Macomb Area Conference Well-Represented at Beast of the East 2023

<!-- wp:heading {"level":6} --> <h6 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Be sure to follow&nbsp;<strong>@lshotvb&nbsp;</strong>on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter for all things volleyball!</em></h6> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":6} --> <h6 class="wp-block-heading"><em><a href="https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/">Join us at the&nbsp;Prep Dig Top 250 Expo</a>! Use code LShotVBExpo2023 for 10% off your registration fee.</em>&nbsp;(APPLICABLE TO ALL EXPOS)</h6> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":6} --> <h6 class="wp-block-heading">–</h6> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Beast of the East has stormed through Michigan. One of the most hotly anticipated tournaments of the year, only the best of the best show up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year's tournament was dominated once more by the Marian Mustangs, winning their 3rd title in four years. Meanwhile, the West side of the state showed up and showed OUT! Jenison found themselves in the championship, while Rockford took down the top dog in Division 1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Outside of the Ottawa-Kent Conference from the Grand Rapids area, not very many conferences were as prominent besides the Macomb Area Conference. With three teams in the field, two of which making it into the gold medal rounds, the MAC was well represented. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's take a look at the three MAC Schools at Beast of the East.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Utica Eisenhower</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Arguably one of the biggest stories of the day coming out of pool play was Utica Eisenhower. The team chock full of underclassman, running close on a .500 record, comes out first in Pool C. Not only was Ike not projected to make it into gold, but they were the fourth seed of the pool. With a huge upset win over No. 2 (D2) Grand Rapids Christian and a sweep over Dewitt, Ike fell to Bloomfield Hills in 3 to come out on top of the pool. They would go on to lose to a tough Mercy squad in the opening rounds of gold bracket. Nonetheless, this was a huge wake up call for many area teams coming into the post-season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles were led by L [player_tooltip player_id='226910' first='Kayla' last='Ostrander'] throughout the day. As only a sophomore, Ostrander acts as somewhat of a veteran leader for this squad when she's on the court. She notched over 60 digs on the day to pace the Ike defense. Offensively, it has been the emergence of rookie OH [player_tooltip player_id='454359' first='Elise' last='Biermann']. With 9 kills on a .400 hit percentage against GRC, Biermann was instrumental in the upset victory and top seed going into bracket play. The lone senior on the court, [player_tooltip player_id='186778' first='Jada' last='Pantaleo'] put up over 30 kills on the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Macomb Dakota</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another MAC team to pull off an upset win and No. 1 seed in pool play was Macomb Dakota! Seeded third coming into the weekend, Dakota would capitalize off of a spread offense to run away with a 3-0 pool play record. Dakota took down a tough Mattawan team and the No. 4 team in Division I Mercy in 3 sets each to secure the top seed. Unlike their MAC counterparts, they couldn't overcome the power of the GRC Eagles in the opening rounds. But much to the similarity of Ike, Dakota is catching some nice momentum going into the post-season that opponent's shouldn't take lightly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leading the range of Cougars was OH [player_tooltip player_id='172209' first='Karley' last='Pretzer'] (Davenport) and MB [player_tooltip player_id='110328' first='Johanna' last='Tillman'] (Grand Valley State) . Pretzer led the way offensively with 36 kills. Tillman would drop 21 bombers on a killer .486 clip. MB [player_tooltip player_id='224604' first='Katerina' last='Stout'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261159' first='Haley' last='Jarvis']</strong> provided some real nice size at the net. The two combined for 6 blocks and Stout added with 16 kills (on a .379 hit %). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pretzer went on to be named to the All-Tournament team list.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Anchor Bay</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anchor Bay may have just missed out the gold bracket, but nonetheless it was a good showing from the Tars. The red and white was led by the pin duo of [player_tooltip player_id='274527' first='Rachel' last='Youngblood'] (Davenport) and [player_tooltip player_id='196836' first='Amelia' last='Klos']. Running the offense was [player_tooltip player_id='261180' first='Korin' last='Hutton']. The Tars would ultimately go 1-4 on the day, with a win over Coopersville in bronze. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->