Motor City Madness Preview: Breaking down the 18 Open Division

A big club volleyball event comes to Oakland County this weekend with the 2018 Motor City Madness event being held on Saturday and Sunday from Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac.

This weekend’s event features teams from ages 12-18 all competing in varying divisions. The featured competition will be the 18 Open Division, which features some of the best club teams in the entire nation. 18 Open features a unique format as the top six teams, based on seeding, will be placed in two 3-team pools. Once the 3-team pools conclude, the two 1st place teams will battle on the first day of the two day event. If seeding plays out, this will put a top-5 match on the first day of the event with Circle City and Legacy squaring off. All 6 Power Pool teams will automatically have a Gold spot. The other pools will have the top two teams in each pool move on to match up with the top 6 seeds. 12 total teams will play in a Gold bracket.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the top teams in the 18 Open.

CLICK HERE FOR A PREVIEW OF THE 17 OPEN DIVISION

Circle City Purple: PrepVolleyball.com ranks Circle City as the second-best 18-club team in the nation. After being ranked 30^th in the preseason poll, Circle City has had great runs during the club season. Led by 6-7 hitter Julia Wohlert (Wisconsin), this team features three future Big Ten competitors.

Legacy-18 ELITE: Legacy has bounced around the PrepVolleyball.com rankings after starting the club season atop the list. They are never far from first and can certainly improve on their third-place ranking with a win this weekend. Featuring five of our top 11 from the Class of 2018 rankings, Legacy is led by outside hitters Abryanna Cannon (Northwestern) and Maria Mallon (Cincinnati).

FaR Out: Another Michigan squad, FaR Out is currently ranked 33^rd in the PrepVolleyball.com rankings. Highlighted by our Corinne Jemison (Miami Ohio), our fifth-ranked player in 2018, this team features five future RedHawks.

Milwaukee Sting: A team that found itself ranked fourth just a few months ago now sits 40^th in the latest rankings. The Sting still possess a lot of talent and could emerge as this weekend’s winner. The team is led by 6-2 outside hitter Mia Grunze (Ohio State) and features two future Big East players and a future Big 12 hitter.

Michigan Elite: The host program will be in the mix as well. Currently 62^nd in the PrepVolleyball.com rankings, the Elite have been well inside the top 30 in previous months. This team also features four of our top 10 in Michigan’s 2018 class, highlighted by future Michigan State players Molly Johnson and Lauryn Gibbs.