3 Sweet Sixteen Matches to Watch in Division 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like we said before, the post-season stops for no one and we are already onto the next one!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tuesday night was a great night of volleyball in Division 2. Upsets galore and some great volleyball throughout the Division as the march to Kellogg gets tougher and tougher.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tonight is the night, with a Regional title on the line, who will prevail? One step closer to Kellogg Arena. Let's check out some of the best matches to keep an eye on in Division 2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>NOTRE DAME PREP V NORTH BRANCH</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the biggest rivalries in Michigan volleyball. Year after year, these two beasts in Division 2 find themselves in each others' cross hairs in the post season. This makes for some amazing volleyball, and often times, its one or the other winning the state title. Now, duking it out for the chance to play in the Elite 8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is so much you can say about both teams. Notre Dame Prep has proven that they may never have an off-season. The emergence of MB [player_tooltip player_id='140493' first='Grace' last='Wenaas'], L [player_tooltip player_id='66295' first='Allison' last='Berent'] (Alabama) and S [player_tooltip player_id='66331' first='Margo' last='Sudzina'] has been the perfect trifecta. Wenaas is coming off of a career performance against, then No. 1 ranked, Detroit Country Day in the District Finals. Across the net, there's not much missing from last year's North Branch team that lost to the Irish in the State Championship. They're led by OPP [player_tooltip player_id='222361' first='Clara' last='Gyomory'] and MB [player_tooltip player_id='110287' first='Kaela' last='Chingwa'] at the net, meanwhile L [player_tooltip player_id='110301' first='Hailey' last='Green'] mans the Bronco backcourt. Putting it all into play is S [player_tooltip player_id='110302' first='Adrienne' last='Greschaw']. This team is just stacked!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This rivalry match is going to be a good one! The Irish are on a real high as of late, but North Branch has been so steady all season and well battle tested coming in. This seems to be the year North Branch takes it all home and I think they will prevail against Notre Dame Prep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>LAKEWOOD V TECUMSEH</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was totally expecting an All-Greater Lansing affair for this Regional Final. Lansing Catholic was coming into the post-season off of a high after dropping North Branch in a pre-district tournament in Mount Morris, but yet, Tecumseh had other plans. This makes tonight match up even more interesting. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakewood is a perennial power in the Division 2 world, with the last five years being dominated by the name "O'Gorman". It's a different story now, but still looking to be the same result. Lakewood is led by one of the top libero prospects in the country, [player_tooltip player_id='110318' first='Carley' last='Piercefield']. She has no problem taking over the entire court. Against Marshall, Piercefield went up for 46 digs in the four set battle. Opposite them, Tecumseh dropped Lansing Catholic in similar fashion. <strong>Jada Moore</strong> is the leading scorer for the squad, averaging around four kills per set in the post season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Tecumseh may have played spoiler in the regional semis, they will have an even steeper uphill to climb going against Lakewood. Between the Vikings' serve and pass game and their winning traditions, they will be hard to stop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>MOUNT MORRIS V FRANKENMUTH</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yet, another regional in Division 2 where I find myself eating my words. I predicted this match up to be the Blue Devils of Lake Fenton going against the Eagles of Frankenmuth. "Not so fast", Mount Morris said. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mount Morris made pretty easy work over Lake Fenton, topping the Blue Devils in sweeping fashion. Blaire Wilson led the offense per usual with [player_tooltip player_id='156297' first='Ava' last='Freeman'] manning down the back court with ease. On the opposite side of the regional, Frankenmuth had a little tougher time making their way here. The Eagles just narrowly escaped Swan Valley behind the arms of the Geer sisters. [player_tooltip player_id='153672' first='Audrey' last='Geer'] (Marshall) has been blazing a trail all season long and wasn't done yet, posting a 20+ kill performance versus the Vikings. [player_tooltip player_id='226896' first='Madison' last='Geer'] wasn't far behind either, throwing in 11 kills of her own on the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Mount Morris proved twice now to not count them out, is third times the charm? While Lake Fenton had the youth to go after, this Frankenmuth team seems a lot more polished and focused. With an arsenal that includes [player_tooltip player_id='153672' first='Audrey' last='Geer'] who can dual as an attacking dynamo and a force on the pass, this will be Mount Morris' biggest upset yet. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><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></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->