Who's Coming to Beast of the East? (Pt. 3)

<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Be sure to follow @lshotvb on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter for all things volleyball!</h6>   <h6 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/">Join us at the Prep Dig Top 250 Expo</a>! Use code LShotVBExpo2023 for 10% off your registration fee. (APPLICABLE TO ALL EXPOS)</h6>   <h6 class="wp-block-heading">–</h6>   One of the most hotly anticipated tournaments of the year is FINALLY here!   It's Beast of the East time. With some of the best teams from across the State of Michigan in one gym, the volleyball is going to be epic!   Last year's Beast of the East saw a showdown between Marian and Northville in the finals. While Northville took the ultimate crown, this match up was very predictive of the match up we'd see in the finals come November.   Will this year's tournament predict the future down the road in post-season? Let's take a look at who's coming to Beast of the East.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Goodrich</h2>   Record: 8-14   Impact Players: [player_tooltip player_id='442613' first='Lily' last='Sukup']   Out of the fairly competitive Flint Metro League, Goodrich is coming into the weekend riding off of a pretty tough 2023 thus far. With a pretty nice schedule of ranked opponents across the divisions, Goodrich has put themselves through the ringer. Battle tested, could the Martians pull off an upset or two?   This is a young group of players. One that could be quite dangerous in a year or two's time. The Martians are led by a sophomore, OH [player_tooltip player_id='442613' first='Lily' last='Sukup'] in point scoring. Sukup is averaging just under two kills a set to go along with a nice touch on other statistical categories as well.   Goodrich comes into Beast of the East as the 29th seed and will go against the likes of Mercy in their pool.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grand Blanc</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/07/86-Makayla-Naves-1.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-437815" style="aspect-ratio:1.2190476190476192;width:256px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='442994' first='Makayla' last='Naves']</figcaption></figure>   Record: 17-7-3   Impact Players: [player_tooltip player_id='500646' first='Brooke' last='Gervers'], [player_tooltip player_id='442994' first='Makayla' last='Naves'] and [player_tooltip player_id='261176' first='Kendall' last='Williams']   There was some questioning on to where Grand Blanc would be around this time coming into the season. With the loss of All-Star OH Remi Madison due to graduation, Grand Blanc is cleaning up quite nicely entering the weekend. It was at this tournament a year ago, the Bobcats brought in a huge upset win over Saline in pool play. Don't count them out.   Returning to this squad from last year's nice Beast of the East run are S [player_tooltip player_id='500646' first='Brooke' last='Gervers'] and MB [player_tooltip player_id='261176' first='Kendall' last='Williams']. Gervers has been running quite the efficient offense this season. She's spreading out the ball and playing some incredible defense. Williams is a new player from a season ago. A once rookie is now coming into her own as a leader for this squad. An intense blocker, it's William's improvement in offense that has been boding the Bobcats wonders. Grand Blanc has one of the top rookies in the state with L [player_tooltip player_id='442994' first='Makayla' last='Naves']. Naves is coming into the weekend with 7 double-digit dig performances.   Grand Blanc has built themselves quite the balanced schedule this year. They have seen the best of the best already and could very well walk away with a marquee win or more on Saturday.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lake Fenton</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/12/Jillian-Ferrill.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-271021" style="aspect-ratio:1.501466275659824;width:261px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='226895' first='Jillian' last='Ferrill']</figcaption></figure>   Record: 16-3   Impact Players: [player_tooltip player_id='226913' first='Abbigayl' last='Sells'] and [player_tooltip player_id='226895' first='Jillian' last='Ferrill']   This is a young, yet dangerous, squad that deserves the utmost attention this weekend. A program that showed a lot of spark a season ago, Lake Fenton returns a duo of freshmen phenoms that have been dominating in their sophomore campaign.   Once freshmen phenoms, now sophomore supremes. L [player_tooltip player_id='226913' first='Abbigayl' last='Sells'] and OH/S [player_tooltip player_id='226895' first='Jillian' last='Ferrill'] are the dynamic duo that leads the way for Lake Fenton. Sells mans down one of the best back courts in Division II with over 150 digs. Where Sells holds the defense down, Ferrill is lighting it up offensively. Ferrill has been a real revelation for the Blue Devils with over 130 kills on the season.   The Blue Devils enter the weekend dropping a five set heartbreaker to Clio that comes after a 5-match streak of sweeps. Lake Fenton will surely use this as motivation to prove themselves as a top ten worthy team in Division II.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lakeland</h2>   Record: 13-12-1   Impact Players: Finley Ostach, [player_tooltip player_id='446706' first='Payton' last='Nelson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='156310' first='Kylie' last='Kennedy']   This is a program that is in somewhat of a rebuilding year. Lakeland saw themselves in the gold bracket of last year's Beast of the East before dropping in the first round to eventual winners, Northville. Since then, they've lost all-star players in Eve Martin and Rachel Zurek, the team's main source of scoring production.   This year may look a little different, but still doesn't mean to count this respectable program out just yet. Some of their key components this year were critical cogs in last year's success. In the scoring department, OH Finley Ostach and OH [player_tooltip player_id='446706' first='Payton' last='Nelson'] are the dynamic duo leading the pack. The two combine for nearly 6 kills per set. L [player_tooltip player_id='156310' first='Kylie' last='Kennedy'] is coming into her own this season as the main libero for Lakeland. She's averaging over 4 digs per set and leads in total reception attempts. Kennedy covers a vast amount of court space which alleviates a lot of pressure off of their pins.   While nearly on a .500 season record, Lakeland boasts some nice challenges throughout the season including a win over Grand Blanc. Lakeland comes in as the 25th seed of the tournament with big challenges in Grand Haven and SMCC.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Marian</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/BH-Quad-35.jpg?w=783" alt="" class="wp-image-457635" style="aspect-ratio:0.763671875;width:201px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Callie LeFevre</figcaption></figure>   Record: 25-6   Impact Players: [player_tooltip player_id='156287' first='Isabelle' last='Busignani'], [player_tooltip player_id='454352' first='Calli' last='LeFevre'], and [player_tooltip player_id='222362' first='Danielle' last='Mertz']   The Beast of the East tournament has been very Marian the last several years. Champions in 2021 and then Runner-Ups in 2022, where will Marian finish in 2023?   This is going to be a very interesting tournament to see where Marian stands amongst the top of the crop in Michigan Volleyball. The Mustangs entered the season waving goodbye to an incredible senior class and welcomed in 7 freshmen. While a rocky start to the seaosn, Marian is beginning to find momentum and BOE could be where they make their true splash this season.   Marian is led by the BUS herself, OH [player_tooltip player_id='156287' first='Isabelle' last='Busignani'] (Cincinnati) averaging 4.5 kills and nearly 3 digs a set. An across the board statistical leader for the Mustangs. Opposite of Busginani, OH [player_tooltip player_id='454352' first='Calli' last='LeFevre'] has been making a case for herself as rookie of the year as another 6 rotation pin for Marian. She's just behind Busignani defensively and is knocking down over 2.5 kills a set herself. In the middle, [player_tooltip player_id='222362' first='Danielle' last='Mertz'] reprises her utility role. Mertz has brought a nice spread to the Marian offense with her presence in the middle. She's cracking down 2 kills a set on a nice .250 clip.   Marian enters the weekend riding a wave of excitement with bringing home yet another Catholic League title and avenging a loss to CHSL foe Mercy. Marian is rated No. 10 in the latest MIVCA poll, they enter the weekend as the 6th overall seed.