This Week in Prep Sports: Rangers host annual cancer awareness game; regional golf results
HILLSDALE COUNTY — Week 8 of the 2023 fall sports season saw five-set thrilling matches in volleyball and playoffs begin for soccer.
Districts: Jonesville soccer wins first playoff game since 2016; All 3 County teams advance
During this week in prep sports, volleyball teams played in non-conference and league matches. Cross Country teams competed in more jamborees. Hillsdale girls golf and boys tennis teams competed in regional finals. Reading runner Kutter VanAkaen earned his second Athlete of the Week honor. County teams competed in district boys soccer quarterfinal action and won all three games.
This is our recap of the weekday events that happened across Hillsdale County.
Highlight stories and scores can be sent from coaching staffs by Thursday night. Top performer submissions can be sent in before Sunday each week.
Ranger volleyball holds Cancer Awareness game
Our feature highlight for Week 8 is Reading volleyball's annual Cancer Awareness game.
This year, the Ranger volleyball team and coach Melissa Warfield held the game in honor of Ray Anderson.
Four-year-old Ray Anderson is fighting a battle with Leukemia. The school and the team held the 'Wear Orange for Ray' night on Tuesday. Orange is the official awareness color for Leukemia.
The team held fundraising efforts, and together with the Reading community, students, administration, parents, Reading Pizza Barn and H&H Design, they raised $3,822 dollars that will be donated to Ray and his family.
The Rangers would go on to win their match that night against Concord in five sets. Reading won the first, fourth and fifth sets by final scores of 25-23, 25-20 and 15-11.
Later in the week, the Rangers beat Pittsford in three sets by final scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-16.
Volleyball Results
Camden-Frontier defeats Jackson Christian
Camden-Frontier volleyball defeated Jackson Christian in three sets by final scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-15.
Hillsdale Academy defeats Tekonsha
Hillsdale Academy volleyball defeated Tekonsha in set finals of 25-12, 25-14 and 25-12.
Ella O' Grady and Clara Heath each had four aces. Iris Millies had three aces. Liz Cregar led the team with nine kills. Angela Alvarez had five digs. Heath had 21 assists.
Litchfield defeats Waldron
The Litchfield Terriers took down Waldron in a three-set final. They won with final set scores of 25-18, 25-12 and 25-16.
Jonesville defeats Michigan Center
The Comets took down Michigan Center in five sets. Their winning sets were in the final three sets of the game. They won by final scores of 25-19, 25-21 and 15-13.
Natalynn Beach had 15 kills and 14 blocks. Alexis Ewing had 12 kills and 23 digs. Gracen Hager had 12 kills and 10 digs. Lyra Nichols had 12 digs and 33 assists. Morgan wood had nine kills and nine blocks. Mackenzie Plum had two aces and 15 digs.
Comet J.V. athlete Hannah Young had four aces.
Regional Results
Hillsdale's girls golf and boys tennis teams took part in their regional championships this week.
Tennis: Hillsdale battles at regionals; Ben Kunkel takes second for the Hornets
The regionals are the start of the postseason for MHSAA girls golf and boys tennis.
Girls golf traveled to the Rustic Glen Golf Cours where two Hornet golfers battled in the regional finals. Senior Annzley Francis returned to the golf course after missing most of her final season with an injury.
Featured Article: Hillsdale girls golf enters championship season under the leadership of Annzley Francis
The team captain ended the day 12th in individual standings with a final score of 103 through 18. She tied two other golfers with her final score.
Francis parred two holes, one on the front nine and one on the back nine. Junior teammate Kassidy Hassenzahl finished 27th individually. The junior had a final score of 114. Hassenzahl shot par on a par-five at hole 11.
Hillsdale boys tennis headed to Three Rivers to take on multiple teams in the regional tournament. Multiple Hornets ended their day at the semifinal round. Senior and first-year tennis player Ben Kunkel made it to the No. 4 singles championship but lost to a Berrien Springs athlete.
Cross Country Quick Hits
Big 8
Reading cross country returned to the Big 8 courses on Tuesday for their third jamboree of the season.
Prep Sports Awards: Kutter VanAken wins Week 6 Athlete of the Week; Vote for Week 7 here
Senior Ranger Kutter VanAkan, following up his second athlete of the week honor, took third with a new PR time of 18:13. Brayden Wright took 17th for the boys team with a time of 19:55. Alec Cooper earned a new PR of 22:59. For the girls team, Sophia Falater took 20th with a time of 24:51. Ariana Norman had a new season record time of 28:02.
Cascades
Jonesville took on Hanover-Horton in a Cascades Conference dual meet.
Hanover-Horton's girls team won the event, with senior Olivia Perrine taking first with a time of 20:30. Jonesville junior Karly Page took seventh with a time of 23:08. Kendahl Drake, Kiera Night, Maria Mandrelle, Julia Mandrelle and Zoey Udzik took 10th-through-14th, respectively.
The Hanover-Horton boys team won the event, with senior Evan Shepherd taking first with a time of 16:18. Jonesville freshman Caleb Blonde nearly matched his PR with a time of 16:35.5. Senior Gavin VanKampen took third with a time of 16:36. Nicholas Fowler took fifth with a new PR time of 16:51. Senior David Fowler took ninth with a time of 17:35. Collin Fucile took 10th with a time of 17:49.
SCAA
Pittsford traveled to the Adrian Madison Invitational. The girls team took second overall, with senior Brooke Smith taking second individually. Smith had a final time of 20:50. Ava Mallar had a time of 21:19 to take third. Riley McCumber had a time of 21:24 to take fourth. Athlete of the Week nominee Lillian Jagielski set a new PR time of 22:11 to take eighth overall.
The Wildcat boys team was represented by Nick Jagielski, who took 25th overall with a time of 21:45.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: This Week in Prep Sports: Rangers host annual cancer awareness game
