Legacy’s Triple Crown success proof of Michigan’s national growth
A little over a decade ago, the state of Michigan would be lucky to get an invitation to sit among the best volleyball states in the nation. In 2020, the mitten state is making a move for the head of…
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Continue ReadingA little over a decade ago, the state of Michigan would be lucky to get an invitation to sit among the best volleyball states in the nation.
In 2020, the mitten state is making a move for the head of the table.
Over the last two years alone, the state of Michigan has collected multiple Triple Crown Invitational championships and a AAU National Championship behind Legacy Volleyball Club.
Just last weekend, Legacy scored two Triple Crown titles from 18-1 Adidas and 15-1 Adidas.
The starting point of change came in 2007, when volleyball was moved from a winter sport to a fall sport by the MHSAA after a federal judge ruled that the winter placement of the sport violated Title IX law and the 14th amendment.
Since the change, the growth of talent and competitiveness on a national level has increased each year, culminating in a high point last weekend.
“To see where this state has come since the changing of the seasons is really incredible. We have always had good athletes that were elite in their athletic ability, but now we have players that are elite nationally when it comes to their actually volleyball skills,” Legacy 18-1 Adidas head coach Bryan Lindstrom said. “The growth in our players to pass and defend has allowed us to catch up to the likes of California and Texas. We can field teams that can compete with those states in terms of volleyball skills. It’s really amazing to see. Winning is great for Legacy, certainly, but it’s also just big for the state of Michigan. We have great clubs in this state like Michigan Elite, FaR Out and others and all of them are competing nationally and showing just how far the state of Michigan has come. It’s pretty neat to watch.”
Last year, Legacy 18-Elite collected a 2019 Triple Crown title while also winning a national championship while being led by Jess Mruzik, the National Player of the Year.
“It took a good 10-15 years to get here, but being able to succeed at a tournament like (Triple Crown) really allows the state of Michigan to demand respect for all the clubs,” Legacy 15-1 Adidas coach Jennifer Cottrill said. “This state can compete at a high level nationally and produce elite-level talent.
Along with Legacy’s wins at Triple Crown, the state also saw FaR Out 13 Black finish runner-up in the 13 Open, while FaR Out 18 Black had a top-15 finish.
15-1 Adidas lives up to the hype
Legacy 15-1 AdidasOf the two titles last weekend, it was 15-1 Adidas that was somewhat expected.
15-1 Adidas had won its first two tournaments of the year and climbed up the national rankings. The team has yet to drop a match all season after going 9-0 last weekend.
“We’ve had a good first few tournaments against Midwest teams, but you still don’t have an idea how you will stack up against the rest of the nation. The goal was to just be competitive and be in every match, and obviously they exceeded my expectations,” Cottrill said. “They were put in some situations that they haven’t been in this year and responded very well each time.”
Those new situations were playing from behind, as 15-1 Adidas lost its opening set to Tstreet 15-Chris in the semifinals. It was Legacy’s first time playing from behind this club year. They responded by winning the next two sets for a 23-25, 25-20, 15-13 victory. They then grinded out a tough final against Alamo 15 Premier, winning 25-21, 27-29, 15-12.
“They seemed so calm and confident in themselves and one another,” Cottrill said. “I think I was more nervous than they were most of the time. They just had a lot of trust in each other and once they got those first few wins, I think they just really played loose and believed in themselves.”
Harper Murray is the standout for the team and can always be expected to play at a high level, but her hitting teammate, Rebecca Apsey, also really shined for 15-1 Adidas throughout the weekend.
“Rebecca is definitely the unsung hero offensively,” Cottrill said. “She contributes as much as Harper does at a very high percentage. That allows our offense to be spread pin-to-pin because she is very terminal on the right side. She hasn’t quite made the name for herself that Harper has, but she will.”
The back row play of Kaitlyn Hoffman and Sarah Vellucci also stood out. Vellucci was frequently a target of opposing servers, but she passed a 2.6 for the weekend, including a 3.0 for the final while taking on the most serves.
Setter Erin Kline also ran a fluent offense while showing improvement with her decision making against the top teams. It was a big step forward for the Class of 2023 prospect.
Legacy 15-1 Adidas will next be in action March 6-8 in Orlando as part of the Sunshine Qualifier.
18-1 Adidas pulls off the “upset”
Lauren King
Legacy 18-1 Adidas had plenty of buzz coming into the season, but found itself outside the top 20 rankings coming into Triple Crown. They weren’t even the top-ranked team in the state going into the event. However, Legacy put all the pieces together to claim the 18 open title.
“I don’t want to say it was completely unexpected, because we believed we could hang with these teams. The big question for us was would we be able to play consistent enough,” Lindstrom said.
It wasn’t a perfect start for Legacy. After a hard-fought 19-25, 25-21, 15-10 win over H Skyline 18 Royal, Legacy would fall in three sets to Coast 18-1 and then suffer a two-set loss to MAVS KC 18-1 to go just 1-2 on the opening day.
“We just didn’t have anything left after those first two matches. There was no emotion or energy for the match with MAVS,” Lindstrom said.
However, a Challenge match win over Xceleration Blue 18-1 started a six-match championship run. The big win of the weekend came against second-ranked Mintonette m.81 in the quarterfinals. These two have quite a rivalry, and Legacy got the latest nod with a 25-17, 23-25, 15-9 victory.
“Mintonette has been our nemesis with this group. We have each knocked each other out of big tournaments and it just seems like we always cross paths,” Lindstrom said. “When we beat them, you could just really see the confidence level of our team take a big step forward.”
Legacy didn’t drop another set in the tournament, besting Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite 25-19, 25-20, before dispatching A5 Mizuno 18-Scott in the final, 25-20, 28-26.
While the team has some notable standouts like setter Alexa Rousseau (Northwestern) and outside Kendall Murray (Michigan), it was middle/right side Lauren King (VCU) that made a big impact with her blocking.
“Not a lot of people talk about Lauren King, but she had some incredible shutdown blocks for us all weekend,” Lindstrom said. “Lauren can touch 10’5” and people don’t talk about her because she’s not an offensive powerhouse, but her blocking is at an elite level. Teams have to game plan for her blocking and it really puts them on their heels because they just can’t hit past her consistently.”
A fellow middle, Meghan Dombrowski (West Virginia) battled through an ankle injury to contribute as well, while libero Kennedy Dolmage (Oakland) showcased some of the best play she’s had.
“Kennedy really played out of her mind in the final,” Lindstrom said. “She has played well all season thus far, but she really had some digs that were incredible in that championship match. It was really fun to see her play at that level.”
18-1 Adidas will look to build off the Triple Crown win over the next few weeks. It will compete in the Lone Star Qualifier this upcoming weekend in Austin, Tx. A week later, it heads to Orlando for the Sunshine Qualifier.
“After you win the best tournament of the year, how do you keep moving forward? That’s what we have been talking about over the last week,” Lindstrom said. “There are still some great teams we haven’t played yet this year and we have set our sights for our goals going forward. This group is definitely staying motivated and staying hungry.”