District Brackets Are Set — and Our State's Volleyball Powers Are Peaking at the Right Time

The MHSAA Girls Volleyball Tournament is nearly here, with district brackets announced Sunday and almost 700 varsity teams across Michigan making their final preparations. The polls and the Michigan Power Ratings tell the story: our contenders are rounding into form, and a few of them are downright scary right now. Start with top-ranked Division 1 Mercy, who edged No. 2 Marian 18-25, 25-19, 15-12 to push their series lead this year to 3-1 — Mercy sits 31-5-1, Marian a stout 37-5. Over in Division 3, No. 6 Grass Lake has now won 10 straight since their Oct. 10 loss to Hanover-Horton, taking down the Comets 25-22, 25-19 after a perfect run through the Cascades Conference Tournament. Don't sleep on the forward look, either. South Lyon East capped a 4-0 day at the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, Frankenmuth reached their home invitational final by downing top-ranked Saginaw Valley Lutheran, and Plymouth Christian clawed back from a dropped first set to sweep Oakland Christian 20-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-23. These teams are peaking.