What Makes Michigan Volleyball Different From Others?

I can count the number of times I’ve been to Michigan on one hand (and most of those times it’s been to the UP). Being an Iowa native and current Wisconsin resident, I was extremely excited to catch a full day of some of the top teams from Michigan where I found myself googling the high schools just to see where they were located. Then it goes down the rabbit hole of seeing what their enrollment is, who is in their conference, if their top players are committed, and the list goes on. I also have a fortunate position where I get to see high school volleyball across multiple states. I’ve covered volleyball teams from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin with a few others scattered in there with teams from other states being able to play in high school tournaments across the country. What makes Michigan different? Great volleyball is great volleyball no matter what state you are in, but there were a few things that stood out to me at Beast of the East that makes Michigan volleyball special. [caption id="attachment_162536" align="aligncenter" width="443"]<img class="wp-image-162536" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09873.jpg" alt="" width="443" height="295" /> Delacher of Rockford[/caption] The Tempo Good teams run a fast tempo and everyone at Beast was pushing a quick tempo. In order for this to happen, there has to be a solid and consistent first contact. Yes, teams across the country will run a quick here and there, but often times at the high school level it ends up being a game of outside hitters going head to head with some even being the option out of the backrow before the middle. One team in particular I kept coming back to was Rockford who was relentless with their tempo and commitment running the middle. Senior setter, [player_tooltip player_id="137571" first="Mackenzie" last="Delacher"], seemed to always find her middles even if she was pulled a little off the net. The pass didn’t have to be perfect, however with a libero like [player_tooltip player_id="137574" first="Alina" last="Anderson"], it was pretty close to being on point every time. She was extremely athletic and mobile, being a major gamechanger for the Rams. Middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id="151381" first="Ava" last="Horton"] was seeing a triple block at one point because teams knew exactly where it was going, but she still found ways to score points. <img class=" wp-image-162535 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09926-e1634919331680-300x294.jpg" alt="" width="395" height="387" /> [player_tooltip player_id="24871" first="Maradith" last="O’Gorman"] I remember watching O’Gorman play as an 8th grader when she would play up an age group (or was it two?) at the Great Lakes Power League for FaR Out from Grand Rapids. The future Michigan State commit has a lot of tricks in her bag that you cannot teach. She is a special player. Lakewood ran into Rockford in the quarterfinals of the Gold Bracket which resulted in them being knocked out, but O’Gorman showed why she is one of the top players in the state. She was swinging from both pins, out of the middle, and from the backrow. A heavy, left handed swing was nearly impossible for the defense to get a clean pass. If she isn’t getting a kill, she is causing a free ball for her team to get another chance to swing. She makes something out of nothing, her length and ability to create a scoring opportunity for herself really sets her apart from other players. [caption id="attachment_162534" align="aligncenter" width="421"]<img class="wp-image-162534" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09802.jpg" alt="" width="421" height="282" /> Olivia Pearce[/caption] Athleticism and Physicality of Liberos The tournament was so deep with top liberos. I kept writing down names of liberos throughout the day because they were having a huge impact on the game. What I look for in top liberos is they make the game look easy. Liberos who are diving all over the place can have a little bit of a smoke in mirrors effect where their diving is making up being out of position. Libeors like [player_tooltip player_id="24842" first="Josie" last="Bloom"] (Notre Dame Prep - Virginia Tech commit), [player_tooltip player_id="137574" first="Alina" last="Anderson"] (Rockford - Ferris State commit), Olivia Pearce (Mattawan - Uncommitted), Cazzi Smith (Saline - Uncommitted), Hailey Brown (Portage Central - Uncommitted), and Kennedy Hudson (Lakeland - Uncommitted). These were just some of the names I had down who were making it easy for their side of the net to get in system and really use their tempo game to score points. And There’s Marian [caption id="attachment_162533" align="alignright" width="467"]<img class="wp-image-162533 " src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09884.jpg" alt="" width="467" height="311" /> Brizard and Jones[/caption] Marian Catholic has been in the conversation to be one of the top teams in the country and they have every right to be. Their blend of size, athleticism, and really solid defense is a recipe for winning at any level, but this team has some of the top recruits in the country doing it. [player_tooltip player_id="24846" first="Ava" last="Brizard"] is one of the top outside hitters in Michigan and even throughout the Mideast. She will head to NC State. Middle Blocker [player_tooltip player_id="24877" first="Sarah" last="Sylvester"] is committed to TCU and has the strength and length to really cause problems for the other side of the net offensively and defensively. An unsigned 2022 middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id="137570" first="Janiah" last="Jones"], is a major X-Factor who plays extremely high and connects extremely well with [player_tooltip player_id="66328" first="Ava" last="Sarafa"] where they could find each other in every clutch situation. Lefty right side [player_tooltip player_id="66330" first="Ella" last="Schomer"] is extremely dynamic, she can play six rotations and score points from either pin. The conductor of this is Junior, Kentucky commit [player_tooltip player_id="66328" first="Ava" last="Sarafa"]. Everything goes through her where she is always engaged with everyone on the court. She has the command and leadership that takes teams to the next level. She puts her attackers in position to score, but also defends her position well in the front and backrow. I was able to see top teams at the Asics Challenge in Chicago which included Assumption out of Louisville, Mother McAuley and Marist out of Chicago, and Notre Dame Academy out of Northern Kentucky. Marian is among the best. Their biggest strength is having very little weakness. Of course they will drop a set, it happens to every team, but to beat them in a standard three out of five match is going to be extremely difficult.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> [player_tooltip player_id="24846" first="Ava" last="Brizard"] with the kill to capture the Beast of the East title for Marian <a href="https://t.co/jDpst5bbaI">pic.x.com/jDpst5bbaI</a> — Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1449521493017305089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>