Legacy 15-1 ADIDAS Captures AAU 15 Open National Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Legacy 15-1 ADIDAS has shown its potential all season, and it had been playing some of its best volleyball in the past few months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That all culminated on Thursday when the squad won the 15 Open of the AAU National Championship in Orlando, Fla.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After dropping a few matches throughout pool play, Legacy came into Gold Bracket play on Thursday and put their best foot forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They swept Kairos 15 Alpha 25-20, 25-16 in a quarterfinal and Northern Lights 15-1 25-20, 25-20 in the semifinal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the final, Legacy ran into Top Select 15 Elite and prevailed in three sets, 25-15, 20-25, 15-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first set was all Legacy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":554214,"width":"258px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/Legacy-15-1.jpg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-554214" style="width:258px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Ali Smith [program_tooltip program_id='430319' first='Legacy' last='Volleyball Club']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defense set the tone early, playing really scrappy and making some tough digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442967' first='Addison' last='Stepp'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442994' first='Makayla' last='Naves']</strong> were all over the back row to keep balls in play and making some solid out-of-system feeds to hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Legacy was in-system, it was putting balls away at a high rate. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442995' first='Marlie' last='Smith']</strong> was connecting well with her hitters. In the first set it was particularly <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442976' first='Cynthia' last='Ockerman']</strong> that shined. The 6'2” middle took over the match in the later stages, racking up kills and blocks to allow her team to pull away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second set, Legacy struggled with some hitting and serving errors that allowed Top Select to lead throughout. It jumped out to a 5-0 lead and eventually led 17-10. The hitting combo of <strong>Kennedy Langmo </strong>and <strong>Kaleigh Langmo</strong> came through with some powerful kills to carry Top Select to the set victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the winner-take-all sett, Legacy found itself down 4-2 before it rallied off seven straight points off the serving of Ockerman, who had two aces in the rally. That put Legacy up for good.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442987' first='Kate' last='Kalczynski'] </strong>took over from there, as she was dominant in the closing points, putting down four kills in the set to lock up the title for Legacy. [player_tooltip player_id='442995' first='Marlie' last='Smith'] did a great job of getting both Ockerman and Kalczynski on hot streaks to close out the first and third sets, respectively. Her communication throughout the final was also crucial.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Throughout the week, and even in the final, Legacy still got contributions from a lot of players on the roster. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='454352' first='Calli' last='LeFevre']</strong> had some timely kills and blocks, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='436889' first='Sophia' last='Smith']</strong> was also a big presence on the right side defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442999' first='Olivia' last='Berishaj'] </strong>had an important win on a 50-50 ball with the score at 4-4 in the third set. She extended the point that Legacy eventually won and took the lead for good.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday's national title marks the fourth open national championship for Legacy's club since 2021 and fifth since 2019.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->