Saturday's Dakota Tournament Preview

Every year around this time, some of the best teams on the east side of the state make a trip to Macomb Dakota. Every year, the early season tournament provides for some great volleyball and unbelievable athletes. Last year, Mercy knocked out Notre Dame Prep to take the tournament. This year, Mercy will be without their best player as Jess Mruzik will be in Honduras with the USA Youth National team. Don’t let the loss of Jess fool you, Mercy is still loaded with talent deep along their bench. The other top seeds are Lake Orion, Stoney Creek, and Notre Dame Prep.

Prep Dig Ranked Teams in the tournament – Mercy (#1 in D1), Lake Orion (#2 in D1), Marian (#11 in D1), Stoney Creek (#15 in D1), Dakota (#18 in D1), Flushing (HM in D1), Novi (HM in D1), Utica Eisenhower (HM in D1), Walled Lake Central (HM in D1), Notre Dame Prep (#1 in D2)

Players to watch in the tournament – Julia Bishop (Mercy), Wren Macauley (Lake Orion), Kate Stration (Stoney Creek), Natalie Risi (Notre Dame Prep), Christine Audette (Marian), Toni Nunnery (Dakota), Ellia Seachrist (Walled Lake Central), Abbey Hermann (Sterling Heights Stevenson), Rachel Jennings (Novi)

Tournament Favorites:

Mercy – Although they are a bit short handed, Mercy still has arguably the most talent of any team in the field. Julia Bishop will have to connect with her other attackers to carry Mercy to a 2nd straight title.

Lake Orion – Lake Orion is coming off a tournament win last week and an undefeated record at a mid week quad. If any team has the talent to hang and beat Mercy, it is LO. Like Bishop, Wren Macauley will need to distribute the ball effectively for Lake Orion on Saturday.

Stoney Creek – Stoney is a streaky team. Very skilled with a lot of experience on their team, a big key is going to be how freshman Sydney Tomlak can score. If Sydney and Kate Stration can get hot on the outside, they will contend.

Notre Dame Prep – NDP has a huge target on their back. What we need to understand is this team lost a key part to last years championship squad. Senior Lauren Burnick graduated and NDP is counting on a few freshman to set the big outsides they have. If Maddy Chinn is healthy, NDP will be a contender on Saturday.

Marian – Of all the talented teams in this tournament, only Notre Dame Prep made it further than Marian last year. Although Marian lost some talent to graduation, they picked up a great freshman class. Freshman outside Ava Brizard will play a big part of Marian this year. Look for the leadership of Senior setter Maddie Dowd and Junior outsite Christine Audette to help guide the talented freshman.

Dakota – Another program that saw a lot of talent graduate, Dakota is just solid everywhere. No real holes on the team but they also don’t have a go to player…….. yet. Look for Toni Nunnery to step up for Dakota this season.

Other Teams to Watch – Walled Lake Central, Flushing, Novi

Predictions

Pool Play

Pool A – Mercy, Stevenson, Novi, and Romeo – Mercy will go 3-0 and take first. The 2nd place spot will be a 3 way tie for 2nd at 1-2. Novi wins the tiebreaker and moves on.

Pool B – Lake Orion, Walled Lake Central, Lakeland, and Utica – Lake Orion gets a scare from WLC but pulls out the pool in first. WLC beats Lakeland in 3 to take the 2nd spot in the pool.

Pool C – Stoney Creek, Dakota, Midland, and Seaholm. Dakota takes out Stoney Creek in 3 for a battle of first and 2nd in the pool. \

Pool D – Notre Dame Prep, Marian, Eisenhower, and Flushing. By far, the toughest pool in the tournament. Notre Dame Prep and Marian battle in 3 sets. NDP comes out on top. Marian grabs 2nd in pool.

Bracket Play

Quarterfinals

QF #1 – Mercy vs. Walled Lake Central. Mercy just too much for WLC. Look for Mercy to win in 2.

QF #2 – Notre Dame Prep vs. Stoney Creek. Stoney Creek turns it on when it matters and knocks out NDP early.

QF #3 – Dakota vs. Marian. Despite being home, Dakota does not have an answer for Christine Audette. Marian wins in 2.

QF #4 – Lake Orion vs. Novi. Last year, with both teams healthy, this would have been a battle. This year Novi just does not have the firepower to hang with Lake Orion. Lake Orion in 2

Semi-Finals

SF #1 – Mercy vs. Stoney Creek. Stoney Creek continues to shock teams but comes up short. Leading in the 2nd 23-18, Stoney loses the lead and the match. Mercy in 2.

SF #2 – Lake Orion vs. Marian. A battle as usual, Marian takes the first set. Lake Orion storms back with a 2nd set win. In the 3rd and final set, Marian cannot hold a 12-10 lead and LO pulls out the 15-13 win to the finals.

Finals

Mercy vs. Lake Orion – Without Jess Mruzik, Mercy has to rely on a variety of attackers to throw at Lake Orion. Sophomore Ellie Tisko and Senior Logan Beyer shine and carry Mercy past Lake Orion in 3.