2024 Club Preview: Five:1 17.1 Black

The Five:1 Volleyball Club is bringing a strong group of 2025s to the court this club season.   This program has been able to field a pair of 17 Black squads, led by 17.1.   A unique collection of players from the Central Michigan and tri-cities areas, Five:1 is looking to play spoiler for a number of Midwest clubs it comes against this season.   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='156312' first='Keira' last='Krans'] – Saginaw Heritage</td><td>Bre David – Bay City Western</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='156302' first='Finley' last='Helm'] – Mt. Pleasant</td></tr><tr><td>Maggie Elliott – Freeland</td><td>Anna Logan – Fenton</td><td>Ryan Garrett – Davison</td></tr><tr><td>Annaleis Mileski – Swan Valley</td><td>Jenna Derosia – Bay City Western</td><td>Mia Buttigieg – Grass Lake</td></tr><tr><td>Morgan Dominick – Swartz Creek</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Hitting depth on outside</h2>   One of the strengths that Five:1 17.1 Black brings to the court is hitting depth at outside hitter.   [player_tooltip player_id='156302' first='Finley' last='Helm'] is listed at jut 5'9”, but she really explodes off the floor and plays much bigger than her height might suggest. The Mt. Pleasant product has grown a lot as an overall player and is taking the floor with a lot of confidence and swagger right now.   Anna Logan is a well-rounded outside from Fenton. She makes the most of each opportunity she gets and has the ability to make plays with her hitting, defense and serving.   Ryan Garrett is also a nice option on the outside. She comes from the Davison program and she can climb the ladder and finish from either pin. She's got a good feel for being able to generate a lot of forward momentum on her swings.   Maggie Elliott comes from the Freeland program and she's been a nice asset for depth offensively. She's been seeing the court well and able to finish from either pin.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Middle/Setter connection</h2>   Five:1 has to primary middles in Annaleis Mileski from Swan Valley and Jenna Derosia from Bay City Western.   Mileski patrols the middle very well, especially on defense. She's got a wide wing span that allows her to impact a lot of shots.   The same can be said of Derosia, who brings the most overall size to the team at 6'0”. Derosia moves very well along the net to get her hands on a lot of opposing attacks.   Offensively, both have good chemistry with setters Bre David and [player_tooltip player_id='156312' first='Keira' last='Krans'], to make some lightning-fast kills.   David also comes from Western, so she's got the chemistry already established with Derosia. David plays the position very athletically. She's willing to take chances and tries to keep the speed of the offense up-tempo. David can also move to OPP when needed.   Krans comes from Saginaw Heritage. She has a very smooth set and has been an asset defensively and from the service line.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Defensive assets</h2>   Five:1 works with a pair of primary defenders in Morgan Dominick from Swartz Creek and Mia Buttigieg from Grass Lake.   Dominick is lightning fast on the court and makes a lot of tough digs. She's also been a momentum shifter with her serve, consistently picking up aces each set.   Buttigieg is in the same boat. She has a real nose for the ball and stays light on her feet to get to the right passing windows. She takes a lot of pride in her play and you can never question her effort.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Early results</h2>   Five:1 17.1 Black has put itself into the 17/18 Open divisions of its first two events.   It finished fifth in the Glass City Gauntlet in Toledo to open the year, then followed it up with a 31st place finish in The Nike Classic in Columbus.   At Glass City, Five:1 took four of six matches, with one of the two losses coming in three sets against TeamD 18 Red.   The Nike Classic was a good learning experience, as Five:1 went up against a lot of strong programs and older competition. They still came away with a pair of wins and went three sets with MVA Rise Academy 71.   There's likely to be some inconsistencies throughout the year in terms of wins and losses as Five:1 challenges top programs and goes up in competition. However, it should greatly benefit the players as they move on with their careers.

The Five:1 Volleyball Club is bringing a strong group of 2025s to the court this club season.