No. 1 Valley Lutheran Brings the Whole Band Back for Another Run

A year ago our Saginaw Valley Lutheran girls took a roster filled exclusively with sophomores and juniors all the way to the Division 3 Semifinals, before falling in three sets to a Kalamazoo Christian program that has now reached the Final Four four years running. That was supposed to be the growing-up year. Turns out it was just the warmup. Now the Valley faithful get nearly the whole band back — eight seniors, led by all-state setter Kate Belt — and they enter this fall ranked No. 1 in Division 3. The numbers behind them are loud: Reagan Webb piled up more than 400 kills last year, Grace Parker topped 300 as a sophomore middle, and Hayden Sherman dug out 660 balls from the back row. There is a bruise on this rosy picture — third-team all-stater Braelin Rodammer is injured and will miss the season, and that hurts a group this close. But with six of these eight seniors having tasted a Quarterfinal run as sophomores, the patience is starting to look like a plan.