Sports
Holland Christian volleyball’s run to finals ends with state runner-up
HUDSONVILLE – The Holland Christian volleyball players took turns posing with a trophy after the match on Saturday. It just wasn’t the trophy they wanted. “I had no expectations of holding up the championship trophy going into the season,” senior Grant VanderZee said. “Of course you hope for it. But at the end of the […]
HUDSONVILLE – The Holland Christian volleyball players took turns posing with a trophy after the match on Saturday.
It just wasn’t the trophy they wanted.
“I had no expectations of holding up the championship trophy going into the season,” senior Grant VanderZee said. “Of course you hope for it. But at the end of the day, holding up any trophy is pretty cool for our guys.”
The Holland Christian boys volleyball team lost in three sets – 25-21, 25-18 and 25-18 – to Lowell in the Division 2 state championship at Hudsonville High School on Saturday.
“This season was crazy,” junior Jacob Tinholt said. “Coming in with three people that had never played volleyball before. No one really expected us to go very far. It’s special to play in a game like this.”
The Maroons finished with an impressive 36-9 record.
“We played good,” coach Mark Walraven said. “But Lowell played great, though. We were outmatched. We didn’t do anything wrong, it just wasn’t our day. I’m proud of the guys. They put their heart and soul into the season.”
Lowell was dominant from the start. Holland Christian only had one lead the entire day, when it was 3-1 early in Game 2. The Red Arrows defense at the net neutralized the heaving hitting of VanderZee, a 6-foot-6 big hitter, who is Michigan’s Mr. Volleyball Award winner.
“We played a great game and good defense,” VanderZee said. “Our hits weren’t going down. They did a nice job blocking. They outplayed us.”
Senior Spencer Walraven, the team’s setter, said he loved how this season played out.
“We had a lot of new guys this year,” he said. “Lots of guys that had never touched a volleyball. It was fun to grow into a good team.”
Best friends will be roommates in college
Saturday’s game was the last for seniors VanderZee and Spencer Walraven. But they won’t be parting ways. The duo will be roommates in college when they head to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
“We grind together, we get after it,” VanderZee said of Walraven. “It’s nice to have someone who is just as dedicated as me. Not only in volleyball, but in life in general is a real blessing. He’s my best friend and we’re going to college together.”
Grand Canyon recently got rid of its men’s volleyball program. But that doesn’t mean the Holland Christian duo are done playing. They plan to team together in the school’s club beach volleyball program.
“I’m gonna play with Grant in college,” Walraven said.
Coaching his son was ‘an honor’
Coach Mark Walraven admits it isn’t always easy to coach your own kid. But it went pretty smooth for him coaching his son, Spencer.
“It was awesome,” Mark said. “A privilege, really. It’s tough sometimes. But we have a great relationship. It truly was an honor to coach him and the rest of the team. We’ve got some great memories.”
Spencer said it was special.
“I love it,” he said. “We had lots of dinner-time conversations and talking about the type of lineups and stuff. It’s been bigger than volleyball at the end of the day. It’s been so much fun.”