USAV Junior Nationals: Michigan teams shine in 16’s
Alexa Rousseau Of all the age groups at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Detroit the past 10 days, it was the 16-year-old age group that proved the most fruitful for the state of Michigan. Michigan earned a top-10…
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Continue ReadingOf all the age groups at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Detroit the past 10 days, it was the 16-year-old age group that proved the most fruitful for the state of Michigan.
Michigan earned a top-10 finish in the nation with Legacy 16-Elite landing 10th in the 16 Open division by taking runner-up in the Silver bracket.
“This weekend was the collection of a lot of work throughout the season for us,” Legacy 16-Elite coach Jennifer Cottrill said. “We were really motivated to play at a high level, consistently. Throughout the year we would play at a high level and then take a couple of points off or a couple of matches off. This weekend, we played at a high level for four straight days.”
Legacy started its USAV Junior Nationals with a perfect run of five wins in pool play, dropping just one set along the way.
It then moved on to the second round of pool play where it went 1-1, dropping a close three-set match to A5 Mizuno 16-1 Gabe. Legacy then faced OT 16 S. Roberto in challenge bracket action and suffered a 26-24, 25-14 loss, which moved it to Wednesday’s Silver bracket.
Wednesday’s bracket play opened with a 25-23, 25-17 win over Triangle 16 Black in the quarterfinals and then a 25-18, 25-20 win over Skyline 16 Royal in the semifinal.
The bracket championship was a matchup with H Skyline 16 Royal. Legacy rolled in the first set, 25-13, but Skyline bounced back for 25-18 and 16-14 wins in the next two sets.
Legacy was led throughout the week by six-rotation, outside hitter Jessica Mruzik (Michigan), who is atop our 2020 player rankings. Captain and setter Alexa Rousseau (Northwestern) also played a key role, as she has continued to develop her attack while being one of the best setters in the 2020 class nationally.
Libero Kennedy Dolmage was also vital, as she faced some tremendous hitters throughout the week.
“Kennedy Dolmage really anchored our back. She was super steady defensively for us these past few weeks,” Cottrill said.
Combined with last week’s fifth-place finish at last week’s AAU Nationals, Legacy 16-Elite wraps up its season with two top-10 finishes in national tournaments.
Michigan Elite 16 Elite West Reaches Patriot Final
The Michigan Elite 16 Elite West team had a strong week as well, reaching the Gold bracket finals of the Patriot Division.
Michigan Elite played 13 matches throughout the week, logging a 11-2 record. Elite was 9-1 through pool play, landing it in the Gold bracket.
Wednesday’s bracket play opened with a 25-19, 25-23 win over Michio Chicago 16 in the quarterfinal. Elite followed that up with a 25-22, 19-25, 15-13 win over MVVC G 16 Red in the semifinal.
Wednesday’s final was a 25-18, 25-19 loss to FORZA1 North 16. FORZA, a California-based club team went undefeated throughout the Patriot Division.