Holland Christian boys volleyball serves way into state finals

HUDSONVILLE – Grant VanderZee admits his serving could use some work.

But the Holland Christian star was nearly perfect when it counted.

VanderZee served six-straight points to finish off a 3-0 victory over Kalamazoo Christian to advance to the Division 2 boys volleyball state championship game.

The Maroons won 25-12, 25-21 and 25-15 on Friday afternoon at Hudsonville High School in the state semifinals. 

“It feels awesome,” said VanderZee, who was named Michigan’s Mr. Volleyball last week. “Obviously, last year we didn’t get the chance (to make it this far). But this year we’ve pulled it off and it’s the farthest we’ve gone in the program’s history. It means a lot.”

More: Holland Christian volleyball wins five-set comeback stunner to reach state semifinals

More: Grant VanderZee is first ever Mr. Volleyball of Michigan, leads HC to regional title

Holland Christian will play the winner of Lowell/Walled Lake Western on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Hudsonville. 

“I’m ecstatic,” Maroons coach Mark Walraven said. “It’s the first time for Holland Christian to get this far in the state. We’ve got a team that can go all the way.”

Walraven said he was surprised the Maroons cruised to three-straight wins.

“You don’t expect to win in three,” he said. “In volleyball, sometimes you lose momentum and then you gain momentum back. I would have expected to drop a set this deep in the playoffs. But we played great. Hats off to Kalamazoo Christian, but we just played well and had it all together today.”

VanderZee, a 6-foot-6 senior, has a powerful arm at the net. And his coach said his jump serve is just as powerful. But not very accurate. So they came up with a solution.

“I only jump served last year,” he said. “But I developed the float serve in the offseason. It’s just more reliable. The jump serve is a pretty easy ball to receive. So the float moves back and forth and it’s hard for them to control them. It can move side to side.”

So VanderZee was thrilled to reel off six-straight points in the final game.

“It was awesome,” he said. “I’ve been really struggling with my serves lately. The float serve was going in today. I picked a spot and aimed for it and just see what happens. And they were struggling with it.”

Junior brings much-needed energy

Jacob Tinholt is an athletic, bouncy volleyball player and had some big plays at the net on Friday.

“Jacob played great,” Walraven said. “Everything about his game is good. He passed well in the backcourt and he’s always great at the net. Our focus is to minimize mistakes in games like this and he did that today.”

But his enthusiasm is what really stands out about the Holland Christian junior.

“He is as passionate as anyone on the court,” Walraven said. “Sometimes his emotions are too much. But that’s part of the sport. His emotions can bring a lot to the game and he can rally the team around his passion.”