Each Tuesday and Friday (no promises), I am going to take a quick peek into the world of Leelanau County prep sports.

Boys Soccer
Suttons Bay topped Northport 4-2 and Glen Lake defeated T.C. Christian 5-2 in Monday’s soccer action. Suttons Bay is now 3-1 on the young season, while the Lakers improved to 3-2.

On Saturday Suttons Bay captured the Harbor Springs Soccer Cup with a 2-0-1 record. The Norsemen tied Harbor Springs 1-1, defeated Glen Lake 3-2 and Sault Ste. Marie 6-0. Glen Lake beat Sault Ste. Marie 2-1 to finish the tourney 1-2.

Last week Suttons Bay couldn’t keep up with Elk Rapids as the Norsemen fell to the Elks 6-2.

Boys Football
Suttons Bay wasn’t the only county school with a big win in it’s football opener, Glen Lake defeated East Jordan 27-12 behind two big plays by Ryan Dyksterhouse, a 35-yard touchdown catch and a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Norsemen and Lakers meet in less then two weeks in what is shaping up to be a great game, with both teams showing big play capability in their opening games.

Girls Volleyball
Suttons Bay and Glen Lake welcome Leland to the Northwest Conference as county volleyball just got a little more interesting. You can check out the conference preview in the Leelanau Enterprise and the area preview in the Record Eagle.

The Lady Norsemen have gotten off to a fast start by winning the Pellston Volleyball Invitational. Suttons Bay defeated Charlevoix 25-18, 27-25 to capture the title after posting wins over Kingsley in the quarterfinals and Boyne City in the semifinals.

Leland has a new coach, but found some similar results with a strong second place finish at the Traverse City Central Invitational. The Lady Comets, led by head coach Angie Shinos, fell to the Lady Trojans 25-12, 25-12 in the finals. Leland topped St. Francis (25-13, 25-22), Glen Lake (25-8, 25-12), ElK Rapids (25-13, 25-14), and lost to T.C. Christian 26-24, 25-15 in pool play. Leland responded to it’s lone loss by topping the Sabres 25-20, 25-23 to reach the finals.

Have scores or game details to report, don’t hesitate to email them to me at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com.

Opinions on five current Leelanau and Northern Michigan sports topics from yours truly…

1. Leelanau Enterprise Sports - The Leelanau Enterprise has revamped their website and now will be posting more stories online, including sports! Check out their sports department! I of course will be linking to them often as they provide another way to follow our favorite Leelanau teams.

2. Leelanau Classic - I only wish this event would have been around when I was coaching! Lake Leelanau St. Mary defeated Suttons Bay 4-1 to capture the baseball title and Glen Lake cruised to the softball title with a 17-0 win over Suttons Bay in the championship game.

Read Korson sparks Eagles to title in the Record Eagle

3. Beach Bums ready for 2007 - Opening Day for the Beach Bums is one month from today (at Kalamazoo Kings on May 23rd) and plenty of new things are on tap as they start their second summer in Traverse City. Lots of new faces, including a new manager, should make for another exciting season in the Frontier League. See what the Beach Bums have in store for 2007!

4. NHL & NBA Playoffs - It’s never hard to get a prediction in Leelanau County for the Pistons and Red Wings. The Pistons are a popular choice to be crowned NBA Champions this summer, and the Wings well who knows. The Wings did get out of the first round, and did play pretty well, in 4 out of the 6 games. If the Dominator can hold up, they have an excellent chance in my opinion. Whatever happens Hockey Town North is buzzing with playoff excitement right now!

5. The Season Switch - Nick Edson of the Leelanau Enterprise reported last week that longtime volleyball coach Laurie Glass will be stepping down, at least for the time being, as she can’t coach and follow her daughter Alisha at Penn State because of the girls volleyball season being moved. My opinion is that it’s a shame that a few people can ruin a good thing for many. The seasons seemed to be working just fine for 99.9% of the athletes, but a couple of parents couldn’t handle their kid’s not getting scholarships.

If you want to let the me know what you think, you can always send me an email at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com or post a comment!

Is there an award she hasn’t won? Leland senior Alisha Glass has been named the Female Athlete of the Year by the Detroit Athletic Club.

Read Glass is female Athlete of the Year in the Record Eagle

Leland and Suttons Bay both had stellar volleyball seasons with the Comets capturing the Class D state title and the Norsemen making the state semifinals and both were rewarded with individual all-state honors.

In Class D Leland’s Alisha Glass, Jennifer Hecht and Whitney Grant were named to the first team while Daina Parent earned an honorable mention spot.

Suttons Bay’s Holly Orban was named to the Class C first team and teammate Kelsey Wick earned honorable mention.

Read Area nets quintet of all-staters in the Record Eagle

Here’s a list of all of the Leelanau County state championships won by our county schools. The head coach is listed after the sport.

Originally printed in the Leelanau Enterprise.

1942 - Leland boys’ basketball - Carl Furney

1944 - Leelanau School boys’ track - John Evans

1959 - Glen Lake boys’ basketball - Harold O’Brien

1977 - Glen Lake boys’ basketball - Don Miller

1978 - Glen Lake girls’ basketball - Ted Swierad
- Leland volleyball - Mike Kenney

1980 - Leland girls’ basketball - Larry Glass
- Leland volleyball - Mike Kenney

1981 - Leland girls’ basketball - Larry Glass

1982 - Leland girls’ basketball - Larry Glass

1985 - Suttons Bay girls’ X-country - Terry Ebright

1986 - Northport soccer - Don Hungerford

1987 - Suttons Bay girls’ X-country - Tim Bedford

1988 - Northport boys’ basketball - Gordie Wick

1991 - Glen Lake girls’ track - Bill Brendel

1992 - Glen Lake girls’ track - Bill Brendel

1994 - Glen Lake girls’ track - Doug Greer

1994 - Glen Lake football - Bill Hollenbeck

1995 - Glen Lake girls’ track - Doug Greer

1998 - Glen Lake/Leland girls’ skiing - Mark Fisher

1999 - Glen Lake/Leland girls’ skiing - Mark Fisher

2000 - Glen Lake boys’ track - Pete Edwards
- Suttons Bay boys’ golf - Todd Hursey
- Glen Lake girls’ cross country - Bryan Burns

2001 - Suttons Bay boys’ golf - Todd Hursey

2002 - Leland girls’ volleyball - Laurie Glass

2004 - Glen Lake/Suttons Bay boys’ skiing - Mark Fisher

2006 - Leland girls’ volleyball - Laurie Glass

Totals by School
Glen Lake - 13
Leland - 10
Suttons Bay - 5
Northport - 2
Leelanau School - 1

Leland hadn’t been in this situation much this season as they found themselves trailing Battle Creek St. Philip 2 games to none and facing elimination in the Class D Volleyball Finals. But then Alisha Glass and the Comets stepped it up to claim the state title with a 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-9 come-from-behind win. Alisha Glass set a state record with 48 kills in the championship match and Jennifer Hecht added a strong game with 22 digs.

Read Comets capture crown in the Record Eagle
Read Glass finally gets that elusive title in the Record Eagle
Listen to the MHSAA Class D Girls Volleyball Final via MHSAA EZStream
View Box Score from MHSAA
View Class D Volleyball Finals: Leland vs. St. Philip at 9&10 Sports Video Uncut

Suttons Bay ran into a hot team and fell short in their quest for a Class C state title with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-15 loss to Union City.

Read Norse fall in state semifinal in the Record Eagle
Listen to the MHSAA Class C Girls Volleyball Semifinal via MHSAA EZStream
View Box Score from MHSAA

Leland advanced to the Class D Final with a 25-13, 25-15, 25-16 win over Adrian Lenawee Christian. Leland now faces Battle Creek St. Philip for the state title on Saturday, March 18 at noon.

Read Leland earns rematch with Battle Creek St. Philip in the Record Eagle
View the Boxscore at MHSAA.com
Listen to the broadcast archive via MHSAA EZStream

Sweet! Go to mhsaa.ezstream.com for all the details!

Leland powered it’s way to the Class D semis by serving up 21 aces to defeat Beal City 25-12, 25-7 and 25-15. Leading the Comets were Alisha Glass with 15 kills, 2 blocks and 7 aces, and Jennifer Hecht with 8 kills and 4 blocks. Leland is now 65-4 on the season and will face Adrian Lenawee Christian at 3:45 PM on Thursday.

Read Comets move on to semis in the Record Eagle

Senior Holly Orban served 100% and registered 24 kills as Suttons Bay claimed a 3-1 win over Calumet in the Class C Quarterfinals. Suttons Bay lost the first game 19-25 before regrouping and winning the match 25-21, 25-22 and 25-20. Suttons Bay is now 52-13-5 and will face Union City in the semis at Western Michigan. The match is at 3:45 PM on Friday.

Read Suttons Bay hands Calumet its 1st loss in the Record Eagle

Leland Comet star Alisha Glass was named the winner of the 4th annual Miss Volleyball award, given to the best prep volleyball player in the state. Glass won the award by the largest margin in the short history of the award. She is heading to Penn State next fall to continue playing volleyball. Glass owns the national record for aces in a season, career aces and career kills.

Read Best of the Best in the Record Eagle
Read Glass best in state in the Free Press

Four area teams remain as volleyball quarterfinals are set to be played tonight. In Class A Traverse City takes on L’Anse Creuse at Midland Down, in Class C Suttons Bay faces Calumet at Rudyard, in Class D Leland travels to Beal City to face the Aggies and Harbor Light Christian faces Lake Linden-Hubbell at Cheboygan.

Read Four area teams in quarters in the Record Eagle

And a look from the Beal City perspective on the game against Leland…
Read Through the looking-Glass in the Morning Sun

Senior Holly Orban provided the kill as Suttons Bay recovered from a 2-0 deficit to claim the Class C Regional Volleyball title at Charlevoix with a 22-25, 24-26, 27-25, 25-15, 15-7 come-from-behind win over Lake City. Suttons Bay had defeated Inland Lakes 25-22, 26-24, 25-15 earlier in the day. Suttons Bay now plays Calumet in a Class C quarterfinal on March 14th at 7:30 PM.

Read Suttons Bay rallies past Lake City in regional final in the Recod Eagle

Leland went a perfect 6-0 on the day to claim their third straight Class D Regional title. Leland cruised to a 25-9, 25-18, 25-12 win over Marion in the final after knocking off Augres 25-13, 25-14, 25-12 in the opener. Leland now travels to the Beal City quarterfinal to take on Beal City on March 14th at 7:00 PM.

Read Area teams sweep regional opponents in the Record Eagle [scroll down]

A look at the Charlevoix regional where Suttons Bay is joined by Inland Lakes, Lake City and Kingsley. Any one of the four teams could win this regional.

Read Class C regional teams ‘closely matched’ in the Record Eagle