Legacy 14-1 ADIDAS Completes National Sweep With USAV Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Legacy 14-1 ADIDAS</strong> officially made history last weekend at the 2026 USAV Junior National Championships in Indianapolis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By going undefeated in the event and claiming the 14 Open title, this Legacy squad becomes the first Michigan club team to win both the AAU Open title and USAV Open title in the same year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's been an exciting couple of weeks,” Legacy 14-1 ADIDAS coach <strong>Ali Smith </strong>said. “We had been talking since December that our goal was to win both because no Michigan team has ever won both in the same year. We practiced and approached everything with that goal in mind and these kids were really ready to achieve the goal when it came time.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With both titles, it's hard to argue that Legacy 14-1 ADIDAS isn't the best 14U team in the entire country, another big accomplishment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In their 11-0 march to the title last weekend, Legacy only dropped one set while also avenging a Triple Crown loss to Dallas Skyline 14 Royal in the USAV final, 25-17, 25-19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This impressive run came just a week after completing a perfect run through the AAU National Championship in Orlando.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“These kids are so incredibly mentally tough. We were kind of waiting for a little bit of a dip on day one of the tournament, and it just never happened,” Smith said. “These kids were mentally ready. Whether they were physically tired or not, it never showed, because their mindset was so solid. They really got better every day.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 14-1 ADIDAS attack was balanced throughout the weekend with five different players recording 80-96 kills. That's a credit to the play of setters <strong>Molly Hickey </strong>and <strong>Amelia Kurtz</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Their decision-making, their location, and their tempo just got even better (last week),” Smith said of her setters. “We've got a lot of big, tall, strong kids that are really great attackers, but without those two (setters), none of them would get to do what they can do.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Juliet Berishaj</strong> led the Legacy offense with 96 kills, while <strong>Petra Townsend </strong>had 93 kills, <strong>Laura Aubrey </strong>had 89 kills, <strong>Layla Ljajcaj </strong>had 85 kills,<strong> Cate</strong> <strong>Verkeyn </strong>had 81 kills, <strong>Londyn Cottrill</strong> added 52 kills, while <strong>Valerie Marx </strong>had 41 kills. Fellow middle <strong>Marina VanDaele </strong>was dealing with an injury, but was a key contributor throughout the season as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Collins Lantz </strong>and <strong>Mikayla Sinadinoski</strong> led the defensive effort.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sinadinoski, Aubrey, and Ljajcaj were named to the All-Tournament Team for their effort.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This group can now focus on entering their high school careers. They will be setting a high bar for the rest of Class of 2030.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->