Motor City Power Series Weekend 3 Highlights: Middle Blockers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Be sure to follow&nbsp;@lshotvb&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lshotvb/">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lshotvb?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc">Tik Tok&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/LineShotVBall">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for all things volleyball!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>The Prep Dig Exposure Tour is coming to Michigan on December 21! This is for all 2026-2029 prospects.&nbsp;<a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/2032/register/prep-dig-exposure-tour-michigan#register">Click here to register</a>, and use promo code&nbsp;“LSHOTPD25”&nbsp;to get $10 off your registration.<br></strong></em>–</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Motor City Power Series is one of the place to be for any one who is any one when it comes to Michigan volleyball. From the top teams in Division 1, all the way to the powers of Division 4! This is where the toughest come to get battle tested!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're already on weekend 3 of 5 and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. With epic match-ups galore, we saw a lot of the state's top players shine bright and some of the underrated emerge through to make themselves known. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're going to have to break this weekend down position by position, as there was just too much to talk about! We've been over the first contact, the second and now we got to talk about the third. More specifically, who is killing it in the middle? They're the first lines of defense and also the quickest way to point. The Power Series overflows with talent in the middle blocker position, let's talk about 'em!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='226875' first='Ella' last='Andrews'] - Mercy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, best season. That is the apparent MO for this Stanford bound middle. [player_tooltip player_id='226875' first='Ella' last='Andrews'] is playing with some spark like we have never seen before. Teeing off of her freshman setter, [player_tooltip player_id='709559' first='Kaelyn' last='Easton'], Andrews is unloading on the competition. Offensively, she is the epicenter of this Mercy offense. And defensively, she is electric at the net with her intense block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='569766' first='McKenzie' last='Andrews'] - Mercy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out goes one Andrews and incomes the other. [player_tooltip player_id='569766' first='McKenzie' last='Andrews'] doesn't leave much separation between herself and her big sister, that is for sure. Matching in height, McKenzie can also go toe-to-toe in the blocking department. It is sheer and constant walls at the net for the Marlins. On the attack, McKenzie is looking the best she has all fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='446700' first='Liliana' last='Gegovic'] - Eisenhower</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='446700' first='Liliana' last='Gegovic'] is a player of many tools. Operating mostly through the middle of the court, she offers up much more than just a threat up the middle. Off of one foot behind the setter, or off of two feet on a traditional pin attack, Gegovic brings a ton of dimension to the Eisenhower side. When she wasn't pushing the Eagles ahead with her arm, she was bringing quite the attention to her blocking which bodes very effective.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='400074' first='Sable' last='Dankers'] - Traverse City Central</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Traverse City Central could find this one in the middle, things were going extremely well for the Trojans. [player_tooltip player_id='400074' first='Sable' last='Dankers'] is a middle that can beat you with her speed. It was impressive to see the type of tempo that TCC was running with their middles. Chuck it to them and let the magic do the rest. Dankers was extremely efficient on the three, gap ball all day. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Hannah Thomas - North Branch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You don't see too many of these kinds of players anymore. And by these kinds, I mean, middles who can play six rotations at a high level. But leave it to North Branch to find a way to get the best of out their athlete. Hannah Thomas is playing a key role for the Broncos this season and in just about every way possible. From being one of the team's leading scorers in the middle, she is finding ways to keep them in rallies with her defense in the back court as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='442976' first='Cynthia' last='Ockerman'] - Brighton</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Brighton can feed the hand of [player_tooltip player_id='442976' first='Cynthia' last='Ockerman'] and get her going, there is very few teams that can beat them. That was apparent this weekend. Ockerman continues to come into her own as one of the state's toughest middles. She's an elite level blocker, this we all know,. But her ever-growing presence as an offensive threat is something that takes her and the Bulldogs to the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='487356' first='Lucy' last='Monahan'] - Bedford</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='487356' first='Lucy' last='Monahan'] has been a long fixture for the Mules of Bedford. This year, the spotlight is all on her. Throw her the ball in the middle, on the pin, or even through the back court on the pipe, Monahan is doing it all this fall. Taking on almost double the load than in seasons past, Monahan is doing it with ease and is a huge factor in the Mule's success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='829559' first='Anna' last='Gray'] - Bedford</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Right alongside Monahan, here comes another Gray from Bedford that people should keep their eye on. [player_tooltip player_id='829559' first='Anna' last='Gray'] is having what some would consider a breakout season for the Mules. Much like Monahan, she is being called upon to deliver on a lot of different scenarios. Whether it is putting the ball away anywhere along the net, to playing a big role in the back court, Gray is making huge strides.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='885464' first='Charlotte' last='Keyes'] - Saline</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Only a freshman and playing in the middle is one tough ask. However, leave it to [player_tooltip player_id='885464' first='Charlotte' last='Keyes'] to take on the challenge like a pro. This weekend saw Saline without some key pieces due to injury. Despite this, the Hornets swarmed on to make an undefeated statement. A lot of this was due to this rookie's emergence in the middle. Keyes is finding ways to score and getting really strong touches on the block that allows Saline to stay in games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->