AAU Junior Nationals 16 & 18 Open Recap: Legacy reaches quarterfinals

<p>The <strong>Legacy 16-Elite</strong> volleyball team finished tied for fifth in the 16 Open Division of the AAU Nationals in Orlando on Thursday, exiting in the quarterfinals of the Gold bracket.</p> <p>Legacy had a great start to its AAU pool play, winning its first six matches in before losing in three sets to the <strong>Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold</strong> out of Wisconsin in a three-set nail-biter 24-26, 25-21, 17-15.</p> <p>After the loss, Legacy bounced back with a pair of wins before entering bracket play on Thursday. Legacy opened with a 25-18, 25-13 win over <strong>Alliance 16-1 Mizuno</strong> out of Tennessee. In the quarterfinals it would face <strong>Sports Performance 16 Elite</strong> out of Illinois. Legacy suffered a 25-22, 25-20 loss to end its AAU Tournament run, but still land it in the top 10 nationally.</p> <p><strong>OT 16 S. Roberto </strong>out of Florida won the Gold bracket title, defeating <strong>Asics Munciana Ninjas</strong> out of Indiana in the final, 25-18, 25-21.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Michigan Elite wins Ruby Bracket of 16 Open</strong></p> <p>In the Ruby bracket of the 16 Open, <strong>Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno </strong>came away with the championship. Elite went 4-5 in pool play over three days, but won its two bracket matches on Thursday.</p> <p>The semifinal was a 25-22, 25-21 win over <strong>The Academy 16 Elite Yeti</strong> and then was followed up with a 25-21, 24-26, 15-11 win over <strong>MN Select 16-1</strong> in the bracket championship.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>FaR Out 18 Black takes third in 18 Open</strong></p> <p>In the 18 Open Division, <strong>FaR Out 18 Black</strong> reached the semifinals of the Gold bracket to ultimately finish tied for third overall.</p> <p>FaR Out went 7-2 over its three days of pool play, with all seven victories coming in two sets. In Thursday’s bracket play, FaR Out suffered a 25-18, 18-25, 15-13 loss to <strong>Asics Munciana Samurai</strong> out of Indiana. Asics would fall to the champion, <strong>Sports Performance 18 Elite</strong> out of Illinois, in the final.</p>