Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools

https://thebattlecreekshopper.com/articles/sports/st-philip-volleyball-wins-district-title-for-27th-straight-year/ The St. Philip Catholic Central High School varsity volleyball team picked up its 27th-straight district title on Nov. 5 with a 3-0 sweep of the Climax-Scotts Panthers at Bellevue High School. St. Philip advanced to the final with a 3-0 win over Tekonsha the night before. The Tigers came out strong against Climax-Scotts in the game’s opening set, leading throughout and finishing with a 25-9 win. In set number two, St. Philip kept on rolling, quickly going up 14-2 and winning 25-13. In the final set, the Tigers won 25-6 to complete the sweep. On the night, St. Philip was led by sophomore Quinn Dzwik with 13 kills and a block, senior Adriana Olsen with eight kills, senior Mylee Grimm with four aces and 11 digs, senior Addi Dzwik with six kills, 25 assists and six digs and sophomore Leah Downey with seven digs. St. Philip head coach Vicky Groat said the district title is the beginning of a post season that she hopes will lead to the state title match. “Districts is the first step of reaching our goal and we’ve got to take care of business in districts,” said Groat. “The girls did a good job of staying focused and competing. It helps us now that we can move on to regional. That’s the next step in our goals to keep playing. Move on. Win and move on.” Looking ahead to the next round, Groat said her team needs to maintain focus as they gear up to face heighten intensity and stiffer competition. “We’ve got to be super focused,” Groat said. “[In regionals] the intensity level just heightens. Competition gets stronger. Everybody is still try ing to make it to the state finals and regionals is the next step for us.” The 2026 St. Philip roster features six seniors. Groat said the upperclassmen are ready get past the regional round for the first time in their careers. “They’ve been with me for a long time and for them to be successful to win another district for them is great,” she said. “This group hasn’t been further than the regional, so [there is] a little pressure on them, but it’s a great group of seniors and I’m happy for them. They’ve accomplished a lot in the four years that they’ve been here and they want to keep playing and not make the next game their last game.” On Nov. 10, St. Philip took on St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran in the regional semifinal in Athens after the Shopper News went to press. The winner of that contest will play either Mendon or Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep in the regional final in Athens on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.