2021 Club Overview – Unified Volleyball

<p><strong>Unified Volleyball </strong>has found itself pushing toward being one of the top clubs in the state in recent years and 2021 shouldn’t be much different.</p> <p>Unified has added in some nice new pieces for this year, and their younger squads are full of potential.</p> <p>Here’s a closer look at their top squads in 2021 and how the start to the 2021 season is going.</p> <h4><strong>Unified 18-1</strong></h4> <p>Unified added in a big piece to this squad for 2021 in Clarkston outside hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50296" first="Claire" last="Nowicki"]</strong>. She brings a poised and dynamic six-rotation outside to an already solid roster. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50314" first="Ella" last="Lochbiler"] </strong>(Charleston Southern)<strong>, [player_tooltip player_id="23440" first="Madison" last="Grace"] </strong>(Morgan State) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="89347" first="Lauren" last="Staruch"] </strong>(Texas-Arlington) all can hammer the ball on the outside, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50298" first="Ainsley" last="Guse"] </strong>(Kent State) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="89345" first="Kennedy" last="Hogan"]</strong> (Western Michigan) are great finishers in the middle. This team has hitting in spades. That makes things easy for setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="89349" first="Ella" last="Markevics"] </strong>and <strong>Halle Lieffers</strong>, who are able to smoothly run the offense and mix up the attacks. Defensively, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50310" first="Avery" last="Horejsi"] </strong>(DePaul) is a highly competitive libero that is never short on effort. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="89375" first="Alexis" last="Wolas"] </strong>is a great defensive option as well, as are the outside hitters.</p> <p>It’s been a pretty nice start to 2021 for this team. They are 6-7 on the season overall, but are 3-1 in regional contests. That includes wins over Legacy 18-1 ADIDAS and Unified 18-2. With the solid hitting and leadership this squad has, there are likely to be some more big wins along the way.</p> <h4><strong>Unified 17-1</strong></h4> <p>Middle play is pretty solid with Unified 17-1 behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60836" first="Marissa" last="Walker"] </strong>and <strong>Hailee Manconga</strong>. Both provide a lot of athleticism and length for the position and can provide a lot of finishing and blocking ability. That opens the door on the outside for the likes of <strong>Madison Kinsman</strong>, <strong>Madelyn Tarrance</strong>, <strong>Kate Horvath </strong>and <strong>Jasmine Savoi</strong>. <strong>Baylee Proctor </strong>and <strong>Rosalia Simion </strong>run the offense from the setting position and have very good chemistry with their hitters. Defensively, <strong>Raegan Bell </strong>and <strong>Elyssa Wallace</strong> are very well-coached back row talents that do a great job of keeping the team in long rallies.</p> <p>Unified 17-1 has been hot-and-cold so far in 2021. They’ve sandwiched a five-game win streak in between a pair of three-game losing streaks. They have the potential to rack up some wins in-state and regionally this year, but need to find that consistency on a more regular basis.</p> <h4><strong>Unified 16-1</strong></h4> <p>Unified 16-1 works with a lot of prospects that have high ceilings and are still finding their potential. Setter <strong>Margo Sudzina </strong>is coming off a strong prep season at Notre Dame Prep and is joined by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="66298" first="Sophia" last="Dawkins"]</strong>. They are both raising their game thus far in the club season. On the outsides, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="66339" first="Rachel" last="Townsend"] </strong>and <strong>Kirei Quan </strong>are the two primary outsides, while <strong>Margaret Peterman </strong>and <strong>Kayleigh Winiarski </strong>are the right sides. <strong>Savannah Chapie </strong>and <strong>Sara Robinson </strong>patrol the middle, giving Unified plenty of athletic arms to use on offense. Defensively, <strong>Carleigh Turek </strong>and <strong>Hannah Maynard </strong>are hard-nosed defenders that are raising their game by taking on the best hitters in the region.</p> <p>It’s been a nice start to 2021 for 16-1. They opened with a solid showing at the Frozen Lake Festival (5-1) to get things started. While the Central Zone Invite was a bit of a struggle, the team bounced back with some nice wins in the Presidents’ Day Cup (3-3). This is a group that should be able to contend to be one of the best in the state and have some regional impact.</p> <h4><strong>Unified 15-1</strong></h4> <p><strong>Katie Weiss </strong>and <strong>Gabriella Nadeau </strong>are taking on duties at outside hitter and sharpening their all-around skills for this young squad. <strong>Claire Bemis </strong>and <strong>Sydney Ryan </strong>compliment them on the right side and are showing some signs of being strong finishers. In the middle, <strong>Jaylee Hall </strong>and <strong>Angelina Azbell </strong>are improving on their timing and footwork. They are getting better with their on-court instincts. At setter, <strong>Julia Gojcaj </strong>and <strong>Sophia Sermo </strong>are two well-coached setters that are still coming into their own with the position. As their confidence grows, so should the overall play of the team. Defensively, <strong>Jenna Miller </strong>and <strong>Zoe Hoke</strong> are eager to improve as well. The young back-row specialists are challenging themselves against great hitting and are improving on their fundamentals.</p> <p>This young squad hasn’t had a chance to compete much, playing just a handful of matches in the Michiana Open Power League back in January. It’s hard to know just what to expect from them as of yet. There’s certainly plenty of potential and likely to be some flashes of a highly competitive team in the coming months.</p>