Club Breakdown: Legacy 17-1 & 18-1 Adidas
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The club season has officially begun and we are off to the races in 2023! The state of Michigan has quickly become one of the top hot beds of volleyball in the nation. Prep Dig has you covered on who’s…
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Continue ReadingThe club season has officially begun and we are off to the races in 2023!
The state of Michigan has quickly become one of the top hot beds of volleyball in the nation. Prep Dig has you covered on who’s who and what names you need to keep on your radar.
Starting off strong, let’s looks at a very strong 17-1 Adidas and the returning National 18 Open Champions from Legacy!
17-1 Adidas
Lucy Mott Lucy Mott 6'1" | S SUA (Toledo) | 2024 State #105 Nation OH | 6’0 S | St. Ursula Academy | Mallory Bohl Mallory Bohl 6'3" | MB Saline | 2024 State #102 Nation MI | 6’3 MB | Saline |
Avry Nelson Avry Nelson 6'3" | MB Northville | 2024 State MI | 6’3 MB | Northville | Kate Maley Kate Maley 6'1" | RS Skyline | 2024 State #153 Nation MI | 6’1 OPP | Skyline |
Cayla Cogan Cayla Cogan 5'10" | OH Clarkston | 2024 State #96 Nation MI | 5’11 OH | Clarkston | Audrey Geer Audrey Geer 5'10" | OH Frankenmuth | 2024 State MI | 5’11 OH | Frankenmuth |
Mia Eickholdt Mia Eickholdt 5'11" | RS Country Day | 2024 State MI | 5’11 OPP | Detroit Country Day | Kiley Gallagher Kiley Gallagher 5'5" | DS/L Clarkston | 2024 State MI | 5’6 L | Clarkston |
Ashlee Gnau Ashlee Gnau 5'8" | DS/L Northville | 2024 State MI | 5’8 L | Northville | Alise Evans | 6’2 MB | Oak Park |
Breakdown
While this group returns a bulk of its roster, Legacy 17-1’s will be without some of their top players due to injury for the 2023 season. MB Mallory Bohl Mallory Bohl 6'3" | MB Saline | 2024 State #102 Nation MI (Notre Dame) and OH Cayla Cogan Cayla Cogan 5'10" | OH Clarkston | 2024 State #96 Nation MI (George Washington) will be sidelined due to ACL injuries sustained during the high school season. Both of which were this squad’s top scorers a season ago. Not to be deterred, this group should still be a strong player in the 17 Open division throughout the season.
Injuries aside, Head Coach Kacy Byron‘s group will be strong. Boston College commit Lucy Mott Lucy Mott 6'1" | S SUA (Toledo) | 2024 State #105 Nation OH returns to run the offense alongside six rotation dynamo Audrey Geer Audrey Geer 5'10" | OH Frankenmuth | 2024 State MI (Marshall). I got a preview of both Mott and Geer this last weekend at Rock N Rumble. Mott is running her ship the cleanest I have seen in her career, while Geer has an extra pop in her swing and continues her strong passing game.
Alongside Mott and Geer, 17 Adidas returns the defensive duo Kiley Gallagher Kiley Gallagher 5'5" | DS/L Clarkston | 2024 State MI and Ashlee Gnau Ashlee Gnau 5'8" | DS/L Northville | 2024 State MI with utility attacker Kate Maley Kate Maley 6'1" | RS Skyline | 2024 State #153 Nation MI . Both Gallagher and Gnau are coming off of stellar high school seasons. Gallagher led Clarkston to one of their best seasons in program history and Gnau was critical in Northville’s epic championship run. Maley also stepped into some big shoes for Skyline, alongside Harper Murray Harper Murray 6'2" | OH Skyline | 2023 State #2 Nation MI , Maley took on a huge load in the offense, thriving in the role.
Let’s take a look at the newbies. With the absence of both middles from 2022, Avry Nelson Avry Nelson 6'3" | MB Northville | 2024 State MI and Alise Evans are strong additions from L2 and Florida. Nelson had a huge season alongside Gnau with Northville and was second on the team in kills and a blocks leader. Evans is an explosive attacker that brings a lot of layers to this team. On the pin, Mia Eickholdt Mia Eickholdt 5'11" | RS Country Day | 2024 State MI comes to Legacy after a few years at Michigan Elite. Eickholdt will look to fill in the shoes of Cogan as one of two healthy pins on the roster.
This team is starting off the season on a real high note. In the 17 Open at Rock N Rumble, 17-1 returned to Michigan with a third place finish.
18-1 Adidas
Erin Kline Erin Kline 6'2" | S Mercy | 2023 State #123 Nation MI | 6’2 S | Mercy | Laurece Abraham Laurece Abraham 6'1" | MB Country Day | 2023 State #111 Nation MI | 6’2 MB | Detroit Country Day |
Olivia Gardner Olivia Gardner 6'2" | MB Dakota | 2023 State MI | 6’1 MB | Dakota | Abigail Reck Abigail Reck 6'2" | MB Northville | 2023 State #74 Nation MI | 6’3 OH | Northville |
Ella Schomer Ella Schomer 6'0" | RS Marian | 2023 State #142 Nation MI | 5’11 OPP | Marian | Kennedy Louisell Kennedy Louisell 6'0" | OH Forest Hills Northern | 2023 State #140 Nation MI | 6’0 OH | Forest Hills Northern |
Alexis Smith Alexis Smith 5'4" | DS/L Anchor Bay | 2023 State MI | 5’3 L | Anchor Bay | Kaitlyn Hoffman Kaitlyn Hoffman 5'8" | DS/L Novi | 2023 State #81 Nation MI | 5’8 L | Novi |
Ella Shields Ella Shields 5'5" | DS/L Mercy | 2023 State MI | 5’10 OH/L | Mercy | Reagan Sass Reagan Sass 5'10" | OH Marian | 2023 State MI | 5’10 OH | Marian |
Kayla Ozanich Kayla Ozanich 6'1" | MB Okemos | 2023 State MI | 6’3 MB | Okemos |
Breakdown
Yes, you’re reading that right. No Sarah Vellucci Sarah Vellucci 6'0" | OH Novi | 2023 State #97 Nation MI (Long Beach State). No Nina Horning Nina Horning 6'5" | OH Lake Orion | 2023 State #50 Nation MI (Cincinnati). And no Harper Murray Harper Murray 6'2" | OH Skyline | 2023 State #2 Nation MI (Nebraska). These three have been at the forefront of this program for the last several years. The three garnered All-American honors in last June’s AAU National Title run. All three will be taking their talents to college a semester early.
Rest assure, this team returns a lot of strong players and brings on a nice crew of newbies to keep this 18-1s team a national power in 2023. Of the returners in the front line, S Erin Kline Erin Kline 6'2" | S Mercy | 2023 State #123 Nation MI (Mississippi State), MB Laurece Abraham Laurece Abraham 6'1" | MB Country Day | 2023 State #111 Nation MI (Yale), MB Olivia Gardner Olivia Gardner 6'2" | MB Dakota | 2023 State MI (Loyola-Chicago) and OH Abigail Reck Abigail Reck 6'2" | MB Northville | 2023 State #74 Nation MI (Northeastern) return. Kline has been running the offense to this squad since her inception on the volleyball court, winning national championships almost every season. Abraham and Reck are two Miss Volleyball nominees that are coming off of big high school seasons. Reck was the leading scorer for Northville in their championship run in Division 1. Gardner played a variety of roles for Dakota in the fall as a six rotation attacker.
From the front line to the back court, Kaitlyn Hoffman Kaitlyn Hoffman 5'8" | DS/L Novi | 2023 State #81 Nation MI (Ohio State) and Alexis Smith Alexis Smith 5'4" | DS/L Anchor Bay | 2023 State MI (Oakland) return from last year’s championship season. The two were big power players last season. Hoffman looks to be the heir to take over the off-colored jersey, while Smith will continue to be the impact DS out of right back.
We’ve checked out the returners, now what about the fresh faces? One of the biggest names to join this team comes from the west side of the state, Kennedy Louisell Kennedy Louisell 6'0" | OH Forest Hills Northern | 2023 State #140 Nation MI (UNCG). Louisell is one of the top pins in the state and is coming off of an All-American and National Championship winning summer with FaR Out. Joining her are Ella Shields Ella Shields 5'5" | DS/L Mercy | 2023 State MI (Stoney Brook) Ella Schomer Ella Schomer 6'0" | RS Marian | 2023 State #142 Nation MI (Wofford), Raegan Sass (Denison), and Kayla Ozanich Kayla Ozanich 6'1" | MB Okemos | 2023 State MI . Shields was a starting libero for Legacy 17-2s last season and played a huge role on the left pin for Mercy in the fall. Meanwhile Schomer and Sass are two transplants from Marian, coming off of their third straight state title in Division 1. Ozanich had a huge senior season at Okemos that saw her in one of the biggest upsets of the season, defeating Skyline in the Regional Semifinal.