Motor City Madness: Standouts from the 18 Open

[caption id="attachment_14985" align="alignright" width="250"]<a href="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/unnamed.jpg"></a> Motor City Madness[/caption] <p>The <strong>18 Open </strong>of <strong>Motor City Madness</strong> featured a ton of talent from around the Midwest and dozens of future Division 1 college stars.</p> <p>Here’s a look at the standout players from the four semifinalists this past weekend.</p> <p><strong>Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold</strong></p> <p>The champions of the 18 Open have battled injuries over the last month, but finally started to come into form this past weekend. Outside hitter <strong>Mia Grunze </strong>(Ohio State) is a perfect example. After suffering an injury at Triple Crowne in Salt Lake City, Utah, back in February, Grunze finally looked like her old self in Pontiac. She was difficult for anyone to stop with her 6-2 size and power. In the middle, <strong>Rachel Murphy </strong>(New Mexico) was also a force. She complimented Grunze very well to keep opponents guessing at the net. Libero <strong>Katie Schoessow </strong>(Marquette) also had to have a big weekend for the Sting as she faced elite-level hitters throughout the weekend.</p> <p><strong>Legacy 18-Elite</strong></p> <p>It wasn’t hard to see the impact <strong>Maria Mallon </strong>(Cincinnati) had at Motor City Madness. On Saturday, she was all over the court. Despite being just 5-8, this outside hitter played at as high of a level as anyone. At the net, she delivered tremendous power on her attacks. In the back row, she still was able to play aggressive and provide a number of important digs. Mallon also was a difficult serve to handle. Her dynamic ability will definitely be an asset for Legacy going forward. <strong>Hannah Grant </strong>(Michigan State) also played very well at libero. Her defensive play was top-notch and her serving led to a lot of Legacy rallies over the weekend, including a 6-0 start in the third set of Sunday’s championship. <strong>Abbey Malinowski </strong>(Michigan) showed a lot of variety with her attacks. Her power swings led to points and her off-speed attacks were placed accurately. Malinowski always looks composed on the floor.</p> <p><strong>Michigan Elite 18 Mizuno</strong></p> <p>Like most teams that were successful this past weekend, the libero was a big part of that success. This was no different here, as <strong>Lauryn Gibbs </strong>(Michigan State). Already ranked third in our <a href="http://bit.ly/2qsWwdg">2018 player rankings</a>, Gibbs didn’t show any reason to change that this weekend. Gibbs got to a number of tough balls and showed her usual competitive fire to lead Elite to the semifinals. When it came to hitting, middle <strong>Molly Asmus </strong>(Dayton) had dominant stretches at the net. Her attacks were on point and she was able to slow down a number of opposing attacks to help Gibbs and her back row. Right side <strong>Meredith Kraus </strong>(Aquinas) was the top attacker for Elite on the outside this weekend. She provided key points for Elite in their big wins over Circle City Purple and FarOut 18 Black.</p> <p><strong>FaR Out 18 Black</strong></p> <p>FaR Out was led by its Class of 2019 outside hitter, <strong>Lindsay Taylor </strong>(Miami of Ohio). Our fourth-ranked played in our <a href="http://bit.ly/2GYAeq4">2019 rankings</a>, she was the go-to player for FaR Out this weekend and she didn’t disappoint. Her hitting was tough for opponents to stop and is a big reason FaR Out reached the semifinals. Taylor wouldn’t have been quite as impactful if not for setter <strong>Hailey Delacher </strong>(Bradley). Delacher was mixing up her sets and attacks well and put her teammates in great positions to succeed. <strong>Molly Mirabelli </strong>(Miami of Ohio) has been more of a role player for FaR Out this season, but she stepped up this weekend and gave the team a big push when on the floor.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u><a href="http://bit.ly/2HRhUR7">RELATED: MOTOR CITY MADNESS 18 OPEN DAY 2 RECAP</a></u></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/2qQEKkz">RELATED: MOTOR CITY MADNESS 18 OPEN DAY 1 RECAP</a></strong></p>