MILFORD – After returning most of its 2024 roster this fall, the South Lyon volleyball team wasn’t shy when it came to one of its key goals.

That was winning the Lakes Valley Conference for the first time in program history.

While the season is still young, the Lions took a big step toward that goal on Tuesday night, besting Milford 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 to establish themselves as the lone remaining unbeaten LVC team.

“It’s something we talk about every year, but we really want it this year,” South Lyon coach Deena Maher said of the LVC title. “We are going to fight for it, and this was a big win for us toward achieving that goal. There’s a lot of matches still to play, but we are excited to see what happens.”

Milford (12-3-1, 3-1 LVC) came into the match with a win over the two-time defending conference champions, South Lyon East. The Mavericks were looking to take command of the league, but the Lions had other ideas.

Each set was competitive, but the Lions (17-5, 2-0) utilized a surge late in each set to keep the Mavericks at bay. In the first, a 6-1 rally with the score at 18-16 propelled the Lions toward the win. Junior Kennedy Duncan had three kills in the rally to start a strong night for herself.

“Kennedy is really stepping up as a leader for us this year,” Maher said of Duncan. “She continues to grow her game and is finding the open shots for us. I am really proud of her growth.”

In the second set it was another junior, Kate Sulkowski, who came through with some timely kills down the stretch to put South Lyon up two sets.

In the final set, the Lions scored five straight when the score was tied 16-16 to help themselves pull away. Duncan had another two kills and a block during the stretch.

Closing sets have been a big emphasis for South Lyon, as the Lions suffered most of their losses this year to ranked teams, coming up just a few points shy of pulling out the wins.

“We love playing top competition because it really helps us as a team,” Maher said. “We had some close losses to good teams early on and I think it showed us what we needed to work on, and we’ve been able to grow from that.”

Photo gallery of Milford vs. South Lyon in LVC volleyball action

The growth of the team also is a credit to the play of senior setter Lucy Stoll. She has over 350 assists on the season following Tuesday’s win where she spread the ball out well to the Lions’ capable hitters.

“Lucy is amazing. She’s not afraid of anything” Maher said of her senior setter. “She can handle anything that is thrown at her. She gives a good sense of calm to her teammates and she’s helped build that in our program.”

Duncan capitalized the most from Stoll’s play with 15 kills, while Sulkowski had seven kills with two blocks and two aces. Sophomore Julia Kavaliauskas added six kills.

Milford was led by junior Lexa Pierson, who had 17 kills, while junior Brynlei Gunn had six kills and a block.

South Lyon will look to maintain its hold on the LVC lead on Thursday when it hosts Walled Lake Western. The Lions still have an upcoming slate with rival South Lyon East on Oct. 7, but the team is very motivated to finish the job in the conference race after finishing second to the Cougars in 2024.

“We were really close last year, so the team has been really focused on winning the conference,” Stoll said. “We have a lot of players back from last year and we feel we are a much stronger team now. We just want to keep playing at a high level and get to that title.”

South Lyon defeated Milford in a battle of Lakes Valley Conference unbeatens on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. The Lions prevailed 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 at Milford High School.

ANN ARBOR – The South Lyon United girls lacrosse team displayed such a strong offense throughout the 2025 season that its potent defense could often go unnoticed.

On Saturday, it would be that defense that would propel United to a perfect season and the program’s first-ever state championship.

Trailing Hartland 3-2 at halftime, United refocused with an emphasis on defense and possession, and proceeded to hold the Eagles scoreless in the second half on its way to a 6-3 victory in the MHSAA Division 1 final at the University of Michigan.

“This is only the second game this season that we fell behind. We are normally able to pick up the lead and pull away pretty quick. When we weren’t, coming out of the half, we knew we needed to start playing our game and not letting (Hartland) play their game,” South Lyon United junior Shaelyn Perry said. “On defense and transition, we really locked things down. On offense, we used that momentum to pull ahead.”

Perry was the spark in all phases for United (24-0) as she came through with key plays on the draw, defensively, and on offense. She tallied three goals and an assist to lift her team to a win.

“I could have never imagined it. I am beyond excited,” Perry said of being a state champion.

Averaging nearly 14 goals per game on offense, South Lyon United couldn’t get into a groove with the ball to start Saturday’s D1 final.

Hartland (20-6) held United to two goals, while grinding its way to a 3-2 lead at the break thanks to scores from Ella Ebright, Claire Brown, and Amanda Norton.

To complement its offense in 2025, the South Lyon United defense was allowing just under four goals per game. That defense stepped up on Saturday and locked down Hartland for the final 24 minutes of play.

“We really weren’t playing our game, so we had to just settle down and play like South Lyon lacrosse and not Hartland lacrosse,” South Lyon United coach Deanna Radcliffe said. “I just told them that if they remained poise and do what we have worked on all year, eventually (the lead) would come.”

The lead did come in the third, thanks to a 4-0 period for United. Perry scored her second goal of the game midway through the period to tie things at 3-3 and start a run of three goals in two minutes for United.

Reagan Shields followed to give South Lyon the lead on a free protection shot, while Cate Cumberland added another goal seconds later on an assist from Perry. The junior, Perry, then finished the scoring with 24.3 seconds left in the third to make it 6-3.

“I definitely did put a lot of pressure on (myself), but it was all for my team and I don’t regret it at all,” Perry said of leading the second-half charge.

The fourth quarter was scoreless as South Lyon United held possession most of the frame. When Hartland had the ball, it couldn’t find a way past United goalie Teagan Wesner.

Photo gallery of South Lyon United vs. Hartland in a D1 girls lacrosse state championship

A team with just four seniors, the young South Lyon United team carried the added pressure of being undefeated on Saturday as it sought its first state championship. Coach Radcliffe admitted even the nerves were getting to her.

“I didn’t even turn around until the very end of the game because I didn’t want to look (at the crowd). Even I was (nervous),” Radcliffe said. “It’s a different setting, a different stage.”

Despite the young team, Radcliffe had belief that 2025 could be special when her team was ousted by Brighton in last year’s playoffs. Brighton had won the previous three D1 state titles, but South Lyon defeated the Bulldogs two times this year, including in the regional final.

“At the end of last year, when (the team) lost to Brighton and they realize they didn’t do what they could have done, I think they had belief that if they worked…I told them that if everybody just works a little bit harder, you can surprise yourself next year,” Radcliffe said of her team. “I think they all bought into it, and here we are.”

South Lyon United defeated Hartland 6-3 in the MHSAA Division 1 girls lacrosse state championship game on Saturday, June 7, 2025 from the University of Michigan.

ANN ARBOR – The last thing Detroit Country Day goalie Campbell Lindner wanted to see in Saturday’s Division 2 girls lacrosse state championship match was overtime.

Fighting exhaustion from the heat after two competitive halves, Lindner had to dig deep when regulation ended with the Yellowjackets tied 9-9 with Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

Lindner fought off the fatigue and came through with two timely saves to keep the Pioneers off the scoreboard, while Country Day netted the lone goal of overtime to claim the 2025 championship, 10-9, at the University of Michigan.

“It’s surreal. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Linder said of the state championship. “(I told myself before overtime,) don’t get in your head, don’t lose your mind. Stay calm, shoulders back. Don’t do things you usually wouldn’t do. Just play your game, be scrappy, and do what you know how to do, what you were trained to do.”

The game-winning goal for DCD came from freshman Charlotte Cook just a minute into the first overtime session. Cook got some encouragement from a teammate to go for the goal when she had the opportunity to do so.

“I just saw an opening,” Cook said of going for the game-winning goal. “I had been trying to go all day, but had been laying off. I didn’t want to push it too much. My teammate and one of my best friends, Adriana Zuk told me I was going to get the winning goal. I saw an opportunity and I wanted to make her prediction come true, so I went for it.”

Cook has been one of the leading goal-scorers for the Yellowjackets this season, having the trust of her coaches and teammates.

“She is absolutely phenomenal. I haven’t seen a player like that in a long time. Just her raw talent, her (lacrosse) IQ as well,” Country Day coach Liz Nussbaum said of Cook. “This is the second time she’s come up with game-winning goals. It’s rare to have that level of trust, not just from a coach’s perspective, but the player’s (too). Our leaders could have told her to pull back, but they knew that she had it.”

With the lead, Lindner shut the door on GRCC, part of a 10-save performance from the junior goalie.

“It took her a minute to get into her head space, but once she did, she was unstoppable,” Nussbaum said of Lindner.

Country Day overcame a four-goal deficit in the first half to win its second state championship in three years. The Yellowjackets trailed 6-2 early in the second period, as their offense wasn’t able to find much success.

“We still had to get our bearings. We have a lot of freshmen that it’s their first time playing at a scene like this. It took them a minute, but once we got our feet rolling, we had the game plan and we started sticking to what we know we needed to do. I had so much confidence that we were going to get it done,” Nussbaum said of the four-goal deficit.

Country Day scored four of the final five goals in the first half to make it a one-score game at the break.

The Yellowjackets then held the Pioneers scoreless in the third, and Georgia Pavlou scored the lone goal of the period to make it 8-8 entering the fourth.

Jackie Calso gave DCD a 9-8 lead in the first minute of the final period, but GRCC answered with two goals from Lily Engstrom, who had a match-high six goals on Saturday.

With 1:15 left in regulation, Mary Pavlou found the net to tie things up at 9-9, then came through with a key defensive play as GRCC was looking for a last-second shot.

“We knew we were going to be in a close game,” Nussbaum said. “We were mentally ready for those tough moments and it showed in the end.”

Photo gallery of Detroit Country Day vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central in a D2 girls lacrosse state championship

The 10-9 victory for Country Day avenged a 10-9 loss to GRCC in the 2024 state championship match.

“I feel like that score was burned into all my players’ minds after last year,” Nussbaum said of the 10-9 final score. “We started preparing the next day after (the 2024 final). Last year we came in with two losses (against GRCC), this year we came in with two wins, so I think that gave us more of a confidence boost.”

Calso’s three goals led Country Day in the game, while Georgia Pavlou and Cook each scored twice. Pavlou added two assists.

Detroit Country Day defeated Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 10-9 in overtime, to win the 2025 MHSAA Division 2 girls lacrosse state championship on Saturday, June 7, 2025 from the University of Michigan.