Zeeland East senior outside hitter Lizzie Risdon (center) became just the second player in the history of the Chix volleyball program to reach 1,000 career kills last Thursday in East’s sweep of Holland Christian. Risdon is pictured with her parents, Jeff and Julie.
Photo courtesy Jake Szetela Photography
Photo courtesy Jake Szetela Photography
The Zeeland East varsity volleyball team came up with a stellar performance last Thursday night at Holland Christian, sweeping the Maroons 25-19, 25-22, 25-21.
Highlighting the Chix win was senior outside hitter Lizzie Risdon slamming home the 1,000th kill of her career, making her only the second East player to reach that milestone. That kill came in the first set of the match, giving East an 11-10 lead.
“While it is a testament to her skill as a player, it also highlights her dedication to excellence during those months that our community doesn't get to see,” East coach Jake Szetela said of Risdon. “Thousands of reps during the offseason that make these things look like they just come to her naturally. Beyond all of that, this milestone speaks to the incredible trust and love she has built with her teammates over the years, and I’d wager that means more to her than the stats that make a night like tonight possible.”
The other Zeeland East player with more than 1,000 career kills is 2018 graduate Sophie Riemersma, who went on to play collegiately at Miami (Ohio) and Jacksonville State (Ala.).
Risdon led East with 12 kills, 14 digs, four aces and a 2.43 serve receive average, but she had plenty of support from her teammates. Senior middle hitter Bri Cole had seven kills and five blocks, while junior opposite side hitter Ava Geerlings added seven kills and four blocks.
Junior setter Kyla Kuiper dished out 27 assists, putting her 23 away from 500 assists on the season. Oli Valenzeula had 10 digs, while Leah Keur added seven digs.
The Chix improved to 17-2 with the win, 4-0 in the O-K Black. East entered Tuesday’s contest at Hamilton tied for first place in the conference with the Hawkeyes. The Chix are home tonight against Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Highlighting the Chix win was senior outside hitter Lizzie Risdon slamming home the 1,000th kill of her career, making her only the second East player to reach that milestone. That kill came in the first set of the match, giving East an 11-10 lead.
“While it is a testament to her skill as a player, it also highlights her dedication to excellence during those months that our community doesn't get to see,” East coach Jake Szetela said of Risdon. “Thousands of reps during the offseason that make these things look like they just come to her naturally. Beyond all of that, this milestone speaks to the incredible trust and love she has built with her teammates over the years, and I’d wager that means more to her than the stats that make a night like tonight possible.”
The other Zeeland East player with more than 1,000 career kills is 2018 graduate Sophie Riemersma, who went on to play collegiately at Miami (Ohio) and Jacksonville State (Ala.).
Risdon led East with 12 kills, 14 digs, four aces and a 2.43 serve receive average, but she had plenty of support from her teammates. Senior middle hitter Bri Cole had seven kills and five blocks, while junior opposite side hitter Ava Geerlings added seven kills and four blocks.
Junior setter Kyla Kuiper dished out 27 assists, putting her 23 away from 500 assists on the season. Oli Valenzeula had 10 digs, while Leah Keur added seven digs.
The Chix improved to 17-2 with the win, 4-0 in the O-K Black. East entered Tuesday’s contest at Hamilton tied for first place in the conference with the Hawkeyes. The Chix are home tonight against Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
West Football Romps Past Wyoming, 54-8
Zeeland West senior Kye Chayer (23) heads for the end zone during last Friday’s win over Wyoming as junior Kenny Howe III (21) supplies a key block.
Photo courtesy Angela Howe Creations
The Zeeland West varsity football team got to show off its depth when it came to its ground game last Friday at Zeeland Stadium.
Twelve different backs carried the ball at least once, and six of them scored touchdowns as the Dux steamrolled the Wolves, 54-8, to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Senior Brandon Holman had only two carries in the game, but scored both times he touched the ball. He finished the game with 88 yards on his two carries.
Carson Howe, Drew Albrecht, Kye Chayer, Taoufik Semia and Noah Calanchi also scored touchdowns for West as the Dux piled up close to 350 yards rushing. Logan Nash ran for a pair of two-point conversions and Ethan Huyser ran for another.
Semia rushed for 60 yards on two carries, Calanchi added 52 yards on three carries while Chayer contributed 40 yards on three carries.
The Dux head into their biggest test of the season this Friday night against Grand Rapids South Christian. The Sailors are coming off a thrilling comeback win over Unity Christian, overcoming a 20-point deficit to edge the Crusaders 34-33. The game will take place at Baldwin Middle School in Hudsonville, with kickoff at 7 p.m.
Twelve different backs carried the ball at least once, and six of them scored touchdowns as the Dux steamrolled the Wolves, 54-8, to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Senior Brandon Holman had only two carries in the game, but scored both times he touched the ball. He finished the game with 88 yards on his two carries.
Carson Howe, Drew Albrecht, Kye Chayer, Taoufik Semia and Noah Calanchi also scored touchdowns for West as the Dux piled up close to 350 yards rushing. Logan Nash ran for a pair of two-point conversions and Ethan Huyser ran for another.
Semia rushed for 60 yards on two carries, Calanchi added 52 yards on three carries while Chayer contributed 40 yards on three carries.
The Dux head into their biggest test of the season this Friday night against Grand Rapids South Christian. The Sailors are coming off a thrilling comeback win over Unity Christian, overcoming a 20-point deficit to edge the Crusaders 34-33. The game will take place at Baldwin Middle School in Hudsonville, with kickoff at 7 p.m.
Dux Narrowly Miss Upset of Hamilton
The Zeeland West varsity volleyball team had a two-sets-to-one lead on the road Sept. 15 at Hamilton, but could not quite hang on as the Dux fell to the Hawkeyes, 23-25, 25-17, 19-25, 26-24, 15-7.
Senior Brielle Carlson led the Dux with 12 kills and three aces. Sophomore Molly Settlemyre added nine kills and senior Sadie Kragt had eight. Junior Breslin Schippers set the table most of the night, finishing with 19 assists and four kills. Leah McLaren came off the bench to serve up four aces.
The Dux bounced back last Thursday in another five-set battle, this time defeating Spring Lake, 19-25, 25-14, 25-18, 17-25, 15-5.
Settlemyre led the way with 18 kills and a .452 hitting percentage on the evening. Senior Hannah VanderZwaag added 10 kills while Kragt and Carlson added 10 and nine kills respectively. Schippers had 25 assists and five aces on the night.
West entered the week with a 2-3 record in conference play and 7-7 overall.
Senior Brielle Carlson led the Dux with 12 kills and three aces. Sophomore Molly Settlemyre added nine kills and senior Sadie Kragt had eight. Junior Breslin Schippers set the table most of the night, finishing with 19 assists and four kills. Leah McLaren came off the bench to serve up four aces.
The Dux bounced back last Thursday in another five-set battle, this time defeating Spring Lake, 19-25, 25-14, 25-18, 17-25, 15-5.
Settlemyre led the way with 18 kills and a .452 hitting percentage on the evening. Senior Hannah VanderZwaag added 10 kills while Kragt and Carlson added 10 and nine kills respectively. Schippers had 25 assists and five aces on the night.
West entered the week with a 2-3 record in conference play and 7-7 overall.
East Football Falls to Forest Hills Central
The Zeeland East varsity football team dropped its second straight game last Friday, as Forest Hills Central defeated the Chix, 34-6.
The Rangers jumped on East (2-2) from the outset, returning the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown and adding two more scores to take a 21-0 lead before the game was seven minutes old. FHC led 31-0 at the half.
East got on the board in the third quarter. A 53-yard pass play from Will Drnek to Isaiah Boonstra put the Chix in the red zone, and Payton Sackett finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
East was limited to 103 yards rushing on 41 attempts. Drnek completed 10 of 14 passes for 105 yards, but was sacked four times. Boonstra caught six passes for 76 yards and added 30 yards rushing on four carries. Coby Miller caught four passes for 29 yards while Sackett had 27 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Defensively, Zeek Ramadhani and Carson Rilley made seven tackles each for the Chix, while Ramadhani also had 1.5 tackles for loss.
East travels to the Detroit area this Friday to face Garden City.
The Rangers jumped on East (2-2) from the outset, returning the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown and adding two more scores to take a 21-0 lead before the game was seven minutes old. FHC led 31-0 at the half.
East got on the board in the third quarter. A 53-yard pass play from Will Drnek to Isaiah Boonstra put the Chix in the red zone, and Payton Sackett finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
East was limited to 103 yards rushing on 41 attempts. Drnek completed 10 of 14 passes for 105 yards, but was sacked four times. Boonstra caught six passes for 76 yards and added 30 yards rushing on four carries. Coby Miller caught four passes for 29 yards while Sackett had 27 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Defensively, Zeek Ramadhani and Carson Rilley made seven tackles each for the Chix, while Ramadhani also had 1.5 tackles for loss.
East travels to the Detroit area this Friday to face Garden City.
East Netters Down Lakers
The Zeeland East boys tennis team defeated Spring Lake last Thursday 5-3, overcoming a 3-1 singles deficit with a sweep of the doubles matches.
Spring Lake claimed the first three singles courts, including the most competitive match at No. 1. Alex Dull outlasted Zeeland East’s Daniel Steenwyk 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in a three-set battle, while James Priddy and Landry McManus added straight-set wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Zeeland East’s Oliver Reese provided the lone singles point with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Pranay Patel at No. 4.
The doubles sweep was decisive, beginning with Zeeland East’s Jacob Guerriero and Luke Hathaway taking No. 1 doubles, 6-0, 6-3. Jace Velderman and Payton Ott followed with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2, and Lukas Hafeman and Pierson Kolean completed a dominant 6-0, 6-0 result at No. 3.
East improved to 12-2-2 on the season with the win.
Spring Lake claimed the first three singles courts, including the most competitive match at No. 1. Alex Dull outlasted Zeeland East’s Daniel Steenwyk 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in a three-set battle, while James Priddy and Landry McManus added straight-set wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Zeeland East’s Oliver Reese provided the lone singles point with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Pranay Patel at No. 4.
The doubles sweep was decisive, beginning with Zeeland East’s Jacob Guerriero and Luke Hathaway taking No. 1 doubles, 6-0, 6-3. Jace Velderman and Payton Ott followed with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2, and Lukas Hafeman and Pierson Kolean completed a dominant 6-0, 6-0 result at No. 3.
East improved to 12-2-2 on the season with the win.
Raab Sets School Record at Ottawa Hills Invite
Zeeland East junior Adalyn Raab broke her own school record as she took first place last Saturday at the Ottawa Hills Cross Country Invitational.
Raab’s time of 17 minutes, 28.30 seconds was more than 14 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
East and Zeeland West tied for eighth place among 22 teams at the meet with a team score of 224. Portage Central won the meet with 91 points.
Sophomore Tessa Albrecht led West with a 19th-place finish in 19:03.82.
Rounding out East’s top five runners were freshman Charlie Vonk (24th, 19:20.52), junior Alivia Schnakenberg (35th, 19:37.73), sophomore Tenley DeWitt (73rd, 20:51.33) and senior Haley Green (108th, 21:38.92).
Freshman Ava Hoffer finished 27th for West in 19:23.03. Rounding out the top five runners for the Dux were senior Samantha Koppenol (60th, 20:33.21), senior Kaila Keeler (64th, 20:38.83) and senior Rowan Sloothaak (65th, 20:39.96).
In the boys meet, West finished seventh among 23 teams that competed with a team score of 212 while East came in 16th with 398. Traverse City West won the meet with 85 points.
The Dux were led by sophomore Tanner Smith, who finished 12th in 15:49.38. Rounding out the top five runners for West were sophomore Bryson Hassevoort (29th, 16:10.74), junior Michael Ensing (61st, 17:05.71), junior Weston Grewell (62nd, 17:06.48) and senior Joshua Dodd (63rd, 17:08.96).
Senior Nate Davis led the Chix with a 34th-place finish in 16:24.32. The rest of East’s top five runners were junior Nico DiLaura (79th, 17:19.81), freshman Micah Chen (88th, 17:27), senior Tristen Hinson (120th, 17:57.55) and junior Levi Groenhout (122nd, 18:03.13).
Raab’s time of 17 minutes, 28.30 seconds was more than 14 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
East and Zeeland West tied for eighth place among 22 teams at the meet with a team score of 224. Portage Central won the meet with 91 points.
Sophomore Tessa Albrecht led West with a 19th-place finish in 19:03.82.
Rounding out East’s top five runners were freshman Charlie Vonk (24th, 19:20.52), junior Alivia Schnakenberg (35th, 19:37.73), sophomore Tenley DeWitt (73rd, 20:51.33) and senior Haley Green (108th, 21:38.92).
Freshman Ava Hoffer finished 27th for West in 19:23.03. Rounding out the top five runners for the Dux were senior Samantha Koppenol (60th, 20:33.21), senior Kaila Keeler (64th, 20:38.83) and senior Rowan Sloothaak (65th, 20:39.96).
In the boys meet, West finished seventh among 23 teams that competed with a team score of 212 while East came in 16th with 398. Traverse City West won the meet with 85 points.
The Dux were led by sophomore Tanner Smith, who finished 12th in 15:49.38. Rounding out the top five runners for West were sophomore Bryson Hassevoort (29th, 16:10.74), junior Michael Ensing (61st, 17:05.71), junior Weston Grewell (62nd, 17:06.48) and senior Joshua Dodd (63rd, 17:08.96).
Senior Nate Davis led the Chix with a 34th-place finish in 16:24.32. The rest of East’s top five runners were junior Nico DiLaura (79th, 17:19.81), freshman Micah Chen (88th, 17:27), senior Tristen Hinson (120th, 17:57.55) and junior Levi Groenhout (122nd, 18:03.13).
