By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published December 3, 2024
BEVERLY HILLS — “We’re going out swinging.”
That was the message Detroit Country Day head coach Kim Lockhart delivered to her team as the Yellowjackets went down 0-2 against North Branch in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 state quarterfinals Nov. 19 at St. Clair County Community College.
North Branch, winning the first two sets 25-17 and 25-20, looked like they were well on their way to potentially playing for their third consecutive Division 2 state title while Country Day would fall short yet again of a state semifinals trip.
Senior Olivia Grenadier, a University of Colorado commit, knew better than anyone else on the squad what it felt like to get that close.
“My freshman year, the same place for the quarterfinals, we lost to (Pontiac) Notre Dame Prep,” Grenadier said. “I was a freshman and just a role player because Serena (Nyambio), Laurece (Abraham), and everybody else were so amazing. This year, it felt nice because I had more of a leadership role and I could do something about it.”
The veteran took matters into her own hands, tallying 31 kills and two aces (both in the fifth set) to help Country Day complete the reverse sweep, taking down North Branch 25-18, 27-25, and 15-6 to send the Yellowjackets to their first state semifinals in school history.
Aside from being her final year donning the blue and gold, it was an emotional win for Grenadier, who suffered a severe injury a year prior that forced her out for the majority of the 2023 regular season.
When you’re as strong of a leader as Grenadier is and make the kind of impact she does on and off the court, the underclassmen want to get the job done for you.
In the case of freshman Sici Guerrant, she did everything in her power to make sure her seniors’ seasons didn’t come to a close.
“Going back to that North Branch game when Sici blasted that line shot in the fifth set, and she made that huge block going into winning the fourth set, and then she went in the fifth set with a beautiful shot down the line and just crushed it,” Lockhart said.
“I looked at my assistant coaches and said, ‘We’re winning this.’” As soon as those underclassmen started making those big plays, I knew this was our year.”
Guerrant was swarmed by teammates after winning the fourth set, and all the team could do was fall to the ground in excitement when sophomore Leah Green brought the fifth set win home on a kill, punching the Yellowjackets’ state semifinals ticket.
Country Day already had a momentum-shifting win by beating Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, a team who has continuously knocked out Country Day in the state tournament, 3-1 in the district championship.
“We knew our biggest competitor early on was Notre Dame Prep,” Senior Morgan Anderson said. “We knew once we beat them that we’d have a few bumps in the road, but we knew we were going far.”
All the emotion and adversity against North Branch and Notre Dame Prep brought Country Day closer than ever before, both as a unit and toward their shot at a state title, and from that match on it felt like nobody was going to touch them.
“That (North Branch) was the turning point for us,” Lockhart said.
“After that, the girls were on autopilot. I think they felt that we were actually going to win a state championship. It was such high emotion and just seeing these young girls be put in these high-pressure situations. To come back and reverse sweep, I think the girls were like, ‘Oh, we can do anything.’”
Country Day took down Battle Creek Harper Creek 3-1 in the semifinals and made quick work of Tecumseh in a 3-0 win Nov. 23 at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, bringing home the first state championship in school history, but the team was almost feeling the most emotion prior to the state championship match.
There were tears and almost a feeling as if something special was coming to a close, especially with their senior teammates.
“I’m really close to Olivia and Morgan, and they’ve basically been my big sisters throughout this entire year,” junior Elise Hiemstra said. “It’s really hard just thinking about never being able to play with them ever again.”
Grenadier and Hiemstra, who should be considered as a Miss Volleyball candidate next season, both had 21 kills as Country Day’s attack overwhelmed Tecumseh. Anderson, who had been steady all season for Country Day, had a team-high 12 digs while sophomore Demi McCoy added five kills.
“We definitely thought that the teams before had better blocks and better defense, and obviously all of our hitters on our team are really, really good,” Grenadier said. “We thought we would just go out there and bang it and we’d be really good.”
Freshman phenom Payton Woodruff, who is already one of the top setters in the state, put on a show on the biggest stage of the season with 47 assists.
“I was definitely nervous before, but that happens before most of my games,” Woodruff said. “I just love that type of environment, and I feel like I honestly play better under pressure.”
You can look at the Country Day roster, and there’s talent across the board. On paper, it was one of the most talented squads, if not the most talented squad, in the state.
Grenadier and Hiemstra were as dynamic of a duo as any – not just in Division 2 but in the entire MHSAA – and add on a core of veteran pieces mixed with underclassmen sensation. It’s no secret as to why the Yellowjackets are best in state.
But what the state sheet doesn’t show is the sacrifices – sacrifices each player made by trusting coach Lockhart and what she felt was best for the team.
Lockhart said that was what made this team special.
“Every team has some pieces that are missing, so we had to make up the team to the best of our needs and the girls just bought into it,” Lockhart said.
“We didn’t have a traditional lineup. We really moved some pieces around because we didn’t have a true libero this year, so we took our best defenders in Olivia and Elise, which they really don’t play the same position with one being a true middle and one being an outside hitter, and we had them play left back defense where you’d normally find a libero.
“We had to get them to buy into this idea that we’re not doing things traditionally, but we’re going to design this team to best fit our needs so we can be the best we can be.”
With Hiemstra at the helm and a slew of returning talent, including a new crop of freshmen hoping to make their mark, Country Day should undoubtedly be a state title threat once again, even if Grenadier is too busy tearing it up for Colorado.
Although she won’t be able to make it down for their state tournament run in 2025 because it will be in the middle of the college season, Grenadier said she’ll be rooting for her teammates from across the country.
“I told them I think they can do it,” Grenadier said. “I’m really excited to watch everybody, especially Payton. She’s amazing, and I know they have a couple freshmen girls coming in. They’re going to be nothing short of a bunch of good people. It will be really fun to watch.”