Grand Rapids Girls’ Volleyball Sets the Bar High for 2024

Winning has become a tradition as of late for Grand Rapids girls’ volleyball, having won three consecutive Section 7AAA titles and five total in the last 10 years.

The Thunderhawks graduated seven seniors from last year’s roster, but nonetheless have set the bar high for the 2024 season. They’re ready to prove that they have built a winning program over the last decade, and one that won’t crumble easily.

“We reload every year, right? It’s not a big shift,” said Head Coach Rebekah Sutherland. “Our culture is just, if you’re there, you work hard and hopefully, you know, I get tired of, ‘Oh, you lost a lot of people last year, you [might be] bad.’ … It’s like, we’re never gonna be bad, right? That’s the goal, is to have a just a culture of volleyball with girls that keep showing up and work the hardest.”

“It’s a new team. There’s a lot of new girls coming from JV and I think we’re working together really well,” said junior outside hitter Colby LaPlant. “We have played in the off-season. For our JO season, we were kind of on the same team, so it is a little bit easier, but just for sure, getting to know everybody and bonding together is really important.”

The T-Hawks return five players from last year’s varsity roster, just two of them seniors. But they feel like they are ready to lead and are positive the underclassmen have what it takes to make their fourth straight state appearance.

“I’m actually really excited to see where this year brings us because I know we have the talent to get there,” stated senior setter Annika Grose. “Sometimes it’s intimidating, but we just have to keep our shoulders back and push forward. A couple of us have been playing together for a while, so we kind of know how we work. And with the new players coming in, we’re just kind of welcoming them and really helping them learn their spot.”

“We are definitely like a new team, like this is a new group of girls and we’re definitely learning each other,” explained senior outside hitter and captain Adrienne Venditto. “I do think it’s a little scary just because, like, I’m sad it’s my last year, but I know that we as seniors can step up and take the role of like, we have been there. We can show the other girls that you can do it.”

Grand Rapids opens their season on the road against familiar foe North Branch on Tuesday, August 27th at 6 p.m. Their next home game will be the ensuing Thursday against Superior.