TROY – Down a set and facing a 24-20 deficit in the second set of its Division 1 district final with Birmingham Marian, it’s like a light went off in the head of Bloomfield Hills senior Kayla Nwabueze on Friday night.

Nwabueze would spark a 6-point rally with four kills to push the Black Hawks to a 26-24 win in the second set and completely shift the momentum of the game.

From there, the Black Hawks took the next two sets behind a match-high 29 kills from their Miss Volleyball finalist, as No. 2 Bloomfield Hills topped No. 4 Marian 18-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-21 at Troy Athens High School.

“I was just telling myself that this could possibly be my last game, and I need to just go out hard, and I need to go out with the bang,” Nwabueze said of her mindset to close the second that. “My mental space just changed.”

Bloomfield Hills (39-6-1) didn’t hide its strategy once it started to work. They set Nwabueze everywhere on the floor and challenged the Mustangs to stop her.

“I think everybody saw that Kayla got a little bit hot. I think the setter found the hot hitter for sure,” Bloomfield Hills coach Brian Kim said. “We were fortunate to be able to come back in that second set and then just ride that momentum into sets three and four.”

Nwabueze, a Harvard commit, put down another eight kills in the third set, then nine in the fourth to wrap up the match. Her final two kills came from the back row to push the Black Hawks to a 24-21 advantage.

“She is by far the best hitter in the state. Honestly, she’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen in the state,” Marian coach Mayssa Cook said of Nwabueze. “In all the years I’ve coached, nobody, in my opinion, that we’ve ever played, even touches her as far as talent goes.”

Marian (44-6) started fast, taking a 5-1 lead in the first and never trailed to pick up a 25-18 win. In the second set, the Mustangs would lead 8-1, but eight service errors in the frame opened the door for Bloomfield Hills to rally, which it did.

“It didn’t help that we missed eight serves. In the second set, we missed eight serves. We had a seven-point lead twice. We were still up 24-20 and missing those serves at critical moments got (Nwabueze) to the front row quickly,” Cook said.

Nwabueze felt the momentum shift after that second set, as it seemed to put the Mustangs on their heels, while her teammates started to play with more confidence.

“I definitely did,” Nwabueze said on if she felt the momentum changed after the second set. “I was really happy that my team started riding behind me, and our whole energy just flipped.”

It wasn’t just Nwabueze’s play on the court that helped turn the tide. She was the first to speak in each huddle, and she was coaching up her teammates following the first set, telling them to remain confident. To Kim, that just defines why she’s more than just an on-court leader.

“Her leadership really shows, and everybody on the team, I think even spectators, everybody can see what kind of leader that she really is,” Kim said of Nwabueze. “As hard as she plays, everybody else follows her lead. So, she’s really something special.”

When the match concluded, Nwabueze and her teammates collapsed to the floor in joy. When the district trophy was handed out to Kim, he immediately walked it toward his senior star.

“It was definitely a feeling of relief that we didn’t have to keep fighting anymore,” Nwabueze said of seeing the final point. “We didn’t have to take it further than we needed to, and that we got the job done.”

Aiding Nwabueze and the Black Hawks in the win was junior setter Brynn Wilcox, who recorded 43 assists. Freshman Emily Nwabueze, the sister of Kayla, added seven kills while sophomore Allison Stakoe had four.

Photo gallery from the D1 volleyball district final between Bloomfield Hills and Marian

Marian was led by senior setter Allie Davison, who had 34 assists and five aces. Junior Sophia Smith recorded 15 kills, while sophomore Quinn Nelson had 10 kills with four aces.

The Mustangs will graduate four from their 2025 roster, but will return a loaded roster once again for the 2026 season.

“Wanting it is one thing, showing it is another thing,” Cook said of her team. “I know we wanted it. We've worked hard all season. We've been a top-five, maybe even top-four, team all season. It sucks that we saw them in districts, for sure, because we are better than a team that loses in districts. But ultimately, you have to show up and play who is in front of you. Bloomfield Hills brought their A+ game against us.”

The Black Hawks will now head to Marian next week for regional play. They open up with a regional semifinal against Grosse Pointe South at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“There are a lot of players on the team that had to step up in different moments. So, every player on the team contributed throughout the season,” Kim said. “We’re excited to see how this season goes.”

Bloomfield Hills defeated Birmingham Marian 18-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-21 in a Division 1 district volleyball final at Troy Athens High School on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

Nwabueze wills Bloomfield Hills to 4-set district championship win over Marian

OXFORD – When you step inside the Oxford High School gymnasium and look up at the volleyball championships banner, it seems like it must be a misprint.

The last district title for the Wildcats came in 2002?

Though it didn’t seem like 23 years had passed, it actually had.

It was something that stuck with first-year head coach Jen Bunting when she took over the program this fall, and she used it as motivation throughout the season.

That was definitely the driving force this week with Oxford hosting districts, as the Wildcats followed up a five-set semifinal win over Lake Orion on Wednesday with a dramatic five-set win over Clarkston on Thursday in the final to give Oxford its first district championship since 2002.

“This is my first year as varsity coach and I saw (the Volleyball banner), and I made our slogan this year on the back of our shirts say, ‘it was our year,’ because it is our year,” Bunting said. “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m just in awe, but the girls fought for it. They started strong, and they finished strong. This means so much to me.”

The Oxford roster wasn’t even born the last time the Wildcats managed to win a district title, but Thursday they came away with a 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 12-25, 15-12 victory.

After dropping the first set, the Wildcats (25-12-5) found a groove and took the momentum away from Clarkston (23-5-1). The Wolves struggled to finish points as Oxford’s blocking and defensive play kept rallies going before the Wildcats found ways to capitalize.

“We knew it was a quick tempo with the setter, the setter pushing those quicks out to the outside. I just said, ‘arms up, fast. Let’s get a block on it.’ We started blocking the line. We adjusted. I adjusted my defense around there. I have a strong middle back, left back. So, we focused blocking the line to take away that line shot, because I knew my defense on the left side was solid to dig anything that they were giving to us,” Bunting said of the defensive approach.

Oxford took the second and third sets to put Clarkston with its back against the wall. But, the Wolves responded in the fourth by scoring the final eight points thanks to a pair of kills from Kaylynn Johnson and Josie Seets, each, as well as two aces from Stella Smith.

The dominant fourth set could have shaken Oxford, but the Wildcats came out with a 4-0 start in the fifth set and never trailed in the final frame.

“We needed to be humble out there. We needed to play with pride, play with our minds and our hearts, and just be a team out there, and they pulled together,” Bunting said of what she told her team going into the fifth set.

The set would get to 8-8, but Oxford scored six of the next seven points to take control. Mazzee VanderKaay had two key aces, while the Wildcats won a long rally at 12-9 when Sienna Austin instinctively threw an arm out to keep the ball alive, and it found its way to the floor on Clarkston’s side. At that point, the title felt inevitable.

“We weren’t looking past them. I mean, they’re playing great volleyball. We played them early in the season and were able to get a win and, but they’ve been playing very good lately,” Clarkston coach Ali Smith said of Oxford. “They battled their butts off last night against Lake Orion, and they just find ways to keep the ball in play, and I think that was the difference tonight.”

Photo gallery of a D1 district volleyball final between Clarkston and Oxford

Clarkston fought off three match points but an attack error ended things and gave the Wildcats the win. The Wolves struggled to maintain an offensive flow throughout the match. When they were able to get in a grove, the Wolves pulled away in the first and fourth sets.

“I just thought our execution over the course of the entire night was very inconsistent, so it was really hard to really tell what we were going to get at any given moment,” Smith said.

Tara Swanson and Brenna Mirovsky led the defensive effort for Oxford with dozens of timely digs to keep points alive. Olivia Laura and Ellasyn Glaz each had three blocks in the win as well. Offensively, Mirovsky had 13 kills, while Alexia Decker had seven. VanderKaay recorded four aces, while Jessa Romine had three.

Maya Kuebler had 17 kills to lead Clarkston, while Johnson had 12 kills, and Seets had 10. Marlie Smith had 42 assists with five kills and three aces.

The Wolves will graduate four seniors from this roster but bring back a lot of experience in the 2026 season. Smith is hoping her players will carry Thursday’s loss with them into offseason training.

“I hope they remember this feeling for a long time, and it is fuel for the fire for next year,” Smith said. “I feel like every year we come back with something to prove, and unfortunately, if three points go a different way, we're in a different position. But, you know, just not our year.”

Oxford advances to next week’s Division 1 regional tournament at Clarkston. The Wildcats draw Chippewa Valley in Tuesday’s regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m.

Now the Wildcats can focus on ending a new streak, as they haven’t won a regional championship since 1997.

“Just keep being the team. Teamwork, trusting each other, trusting the team, and keep pushing hard,” Bunting said of advancing in regional play.

Oxford defeated Clarkston in a Division 1 district volleyball final at Oxford High School on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. The Wildcats won by scores of 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 12-25, 15-12.

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.