‘Grit’ is a point of emphasis for veteran-led Regina volleyball

WARREN — The word “grit” isn’t a description that gets thrown around lightly.

It’s one of the first words you think of when you reflect on the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” teams, or most recently the Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell’s “bite a kneecap” approach when he first became the frontman.

There’s a sense of pressure that comes with describing a team with the word “grit” because when you come to watch them or are prepared to line up against them, you’re expecting to be in for a challenge.

This year, a different team repping blue and white has adopted it as its calling card, something the team has prioritized since the beginning of the offseason and was eager to show the rest of Michigan high school volleyball what it’s about.

Currently unbeaten (4-0) in its league and led by a veteran-heavy group, Warren Regina (6-5-1) volleyball is carrying a different type of mindset in 2024.

“Grit is our focus this year,” head coach Laura Papa said. “Just taking the hits and when we’re down a point instead of letting it get us down for five or six points, we’re moving forward, focusing on the next point, and we’re trying to pick each other up and fill each other’s buckets on the court so we can focus on getting the next point rather than what just happened.”

Regina faced a trio of challenges in its opening quad at Utica High School, facing Utica (MAC White), Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (MAC Red), and New Baltimore Anchor Bay (MAC Red) in its first three matches of the season.

Suffering a loss to Utica, it didn’t phase Papa’s squad as they regrouped and took down L’Anse Creuse North, which is fresh off a state quarterfinal season and currently in first in the MAC Red at 2-1.

The Saddlelites would then fall to Anchor Bay 2-0, but came back the next two weeks and beat Catholic High School League opponents Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard to start league play 2-0.

A loss like the one to Utica or Anchor Bay would be the type that would turn into consecutive losses in 2023, where Regina had three instances of three-straight losses including a five-game losing streak, but this team is in a different headspace.

“We have a different confidence this year,” senior Calista Mastry said. “Everyone knows that we’re really capable of being successful, so I think mentally we’re all really motivated. I think that separates us from other teams, but also past Regina seasons.”

Mastry, an outside hitter/defensive specialist, is one of five senior leaders alongside senior libero Ella Sikorski, senior outside hitter Amanda Vushaj, senior defensive specialist Giuliana Foltz, and senior defensive specialist/right-side hitter Sara Wilking.

Sikorski, a four-year varsity player, is coming off a second team all-state season with Mastry and Vushaj both carrying four years of varsity experience as well. Vushaj, an all-state honorable mention, will unfortunately have to be a star assistant coach rather than outside hitter due to a broken arm, but her presence alone on the court does wonders for Regina.

It’s a group that leads with their play night in and night out, but they’re also elevating the juniors around them and the lone underclassmen, freshman Cate Booms, who will work alongside Mastry and junior outside hitter Alison Schmid to keep the outside hitting department going.

“They just really take the younger kids under their wing,” Papa said. “Giuliana (Foltz) is one of my seniors, and it’s her first year on varsity, and she’s just a phenomenal leader. Not having the varsity experience and making the team this year, her effort in practice and how she interacts with my underclassmen is pretty phenomenal.”

Wilking, who has 163 assists this season, and junior setter Cat Jenkins feed off of each other in the setting group as the duo works in stride to get the ball to its middle hitters, juniors Marisa Vushaj and Lilly Zdankiewicz, who have 37 and 60 kills respectively.

Jenkins was more so taking everything at the varsity level last year, but she’s really come into her own this season, holding 86 assists, and creates a formidable setting duo with Wilking, who hopes she was able to show Jenkins a thing or two last year.

“A lot of it is just like, ‘Stay out of your head and don’t let the moment overtake you; you have to overtake the moment,” Wilking said about her conversations with Jenkins. “She’s a good setter and she’s smart with the ball, and I think we kind of play off of each other. If we see that one of our hitters are doing good, we know that both of us together can set that one girl.”

The 2026 graduating class of Regina, like its seniors, has made a name for themselves with Zdankiewicz, Jenkins, Vushaj, junior Ava Janusch, who anchors the defense, junior Caroline Torey, and Katelyn Catana all making an impact this season.

The juniors are part of the largest graduating class at Regina in a decade, featuring nearly 110 students.

Through the varsity experience and learning under the seniors, Janusch, a junior who has 15 aces, 113 serve receptions, and 70 digs this season, has played confidently on the court and made an impact with her voice.

“When I was a sophomore, I was an underclassman, so I didn’t really speak up,” Janusch said. “Now I’m an upperclassman, so it’s easier to be like, ‘Hey guys, we need to do this or that.’”

Regina is fresh off a statement win against rival Macomb Lutheran North, which Regina defeated 3-1 to move to 2-0 on the year in matches that have four sets or more, which the Saddlelites were 2-2 last year in.

Still holding onto the top spot in the CHSL-AA, Regina will have the end of its league play on tap with Madison Heights Bishop Foley and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s making their way onto the schedule in the next two weeks.

St. Mary’s eliminated Regina in the first round of regionals at the Division 2 state tournament last season 3-0.

“I so wish we won that game,” Wilking said. “I think we were nervous going into that game because we already played them and lost, so I think we were —I don’t want to say doubting yourselves — but we knew the outcome earlier in the season. We were a better team, and I think the moment got bigger than us, so we caved in and were scared to do something.”

But with Papa’s squad embodying grit and what it takes to overcome any obstacle, you can be certain you’ll see a different type of Regina squad this season when the state tournament rolls around.

“We’re not going to cave in at the moment,” Wilking said. “We’re going to show up to the moment and not stop being aggressive.”