Kingsford senior Kailey Sundquist (7) sends the ball past the outstretched arms of Gladstone defenders on Oct. 17 at Flivver Gym. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

KINGSFORD — Every so often, maybe just once in a generation, a class of young athletes emerges at a school carrying with them a touch of destiny.

Four years ago, just such a class entered Kingsford High School. A group of six volleyball players who combined eye-catching athleticism and a deep devotion to their sport with a burning desire to compete at the highest levels.

That featured class, the Kingsford senior volleyball class of the 2024 season, included Maddy Kreider, Alyssa Larson, Anna Bortolini, Ellery Nash, Jenna Viau and Kailey Sundquist.

In their time as varsity players, these six standouts won three consecutive district titles and two straight Great Northern Conference championships, a league earlier dominated by the likes of Marquette and Escanaba.

Over the past two seasons, their teams combined to win 52 of 57 matches, never losing to any U.P. team except Calumet (going 1-2 against the tall and high-powered Copper Kings) and were pushed to a fifth set just twice over the span of those two seasons (defeating Marquette in 2023 and falling to Kingsley in the 2024 MHSAA Division 2 Regional semifinals in their final match on Nov. 12.)

The skill, determination, mental toughness and court awareness that the six girls displayed match after match made Kingsford one of the area’s most dynamic teams to watch in recent seasons.

Jaclynn Kreider, the Flivvers’ head coach and the mother of Maddy and up-and-coming sophomore hitter Mylee, knows more than anyone else the special nature of the senior class.

“We’ve had good teams and good players, but never as a group like this,” coach Kreider said after the first day of full-team practice in mid-August. “It’s just a very unique group.”

While their volleyball skills and attributes stood out, their personal interaction was vital. The six girls described themselves as best friends and fit together like hand-in-glove on and off the court

“Volleyball is the most family sport that I’ve been in, and we just have such a bond,” Larson said early in the regular season.

“They really are my best friends in every way,” Maddy Kreider added.

Nash said she and Maddy became friends in fifth grade and formed the initial bond. By the time all six were playing together, like in the Great Eight Winter Games in middle school, signs of future promise had begun to emerge.

By the time they were promoted to the varsity squad as sophomores, the six girls were tight. And then by the time they became seniors, they thought of themselves understandably as state contenders.

“We have all that trust, knowing we can do it together,” Nash said.

So how did this all come about? What was it about this group of athletes that was decisive in delivering such success?

To answer those questions, we must look at the individual players and their talents plus the coach who led the way.

Maddy Kreider was the star of the group from an early age. The daughter of former Michigan Tech basketball players Jaclynn, a multi-sport legend at Florence High School and Jason Kreider, Maddy certainly had the background. She participated in several sports as she grew into her teen years, but Maddy’s athletic passion was always most strongly expressed on the volleyball court.

She basically became obsessed with the game. In addition to her time with her teammates at Kingsford, Kreider played club volleyball in Appleton. She also spent hours upon hours watching volleyball matches in person and on her devices and studied volleyball technique videos as well.

The result was a player with an amazing understanding and instinct for the sport. Certainly, those two traits helped her routinely lead the Flivvers in several statistical categories, though sometimes her relentless inner drive created pressure on herself and her teammates.

Along the way, Kreider has developed some nervous tics to cope, like repetitively stroking her long hair.

“She’s high strung,” her mother said of the habit. “She does that even at home. She’s anxious in pretty much everything she does. At this point, she does it when she’s relaxed, so it’s just a habit.”

Despite her inner angst at times, Kreider displayed extraordinary skills, like setting the ball from her knees to the far side of the net or finding holes in the opponent’s defense because of her brilliant ability to read the court and anticipate the correct play.

These abilities earned Maddy Kreider an AP All-State first team selection this season and also a spot on the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters’ All-U.P. Dream Team and selection as its defensive player of the year. Kreider was also named the association’s Ms. Volleyball in 2023 and has signed to continue her volleyball career at Michigan Tech starting next season.

While Kreider was the driving force in the Flivvers’ success in recent seasons (she was promoted to the varsity squad as a freshman), Kingsford possessed a crucial balance among its players, from their play to their personalities.

Specifically, the Flivvers had the lively energy of Larson and Bortolini, the “hype girl” motivation of Nash, the steadiness of Viau and the resolve of Sundquist.

Larson and Bortolini were two peas in a pod. The pair were known as the fun-loving talkers who brought skill and personality to the team.

“They just keep everyone positive and make sure everyone’s having fun,” Sundquist said during the season. “And they bring up the energy levels if we’re playing too (flat).”

One common site at Flivver matches was Bortolini getting shoved almost violently by her teammates in celebration after she made a point-scoring play.

Thing is, Bortolini could give just as good as she got.

“Her and Alyssa are a lot of fun,” Coach Kreider said after a victory over Marquette. “They have a lot of energy and they celebrate their teammates well and they celebrate their successes well.

“Their reactions keep things positive.”

For Bortolini, seeking fun in a game that can get tense and emotional was part of the team’s recipe for success.

“One thing we’re very good with is laughter,” she said after the Marquette win. “I love that when we made a few plays and we were able to stay hyped and laugh in between.”

Larson played a vital role as the second setter, allowing Kreider to become a hitter for a couple of rotations. Larson was also an outside hitter during her career and was the player with the big smile and the warm personality.

When she was moved up to the varsity as a sophomore, Larson struggled with self-criticism as she adjusted to the speed of the varsity, so much so that her teammates said she had a “puppy dog” face, often looking sheepish when she made an error.

But by the time she was a senior, Larson was a highly effective player and much more comfortable. Her confidence allowed her normal engaging personality to come out.

On a poster of the seniors hung on the wall in the Flivver gymnasium, five of them stood palming a volleyball. Larson, in the middle, flexed her albeit thin muscles like a body builder.

After the season, Larson was selected to the All-U.P. Division 1-3 first team by the UPPSA.

While Larson played a controlled game, Bortolini played at 100 mph. A diminutive but highly athletic player, the three-sport standout hit hard, jumped high and reacted quickly.

Her nature as an outside hitter was to pound the ball. She was often erratic in her earlier years but became much steadier in all aspects during her senior season.

“The thing with Anna, she has high energy,” Coach Kreider said during the season. “She’s a kid that’s very fast and she jumps well and she’s excitable.

“If we can get her (to go against) one block, it’s game over, if she’s controlling her shot.”

After the season, Bortolini was given special mention on the All-U.P. Division 1-3 squad.

Often the most overlooked players on a volleyball team are the liberos and the other back-row defenders. On the Flivvers, those roles were filled by Nash and Viau.

No volleyball team can function without the back-row players’ ability to dig and pass the ball to the setters accurately. When a team falls out of system (a term meaning when the setter can’t play the second ball or only has a single setting option because the first pass is too far off the net), its offense scrambles and struggles to run any semblance of an attacking offense.

While five of the seniors played in the back row (Sundquist was the lone player who rotated out), Nash and Viau were the two most counted on to defend, dig and pass.

Interestingly, the two approached the job with a much different personal style. Nash was often the first player to holler enthusiastically when she entered the game, when the team was playing well or when a teammate made a notable play. Viau was the steady-as-she-goes calming influence.

Nash alternated time as libero in her junior season but was a full-timer this year. She consistently played at a high-level throughout the season, but stepped forward near the end with a remarkable consistency and a versatile style of serving in which she could float the ball to the opponent’s near sideline, a serve that was difficult to read and return.

“She’s crazy with what she can do and she’s super positive,” Sundquist said of Nash. “She’s a great libero. She gets up a ton of balls that like if I was back there, they would be dropping in front of me left and right.

“(And) she hypes up our setters a lot.”

On the other hand, Viau’s composed nature on the court was a good balance on a team filled with excitable players. And though she held herself in an even-keeled way emotionally, Viau played with a reckless abandon, throwing her body around the court. Throughout the season, Viau would make impossible looking saves, which she often turned into accurate passes to setters Kreider or Larson.

By late season, by the nature of her all-out style, Viau was struggling with hip problems after diving so often along the way.

Nash was selected to the All-U.P. Dream Team and Viau was given honorable mention on the All-U.P. D1-3 team.

The lone flaw of the senior class was the lack of height among its middles and its outside hitters. For the previous two seasons, the Flivvers turned to Sundquist, a quick jumper and powerful hitter, but an undersized middle blocker/hitter who nearly always played against much taller opponents.

She was the big one who wasn’t big.

“It’s obviously a little intimidating when you walk up to the net and there’s a girl six or seven inches taller playing against me,” Sundquist said after a mid-season match. “But you just try to not let that get in your head and just play your game and execute.”

And execute she did. Sundquist was the Flivvers’ top blocker and when she and Kreider or Larson clicked offensively, as hitter-setter, Kingsford was at its highest level offensively.

After the season, Sundquist was given special mention on the All-U.P. D1-3 squad.

With all these players, one might think the team basically ran itself. However, they needed a steady, deft and wise hand to teach, push and guide them and that’s where Jaclynn Kreider shined.

Kreider wore many hats as coach, teacher, motivator, psychologist and mother of two of the team’s vital players.

She accomplished this all with great skill and was selected as the U.P. D1-3 coach of the year.

Editor’s Note: Iron Mountain Daily News correspondent Jerry DeRoche followed the Kingsford Flivvers volleyball squad throughout the 2024 season, observing practices and conducting interviews from preseason through the day after their final match. Part two of this story, an account of the regular season, the postseason and the finale, will be published in the Tuesday, Dec. 3 edition of the Daily News.