Grand Valley State University senior Shelby Ulven, a 2021 Zeeland East graduate, was recently named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. Ulven was a five-time All-American as a thrower for the Grand Valley’s women’s track and field team, fishing national runnerup in the hammer throw last year.
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has named Grand Valley State University senior and Zeeland East High School graduate Shelby Ulven its Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.
Ulven, a 2021 East graduate, concluded her collegiate career last month with her fifth individual All-America award, finishing third in the women’s hammer throw at the NCAA Division II national championships in Emporia, Kan. Ulven threw the hammer 199 feet, 2 inches (60.71 meters) at the national meet.
Ulven broke the 60-meter mark on two other occasions this season and never finished below third in any competition. At the GLIAC outdoor championships, she won the hammer throw for the third straight year with a toss of 184-0 (56.08m).
In the 2024-25 season, Ulven was the national runner-up in the hammer throw at the NCAA Division II outdoor championships with a throw of 200-4 ¼ (61.07m). She also earned All-America honors in the weight throw at the Division II indoor championships, finishing seventh with a throw of 63-8 ½ (19.42m). She won GLIAC titles in the weight throw at the conference indoor meet and the hammer at the conference outdoor meet.
In the 2023-24 season, Ulven won her first GLIAC outdoor championship in the hammer throw (60.21m) and then finished fourth in the same event at the NCAA outdoor nationals (58.38m).
In the 2022-23 campaign, Ulven finished second in the hammer throw at the GLIAC outdoor championships and qualified for nationals, finishing 17th at the NCAA meet. She also finished third in the weight throw at the conference indoor meet.
Ulven, a 2021 East graduate, concluded her collegiate career last month with her fifth individual All-America award, finishing third in the women’s hammer throw at the NCAA Division II national championships in Emporia, Kan. Ulven threw the hammer 199 feet, 2 inches (60.71 meters) at the national meet.
Ulven broke the 60-meter mark on two other occasions this season and never finished below third in any competition. At the GLIAC outdoor championships, she won the hammer throw for the third straight year with a toss of 184-0 (56.08m).
In the 2024-25 season, Ulven was the national runner-up in the hammer throw at the NCAA Division II outdoor championships with a throw of 200-4 ¼ (61.07m). She also earned All-America honors in the weight throw at the Division II indoor championships, finishing seventh with a throw of 63-8 ½ (19.42m). She won GLIAC titles in the weight throw at the conference indoor meet and the hammer at the conference outdoor meet.
In the 2023-24 season, Ulven won her first GLIAC outdoor championship in the hammer throw (60.21m) and then finished fourth in the same event at the NCAA outdoor nationals (58.38m).
In the 2022-23 campaign, Ulven finished second in the hammer throw at the GLIAC outdoor championships and qualified for nationals, finishing 17th at the NCAA meet. She also finished third in the weight throw at the conference indoor meet.
West Girls Tennis Ninth at State Finals
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland West girls tennis team put a bow on its most successful season in school history with a top-10 showing at the Division 2 state finals last week at the Midland Tennis Center.
The Dux, who were making their first-ever appearance in the state championship, finished tied for ninth place among 24 teams with Richland Gull Lake with 11 points. Birmingham Seaholm won the state tournament in convincing fashion with 33 points, with Farmington Hills Mercy second with 22.
Sophomore Aneliece Yin had the deepest tournament run for the Dux, winning two matches to reach the semifinals at No. 4 singles. After a first-round bye, Yin defeated Berkley’s Emma Sumnicht in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, then dispatched of East Lansing’s Sima Bezuglova, 7-6 (5), 6-1. Yin’s run ended with a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Seaholm’s Sabrina Dunn, who went on to win the flight championship.
At No. 3 singles, junior Halle Reider advanced to the third round with a three-set win over Forest Hills Northern’s Aanya Dogra, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. Reider then was defeated in straight sets in the third round.
West’s No. 2 doubles team of junior Brailee Bursley and freshman Molly Settlemyre reached the third round in their flight. After a first-round bye, Bursley and Settlemyre downed Leah Mills and Sophie Sisco of Muskegon Mona Shores, 6-4, 6-4. They fell in the third round to Seaholm’s Anna Olekszyk and Katie Joyce, 6-4, 6-1.
At No. 4 doubles, senior Abby TenBroeke and sophomore Natalie Lauritzen advanced to the third round. Following a bye in the first round, TenBroeke and Lauritzen posted a straight-set win over Annabelle O’Brien-Hockey and Madison Krogol of Wyandotte Roosevelt, 6-3, 6-1, before losing to a doubles team from Seaholm in the third round.
Coached by Lance McKinney, West posted a second-place finish in the O-K Black Conference this season. The Dux then won their first regional championship in school history last month, tying with Mattawan for the regional title, to qualify for the state tournament.
Former Grand Rapids Rise Standout Joins Chix Coaching Staff
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A former all-league player for the Grand Rapids Rise professional volleyball team will lend her expertise to the Zeeland East volleyball program this upcoming season.
Ali Bastianelli has been hired as an assistant coach by new Chix head coach Jake Szetela, according to a recent Instagram post.
Bastianelli was an All-State player at Marysville High School on the east side of the state, graduating in 2015, before going on to the University of Illinois, where she was a three-time All-American as a middle blocker. In 2018, she led all NCAA Division I players in blocks with 201. She finished her career with the Fighting Illini with a school-record 750 blocks and slammed home 925 kills in 135 matches.
From Illinois, Bastianelli went on to play professionally in France and Puerto Rico. She was a member of the U.S. national team in 2021-22, and played three seasons in the Athletes Unlimited Pro League before entering the Pro Volleyball Federation in 2024, playing for the Atlanta Vibe and the San Diego Mojo. She was named the league’s Middle Blocker of the Year that season.
In 2025, Bastianelli returned to her home state to play for the Grand Rapids Rise for the final season of her pro career. She led the PVF with 89 blocks in 28 matches, delivered 165 kills for a .303 kill percentage, and earned second-team all-league honors. In one match, she had 20 blocks for the Rise against Atlanta, the most by any middle blocker in a single PVF match.
Bastianelli served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan in 2021. She is currently working toward a career in health care.
Zeeland Record
A former all-league player for the Grand Rapids Rise professional volleyball team will lend her expertise to the Zeeland East volleyball program this upcoming season.
Ali Bastianelli has been hired as an assistant coach by new Chix head coach Jake Szetela, according to a recent Instagram post.
Bastianelli was an All-State player at Marysville High School on the east side of the state, graduating in 2015, before going on to the University of Illinois, where she was a three-time All-American as a middle blocker. In 2018, she led all NCAA Division I players in blocks with 201. She finished her career with the Fighting Illini with a school-record 750 blocks and slammed home 925 kills in 135 matches.
From Illinois, Bastianelli went on to play professionally in France and Puerto Rico. She was a member of the U.S. national team in 2021-22, and played three seasons in the Athletes Unlimited Pro League before entering the Pro Volleyball Federation in 2024, playing for the Atlanta Vibe and the San Diego Mojo. She was named the league’s Middle Blocker of the Year that season.
In 2025, Bastianelli returned to her home state to play for the Grand Rapids Rise for the final season of her pro career. She led the PVF with 89 blocks in 28 matches, delivered 165 kills for a .303 kill percentage, and earned second-team all-league honors. In one match, she had 20 blocks for the Rise against Atlanta, the most by any middle blocker in a single PVF match.
Bastianelli served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan in 2021. She is currently working toward a career in health care.
Grand Haven Wins First MHSAA Boys Volleyball Title
By Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
The Grand Haven High School boys volleyball team has had the proverbial target on its back since entering the season ranked No. 1.
That target proved tough to hit.
The Buccaneers closed out a 41-1 season last Saturday at Kellogg Arena with a 3-1 victory in the Division 1 Final over previously-unbeaten Lake Orion. Grand Haven’s 25-19, 25-11, 29-31, 25-18 victory gave the Bucs the first MHSAA Division 1 Finals trophy in boys volleyball.
“They accomplished exactly what they wanted when they started the year,” said Grand Haven coach Jim VanTol. “We knew we were the team to beat all year, and they came into every match knowing that. They got exactly what they came for and what they wanted. They practice hard, they play hard and they like each other, which helps a lot.”
Grand Haven was paced by the inaugural Mr. Volleyball Award winner Caleb Cryst and the power hitting of juniors Alfredo Ellis and Maddox Krugler and sophomore John Cryst.
In between the second and third sets, senior Caleb Cryst was presented with the Mr. Volleyball trophy.
“It’s so special,” he said. “Bringing (the championship) home with Maddox, Fredo, John, all of my teammates. I’ve played with them for years, and that’s our goal.”
In the opening set, Lake Orion showed why it entered the Final with an unblemished 23-0 record. With seniors Jan Ludvik and Kuba Wolski handling just about all of the outside hitting duties, the Dragons carved out an 18-14 lead.
John Cryst helped right the Grand Haven ship with three kills, and with the score tied at 19-19, he served the next six points with a kill by Caleb Cryst sealing it.
The Bucs then put on a clinic of how to stop Lake Orion’s attack by blocking just about everything that came their way from Ludvik or Wolski. Grand Haven rolled to a 20-6 lead en route to the 25-11 win.
Ludvik and Wolski got rolling in the third set, roaring out to a 17-9 lead on Ludvik’s sixth kill of the set.
When it seemed as though a fourth set was moments away, Grand Haven punched back with senior Owen Jiang and Caleb Cryst combining for three block-kills that along with two Krugler kills made it 25-24 with senior Carson Moroney serving match point.
Ludvik’s falling away hit rolled along the top of the net and fell on the other side in-bounds to make it 25-25, and Lake Orion survived two more match-point serves as the score reached 29-29. A Grand Haven service error and a Ludvik kill gave Lake Orion life.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team nudging ahead by more than two points until the Bucs turned a 14-13 deficit into an 18-15 lead. They closed the match on a 12-4 run with a Lake Orion serve into the net ending the match.
While Saturday marked the end of Cryst’s high school career, the Bucs return plenty — and will likely have that target etched squarely on their backs again next spring.
“Most of our power guys are back, and our youth program is very strong,” VanTol said. “Our eighth-grade class has two or three or four guys who will push these guys for starting spots.”
Special for MHSAA.com
The Grand Haven High School boys volleyball team has had the proverbial target on its back since entering the season ranked No. 1.
That target proved tough to hit.
The Buccaneers closed out a 41-1 season last Saturday at Kellogg Arena with a 3-1 victory in the Division 1 Final over previously-unbeaten Lake Orion. Grand Haven’s 25-19, 25-11, 29-31, 25-18 victory gave the Bucs the first MHSAA Division 1 Finals trophy in boys volleyball.
“They accomplished exactly what they wanted when they started the year,” said Grand Haven coach Jim VanTol. “We knew we were the team to beat all year, and they came into every match knowing that. They got exactly what they came for and what they wanted. They practice hard, they play hard and they like each other, which helps a lot.”
Grand Haven was paced by the inaugural Mr. Volleyball Award winner Caleb Cryst and the power hitting of juniors Alfredo Ellis and Maddox Krugler and sophomore John Cryst.
In between the second and third sets, senior Caleb Cryst was presented with the Mr. Volleyball trophy.
“It’s so special,” he said. “Bringing (the championship) home with Maddox, Fredo, John, all of my teammates. I’ve played with them for years, and that’s our goal.”
In the opening set, Lake Orion showed why it entered the Final with an unblemished 23-0 record. With seniors Jan Ludvik and Kuba Wolski handling just about all of the outside hitting duties, the Dragons carved out an 18-14 lead.
John Cryst helped right the Grand Haven ship with three kills, and with the score tied at 19-19, he served the next six points with a kill by Caleb Cryst sealing it.
The Bucs then put on a clinic of how to stop Lake Orion’s attack by blocking just about everything that came their way from Ludvik or Wolski. Grand Haven rolled to a 20-6 lead en route to the 25-11 win.
Ludvik and Wolski got rolling in the third set, roaring out to a 17-9 lead on Ludvik’s sixth kill of the set.
When it seemed as though a fourth set was moments away, Grand Haven punched back with senior Owen Jiang and Caleb Cryst combining for three block-kills that along with two Krugler kills made it 25-24 with senior Carson Moroney serving match point.
Ludvik’s falling away hit rolled along the top of the net and fell on the other side in-bounds to make it 25-25, and Lake Orion survived two more match-point serves as the score reached 29-29. A Grand Haven service error and a Ludvik kill gave Lake Orion life.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team nudging ahead by more than two points until the Bucs turned a 14-13 deficit into an 18-15 lead. They closed the match on a 12-4 run with a Lake Orion serve into the net ending the match.
While Saturday marked the end of Cryst’s high school career, the Bucs return plenty — and will likely have that target etched squarely on their backs again next spring.
“Most of our power guys are back, and our youth program is very strong,” VanTol said. “Our eighth-grade class has two or three or four guys who will push these guys for starting spots.”
