By Dan Hardenbrook
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has announced bracket pairings for this year’s MHSAA District Volleyball Tournaments. The 2024 Districts will get underway next week, with both Newberry and Engadine participating in the Division 4 District 101.
The district round will be hosted by Brimley, and all games will be played at the Karl Parker Gymnasium.
The MHSAA used the Michigan Power Rankings (MPR) points system to seed the top two teams in each district bracket, placing those teams on opposite sides of the bracket to guarantee they won’t face each other until the District Championship, if they advance that far.
Volleyball’s MPR is calculated using wins, losses, and ties for games played between teams entered into the MHSAA tournament. Game scores, the margin of victory, and location of games are not included in the MPR formula. The final MPR number is 25% of the team’s winning percentage, plus 50% of its opponent’s winning percentage, plus 25% of its opponent’s opponent’s winning percentage.
The Lady Indians earned the top seed in District 101 following an official 17-6 season record and an MPR point total of .527. Brimley’s Lady Bays earned the second seed at .506.
Other teams randomly drawn and placed into the brackets included Beaver Island, Rudyard, and Engadine, who were 3rd-5th, respectively.
The tournament features an opening round game on Monday, November 4, two semifinal round games on Wednesday, November 6, and the District 101 Championship Friday, November 8.
Engadine plays Beaver Island first on November 4 at 6 p.m. The Lady Eagles went winless in the regular season but have higher hopes for playoffs. Beaver Island, from the small school Northern Lights League, opted into the MHSAA tournament and finished the regular season at 9-4-2 against MHSAA competition. The winner will advance to Wednesday’s semifinals and face the host Brimley at 7 p.m.
Newberry received a first round bye and will face a familiar foe in the Rudyard Bulldogs in the first semifinal game in Brimley on Wednesday, November 6. That game starts at 5 p.m. The winner will advance to the District 101 Finals at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 8 in Brimley.
The Lady Indians are the defending district champions, topping Engadine and Rudyard twice this season while splitting the regular season games with Brimley. This year’s district winner will advance to the MHSAA Division 4 Regionals. The regional semifinal will be hosted in Sault Ste. Marie, and the finals will be held in Pellston.
