State Finals: Open Division Standouts

<p>There was no stopping Marymount in the Open Division championship. The Sailors handled Archbishop Mitty 25-11, 25-5, 25-14 in impressive fashion. Below, we highlight the standout players from the match.</p> <p><strong>Megan Verbiest, 5-7 Libero, Sr, Marymount</strong> – The Sailors capped an undefeated season by handling Archbishop Mitty in straight sets in the Open Division championship. Verbiest put on a special performance with unbelievable digs, some of them one-handed, as she frustrated the Mitty hitters. She ended up with a match-high 14 digs, plus the Monarchs couldn’t keep the ball away from her in serve receive. She also had 2 aces.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159518" first="Elia" last="Rubin"], 6-0 Outside, Sr, Marymount</strong> – When an attacker like Rubin is on there’s not much defenses can do and she torched Mitty over and over with her variety of shots and smart placement on her way to a match-high 10 kills. They came on only 18 swings as she hit .500.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159522" first="Kelly" last="Belardi"], 5-11 Setter, Sr, Marymount</strong> – Belardi’s numbers were modest as she finished with 28 assists and 8 digs. However, the stats don’t do justice to the way she directed the offense and kept Mitty guessing as to where she was going with the ball.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159519" first="Kerry" last="Keefe"], 6-2 Right Side, Sr, Marymount</strong> – The Sailors hit .431 as a team, so the attack was efficient overall and Keefe fit right in. She had 9 kills on 17 swings, hitting .471. She also had an impact from the service line leading the Sailors with 4 aces.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="163274" first="Dior" last="Charles"], 6-1 Middle Blocker, Jr, Marymount</strong> – Although the Sailors didn’t run the middles a lot, Charles was part of a constant threat that helped keep Mitty honest and needing to stay home. Charles did get 7 swings and scored on 5 of them, hitting .714. She also had 2 of the Sailors’ 5 blocks as a team.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159521" first="Rhiann" last="Sheffie"], 6-1 Middle Blocker, Sr, Marymount</strong> – Sheffie was a presence at the net, though her numbers were modest. She did a good job of getting touches and slowing down Mitty attacks. And when she was called upon she delivered. She put up 3 kills on 4 swings and hit .750. </p>