Beast of the East Dream Team
In this article:
One of the biggest tournaments in the state have come and gone. 32 of the best teams in the state, across all divisions, going head-to-head in one spot. Saturday was the place to be for volleyball lovers. Of the 32…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingOne of the biggest tournaments in the state have come and gone. 32 of the best teams in the state, across all divisions, going head-to-head in one spot. Saturday was the place to be for volleyball lovers.
Of the 32 top teams in the state, we also saw some of the hottest talent take center stage. This included some of the top ranked players in the state and in the country. With all this talent on display, you just had to be there to watch the show.
And with so much talent on display, one has to wonder, who would they have on their team if they could pick? Well, here’s who I would draft on my Dream Team at Beast of the East.
Pins
The field was completely stacked with some bombers on the pins. I don’t think there was a single team at Beast of the East without a cannon on either the left or right pins, there were so many to choose from. This one was tough. But if I had to build a team off of the pins at BOE, I think I got the ultimate trifecta. Ann Arbor Skyline’s Harper Murray Harper Murray 6'2" | OH Skyline | 2023 State #2 Nation MI (Nebraska), Marian’s Isabelle Busignani Isabelle Busignani 6'1" | OH Marian | 2025 State #73 Nation MI , and Forest Hills Northern’s Kennedy Louisell Kennedy Louisell 6'0" | OH Forest Hills Northern | 2023 State #140 Nation MI (UNCG) would all be at the top of my draft picks.
When looking at these elite left side attackers, it’s pretty easy to see why. Not only can all three unload at the net or in the back court, but all three have some impressive ball control too. Murray, Busignani and Louisell all have some top notch overall game and are easily their teams’ go-tos. The trio combined for over 200 kills on the day and Murray and Louisell were both named to the All-Tournament team.
Blockers
As impressive as the left sides were, they had to get through some pretty hefty middle blockers at Beast of the East. And going against these three, good luck. Some of the tallest and some of the most dominating players in the gym, these girls knew how to bring the house down. While the left sides are pretty well-known in the volleyball world, these middle blockers are having breakout seasons. Between the likes of North Branch’s Kaela Chingwa Kaela Chingwa 6'3" | MB North Branch | 2024 State MI , FH Northern’s Kendall Hopewell Kendall Hopewell 6'1" | MB Forest Hills Northern | 2024 State #193 Nation MI and Notre Dame Prep’s Grace Wenaas Grace Wenaas 6'0" | MB Notre Dame Prep | 2023 State MI , you cannot go wrong with any of these three on your side of the net.
Between the offensive prowess that Chingwa and Wenaas showed, the blocking of Chingwa and Hopewell and Hopewell’s ability to play six rotations. This trio would make up one dynamic group of middles to have on one team. Bringing down the hammer and lighting it up at the net, you can’t go wrong.
Setters
These may be pretty obvious picks at the setter position, but you simply can’t get any better than Marian’s Ava Sarafa Ava Sarafa 6'0" | S Marian | 2023 State #14 Nation MI (Kentucky) and Mercy’s Campbell Flynn Campbell Flynn 6'2" | S Mercy | 2025 State #4 Nation MI . The two just bring so much to the table and are so crucial to each of their team’s success, you can’t want anymore. The two were both named to the All-Tournament team too.
Sarafa really showed off her chops this weekend with not one, but two of her big weapons out with injury. Not only did she show how much of a leader she is to this squad, but how she can make any offense work at a highly effective rate. Flynn also stepped into some heightened roles too this weekend as not only a setter but an attacker as well. Flynn was able to knock down over 50 kills on the weekend while still pushing out 60 assists around the court.
‘Bros
You could easily put any libero out on the court with the collection of pins on this dream team and have one killer reception and defensive line, but now put either of these two out there? Not a single ball is dropping on this side of the court! Both Lakewood’s Carley Piercefield Carley Piercefield 5'4" | DS/L Lakewood | 2024 State #90 Nation MI and North Branch’s Hailey Green Hailey Green 5'1" | DS/L North Branch | 2024 State MI were lights out this weekend. Both liberos play for two of the top teams in Division 2 and both are top defensive prospects in the 2024 class. What a duo!
Both Piercefield and Green continue to impress the deeper they get into their prep career and that was on full display this weekend as both were named to the Beast of the East All-Tournament team. Piercefield is such a crucial cog in the entire dynamic for Lakewood and it lifted them into the gold bracket rounds and a close loss to a tough Skyline team. Green also led her squad to a semi-final finish and just merely lost out on the gold medal match versus Northville.
.
Join us at the Prep Dig Top 250 Expo! Use code LShotPDExpo250 for 10% off your registration fee.