Home International Bath volleyball completes checklist with historic regional championship

Bath volleyball completes checklist with historic regional championship

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BATH — The reminder has been on display on the door of their home locker room all season for Olivia Brimley and the rest of the Bath volleyball team.

Each time Brimley and teammates leave the locker room, a white sign with their list of goals for the season has been in clear sight.

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The Bees entered this week with all but one of those goals achieved.

Bath took care of the final one Thursday, Nov. 12 when it made school history.

The Bees captured their first regional championship by sweeping Leslie in straight sets in a Division 3 regional final on their home court. Bath, which was honorable mention ranked in the final Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association Division 3 poll, recorded 25-15, 25-21, 25-23 set wins while making history.

“I almost started tearing up right away,” said Bath coach Madison Margraves-Beukema, whose team advances to face No. 2-ranked Saginaw Valley Lutheran in a Nov. 17 state quarterfinal at Mott Community College. “We’ve been talking about wanting to do this for a really long time.

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“For that moment to actually have come — it’s almost indescribable. I’m so proud of our whole team. They all worked so hard to get this done. It’s really just emotional because it’s a historic win that we just had here. It’s never been done before at our school so it’s very emotional.”

Bath’s head coach Madison Margraves-Beukema checks off winning regions on the season goals poster after defeating Leslie in D3 volleyball regional final on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, at Bath High School.

Bath players grabbed the sign out of the locker room and Margraves-Beukema checked off the final box on their goal list before celebrating their accomplishment on the court.

“It just means so much,” Brimley said. “I’ve been in the program for three years and I know all of us have been here a while. We’ve just been working really hard every year (with) last year winning districts and falling short in regionals. Now just to be able to complete it — that means so much.This team is so special to me and I’m just really glad we’re able to get that done and complete that goal of ours.”

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Bath, which had its state tournament run halted in a regional semifinal in 2025, added to a strong playoff run where it hasn’t dropped a set. After a strong opening set, the Bees faced a 21-19 deficit in the second set. Bath called a timeout and responded by scoring the next six points to close out that set win. The third set was tied at 23 before Bath scored the final two points to wrap up the regional title.

Bath celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Leslie to win the D3 volleyball regional title on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, at Bath High School.

Bath celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Leslie to win the D3 volleyball regional title on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, at Bath High School.

“It’s so amazing,” Brimley said. “I’m so proud of us for being able to have the perseverance to even in those tight games get through and finish. It’s crazy. I feel like it’s not a very common thing to not drop a set at all. I’m so proud of us for being able to do that.”

While the goal list is now complete, the Bees would love to keep a historic season that has included CMAC regular season and tournament titles going all the way through next weekend’s state finals at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.

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“Honestly we’re just so happy we get to move on to the next day on Tuesday,” Margraves-Beukema said. “I know we’re playing Saginaw Valley Lutheran and they’re a good team. We would love to be able to move on past that game as well just to see (what we can do). The sky’s the limit and we’ll see how far we can go with it.”

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Bath volleyball completes checklist with historic regional championship

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