Beast of the East Standouts: Pins (Pt. 1)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most stacked field of teams we may have ever seen at Beast of the East, these teams came in ready to play and it made for an epic day of volleyball!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With such a stacked field, we saw a lot of most talented pin attackers in the state. A heavy mix of Miss Volleyball nominees and the big names of tomorrow, they were all on display at Beast of the East. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here were some of the top pin attackers from this weekend's Beast of the East. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='66303' first='Paige' last='Giehtbrock'] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='110288' first='Cayla' last='Cogan'] - Clarkston</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clarkston is on a real hot streak lately and had a great showing at BOE. A huge reason for the success came from the left side combination of [player_tooltip player_id='66303' first='Paige' last='Giehtbrock'] (Rider) and [player_tooltip player_id='110288' first='Cayla' last='Cogan'] (George Washington). The two gave Clarkston a consistent presence on the pins and were very efficient scoring about anywhere on the court. The two combined for 77 kills on the weekend and earned top honors in Pool G.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='108716' first='Emily' last='May'] - Coopersville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":161704,"width":191,"height":246,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC_9090-795x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-161704" width="191" height="246"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When you think of the name Coopersville Volleyball, you often think of the play of [player_tooltip player_id='108716' first='Emily' last='May'] (Ferris State). Dynamic, powerful and a game changer, May continued showcasing her prowess this weekend. The Ferris State bound attacker can really elevate to the clouds and bring down some thunderous swings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> [player_tooltip player_id='66338' first='Emma' last='Thamarus'] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='108755' first='Bella' last='Austin'] - Dakota</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were power duos aplenty this weekend on the pins and you couldn't find quite better than the duo of [player_tooltip player_id='66338' first='Emma' last='Thamarus'] (Mount Vernon) and [player_tooltip player_id='108755' first='Bella' last='Austin'] (Long Island). The two seniors lit up the Beast of the East this weekend coming out victorious in Pool H. Both Thamarus and Austin hold a steady game, playing six rotations and can be big threats coming out of the back court as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='66314' first='Kennedy' last='Louisell'] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='110295' first='Elana' last='Erickson'] - Forest Hills Northern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another huge duo on the left side, [player_tooltip player_id='66314' first='Kennedy' last='Louisell'] (UNCG) and [player_tooltip player_id='110295' first='Elana' last='Erickson'] continue to be the it-girls in the volleyball world. Proving why this weekend, Louisell and Erickson lifted the Huskies to an undefeated pool record and a great run into the gold bracket rounds. Louisell continues proving her prowess at the net and a serious contender for Miss Volleyball, meanwhile Erickson is making herself quite the case for her own nomination next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='66316' first='Remi' last='Madison'] - Grand Blanc</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":201780,"width":142,"height":213,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/06/Remi-Madison-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-201780" width="142" height="213"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Remi. Remi. Remi! There's no escaping this player as she is just so strong! She's a well-known presence offensively, but [player_tooltip player_id='66316' first='Remi' last='Madison'] also dialed up her defensive game this weekend too! No ball was dropping on her side of the court and nothing was getting in her way. It was because of her defense that Grand Blanc was able to mark a huge upset victory over Saline in pool play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rowan Cebulski </strong> - Grand Rapids Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grand Rapids Christian came into the tournament seeded third in Pool G and ended up playing spoiler to second seed Mattawan to advance to gold. The Eagles came close to playing spoiler in Dakota's run too! A lot of this is due to the play of All-Tournament team member, <strong>Rowan Cebulski</strong>. A dynamic player with some great leaping abilities along with some stellar defense, Cebulski was as tough as nails.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='156287' first='Isabelle' last='Busignani'] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='152524' first='Molly' last='Banta'] - Marian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just narrowly missing out the repeat finish at Beast of the East, a lot of the success was to the credit of the pins for Marian. Led by sophomore OH [player_tooltip player_id='156287' first='Isabelle' last='Busignani'] and senior OH [player_tooltip player_id='152524' first='Molly' last='Banta'], Busignani was the go-to all day, especially towards the end. After an injury to senior OPP [player_tooltip player_id='66330' first='Ella' last='Schomer'] and MB [player_tooltip player_id='66329' first='Reagan' last='Sass'], Banta stepped up her game immensely to fill in the gap. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='108761' first='Cece' last='Pelak'] - Mattawan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As previewed, [player_tooltip player_id='108761' first='Cece' last='Pelak'] was one of the top performers on Saturday and was super effective. Despite just narrowly missing out on a top two finish in pool play, Pelak was a key piece to Mattawan's success throughout the day. No matter where along the net or from the back court, Pelak was readily available and delivered every time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='110286' first='Angie' last='Butler'] - Mercy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The theme of the day was injuries. Mercy saw the loss of their leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='66333' first='Ella' last='Shields'] early in pool play and had to call upon a new name to lead the way. [player_tooltip player_id='110286' first='Angie' last='Butler'] got the call and delivered quite nicely in the name of Shields' absence. Butler has been spending a majority of her time on the right pin this season and looked quite comfortable on the left pin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><em>Join us at the<a href="https://prepdig.com/2022/09/the-prep-dig-top-250-expo-series-is-back-2/">&nbsp;Prep Dig Top 250 Expo</a>! Use code LShotPDExpo250 for 10% off your registration fee.</em></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->