GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – One of the highlights for many teams across West Michigan each fall is the ability to get out of conference play and challenge themselves against the best in not only the area but also the state. One of those prestigious tournaments happens this Saturday at Lowell High School as the Red Arrows host the West vs. East Invitational.

Tournament Director Jordan Drake (Lowell Head Coach) is excited about the opportunity to play against different teams including east-side powers – “We have gone over to the east side three times this year, so the balance in our schedule is great, said Drake. I’d say that is a pretty consistent thing in our schedule. We always try to get to the east side 2-3 times a year to give our kids a different look. In regards to the competition between the west side and the east side, I think there is always a good balance year after year. Both sides of the state always have great teams and it is great to see and give them chances to compete against each other throughout the season.”

There will be 16 teams total at the tournament. 4 pools of 4 with two west side teams and 2 east side teams in each pool. Each match will be two sets to 25 for pool play and then top two teams from each pool will go to gold, 3rd place of each pool goes to silver and 4th place of each pool goes to bronze.

Gold and silver will be at the high school and bronze will be at the elementary school.

The tournament will start at 9am and pool play will get done around 1pm. Bracket play will follow and is usually done by about 6pm.

West side teams are Lowell(D1 #5), Jenison(D1 HM) Northview, Portage Northern, Coopersville, Rockford (D1 #1), Byron Center(D1 HM), and TC West.

East side teams are Lake Orion, Marian(D1 #3), Mercy(D1 #2), Clarkston (D1 HM), Grand Blanc, Bloomfield Hills(D1 #4), Gross Pointe South, and Utica Eisenhower.

When asked about the preparation that this gives his team as well as the many others involved, tourney director Jordan Drake (Lowell HC) – said “Hosting this level of competition this late in the season is priceless. It gives our kids and all teams the ability to really test themselves and sharpen up going into the post season. I’ve always been a believer of playing the best competition possible to get yourselves ready for postseason. Win or lose, it really doesn’t matter until you get into playoffs. Our goal is to be peaking going into districts and this tournament helps us achieve that goal”

 

MSR Weekly Top-10 Poll – OK Conference and River Cities Alliance

  1. Rockford  – Continues to roll through the rugged OK-Red
  2. Lowell – Won the River Cities Alliance Tournament
  3. FH Northern – Have won 8 of last 10 with setbacks to Lowell and Marian
  4. Hudsonville – hosts Grand Haven Tuesday in MSR Match of the Week
  5. Grand Haven – Won the Mattawan Invitational
  6. GR Christian – Posted big 3-2 win over Catholic Central in league action
  7. Byron Center – Big win over Jenison to tie at atop conference standings
  8. Jenison – Tough 5-set loss to Byron Center; tied with Bulldogs in OK-Green
  9. GR Catholic Central – Solid showing at the Mattawan Invite
  10. Zeeland East – Undefeated since 5-set loss to Holland Christian

Honorable Mention – South Christian, Holland Christian, Fruitport, Caledonia

 

The week that was……

Monday

  • OK-Black – Unity Christian def Spring Lake 3-0

 

Tuesday

  • OK-Red – Grand Haven vs. West Ottawa 3-1, Rockford def Hudsonville 3-1, Grandville def East Kentwood 3-0
  • Ok-Green – Jenison def Reeths Puffer 3-0, Byron Center def Caledonia 3-0, Mona Shores def Muskegon 3-0
  • OK-White – FH Central def East GR 3-2, GR Christian def GR Catholic Central 3-1, FH Eastern def Ottawa Hills 3-0
  • OK-Black – Zeeland West def Holland 3-0, Zeeland East def. Hamilton 3-0
  • OK-Gold – West Catholic def. Union 3-0, South Christian def. Wyoming 3-0, Northview vs. Thornapple Kellogg
  • River Cities – Lowell def Greenville 3-0, Sparta def Kenowa Hills 3-1, Coopersville def. Cedar Springs 3-2

 

Thursday

  • OK-Red – Rockford def. West Ottawa 3-0, Hudsonville def. Grandville 3-0, Grand Haven def. East Kentwood 3-0
  • OK-Black – Holland Christian def. Unity Christian 3-0, Spring Lake def. Coopersville 3-1 and Newaygo 3-1, Zeeland East def. Zeeland West 3-0, Hamilton def. Holland 3-0
  • OK-Gold – South Christian def. West Catholic 3-1, Northview def. Wayland 3-0, Sparta def Thornapple Kellogg 2-0 while TK def. Hastings 2-0 and def. Tri Unity 2-0, Wyoming def Union 3-0
  • OK-Green – Byron Center def. Jenison 3-2
  • Lowell def Lakewood 3-0
  • OK-Silver – Calvin Christian def Belding 3-0, Fruitport def NorthPointe Christian 3-0

 

The week ahead….

 

Tuesday

  • OK-Red – Grand Haven at Hudsonville (MSR Match of the Week), Rockford at Grandville, West Ottawa at East Kentwood
  • OK-White – FH Eastern at FH Northern, GR Christian at East GR, Grand Rapids Catholic Central at FH Central
  • OK-Black – Spring Lake at Zeeland East, Holland at Holland Christian, Zeeland West at Hamilton
  • OK-Gold – Union at South Christian, West Catholic at Wayland, Thornapple Kellogg at Wyoming
  • OK-Green – Jenison at Muskegon, Caledonia at Reeths Puffer, Byron Center at Mona Shores

 

Thursday

  • OK-Red – Grandville at Grand Haven, East Kentwood at Rockford, Hudsonville at West Ottawa
  • OK-Silver – NorthPointe Christian at Thornapple Kellogg, Comstock Park at Wayland
  • OK-Green – Jenison at Caledonia, Reeths Puffer at Caledonia, Muskegon at Byron Center
  • OK-White  – Conference Tournament at GR Christian

 

Saturday

  • West vs East Tournament at Lowell
  • OK Silver Conference Tournament at Godwin Heights