain, which is
ranked second in the state in Division 3, and
then bested Traverse City Central in the finals
to win the tournament.
Lakewood will test itself again this Satur-
day at Byron Center’s Cristi Curtis Memo-
rial Invitational and then will return to
league action at home against Perry Tues-
day, Sept. 27.Head coach Kellie Rowland is introduced as the Lakewood High School volleyball program celebrates the ten year anniversary
of the Vikings winning the 2012 MHSAA Class B Volleyball State Championship before the Viking varsity team's win over visiting
Olivet Tuesday. Members of the 2012 team on hand included (from left) Emily (Kutch) Williams, Jordan Kietzman, Taylor Shook,
Olivia Davis, Brooke (Wieland) Francisco, Charlie (Smith) O'Mara, Bethany Tingley, Karly Morris, coach Kellie Rowland, coach
Clair Rowland, scorekeeper Colleen Rowland and coach Jeff Duits. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Lakewood senior Liv Woodman (13) is greeted at the center of the net by junior
teammate Carley Piercefield as she enters the match in the third set Tuesday against
Olivet at Lakewood High School. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Lakewood senior setter Skylar Bump puts a pass up asteammate Izzy Wheeler (6)
looks to attack at the net during their GLAC win over visiting Olivet Tuesday night.
(Photo by Brett Bremer)
Lakewood junior middle Cadence Poll hits an attack by Olivet's Megan Neitzel at the
net during their GLAC match-up at Lakewood High School Tuesday. (Photo by Brett
Bremer)