AAU Nationals Recap: Michigan Elite finishes runner-up in 17 Open

<p>It was a successful <strong>AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships</strong> for the state of Michigan.</p> <p>Along with the <a href="https://bit.ly/2UWlEvb">16 Open national title</a> won by <strong>Legacy 16-1 ADIDAS</strong>, the <strong>Michigan Elite 17 Mizuno </strong>landed in the runner-up position in the 17 Open.</p> <p>Michigan Elite went 11-2 for the tournament, grinding out three three-set victories along the way.</p> <p>17 Mizuno bested <strong>Academy 17 Diamond</strong> in the quarterfinals (25-22, 25-21) and <strong>Dallas Skyline 17 Royal </strong>in the semifinals (25-22, 25-20).</p> <p>The finals were a hard-fought matchup with <strong>OT 17 T Jason</strong> out of Florida.</p> <p>Michigan Elite was able to establish an early lead in the opening set of the finals thanks to the blocking of middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="24877" first="Sarah" last="Sylvester"]</strong>. OT would fight back to tie up the score at 10-10, and then found its groove on its way to a 25-18 victory.</p> <p>The second set saw Michigan Elite chasing from behind most of the way and not able to get a rally to catch up. OT won 25-19 to secure the national title, but Michigan Elite certainly impressed.</p> <p>The trio of outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="24846" first="Ava" last="Brizard"]</strong>, setter <strong>Aly Borellis </strong>and libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="24842" first="Josie" last="Bloom"] </strong>were all named 17 Open All-Americans for their efforts.</p> <p>A second-place finish for Michigan Elite wraps up a strong finish to the club season, as they had five top-10 finishes over the season, including a win in the Presidents Day Challenge.</p> <p><strong>Legacy 17-1 ADIDAS </strong>finished 11^th in the 17 Open with a 9-3 record for the event.</p> <h4><strong>Michigan Elite gets to 18 Open semifinals</strong></h4> <p><strong>Michigan Elite 18 Mizuno </strong>reached the semifinals of the 18 Open at the AAU Nationals. The team went 7-3 for the tournament, falling to eventual champ <strong>Asics Munciana Samurai</strong> in the semifinals 25-19, 25-18.</p> <p>Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="14163" first="Julia" last="Bishop"]</strong> and <strong>Charli Atiemo</strong> were named Open All-Americans for their play, wrapping up a legendary connection from their time at Mercy and Michigan Elite.</p> <p><strong>FaR Out 18 Black </strong>reached the quarterfinals of the 18 Open, going 5-4 for the event. They also were ousted from the tournament by the champs in the quarterfinal, 25-18, 25-12.</p> <p><strong>FaR Out 18 Red </strong>tied for fifth in the 18 Classic Division with a 9-2 record for the event.</p> <h4><strong>FaR Out shines in 15 Open</strong></h4> <p>In the 15 Open division, <strong>FaR Out 15 Black</strong> reached the quarterfinals and was 8-3 for the event, tying for fifth overall. FaR Out fell in the gold bracket quarterfinals to <strong>Team Indiana 151</strong> by scores of 25-20, 18-25, 15-9.</p> <p><strong>Legacy 15-1 ADIDAS</strong> came in 13^th overall, posting a 6-5 record during the nationals.</p> <h4><strong>Three top-10 finishes in 14 Open</strong></h4> <p>The Class of 2025 showed a lot of promise during the AAU Nationals, with three Michigan squads placing in the Top 10.</p> <p><strong>Michigan Elite 14 Mizuno</strong> finished fifth with a 7-3 record, while <strong>FaR Out 14 Black </strong>placed ninth and <strong>Legacy 14-1 ADIDAS</strong> finished 10^th, both going 8-4 for the event.</p> <p>Outside hitter <strong>Izzy Busignani </strong>was named an Open All-American for Michigan Elite.</p>