Five Beast of the East Matchups We Hope To See

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each year the Beast of the East Tournament provides an opportunity to see a matchup we won't get to see all year otherwise.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This field of 32 squads includes a lot of intriguing possible matchups, but it will take a little luck for them to occur.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, we can hope.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's five that we'd like to potentially see if things shake out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Marian (No. 1 D1) vs. Forest Hills Northern (No. 2 D1) or Northville (No. 3 D1)</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian has been holding down the top spot in Division 1 for nearly three years now and I think we all want to know if someone out there is ready to step up to the challenge of unseating them. On paper, it appears that Forest Hills Northern and Northville may have the best roster to do that. The Huskies have an offense that should be able to go toe-to-toe with the Mustangs, while the Mustangs have a lot of powerful arms, but also a rock-solid defense to win long rallies with Marian. Right now, the only way we see either of these two potential matchups is in a final on Saturday. Northville owns a win over Northern this year, so a rematch of those two would also provide plenty of fireworks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Saline (No. 7 D1) vs. Mercy (No. 9 D1)</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hornets have been the hot team as of late, picking recent wins over the likes of Northville, Skyline and North Branch. They also split with FH Northern, who they will see in pool play. One team the Hornets haven't crossed paths with this year is Mercy. The Marlins are a top-10 team that have only lost to the best of the best in Division 1 and Division 2. If Saline is going to be a legit contender this year, a win over Mercy would say a lot about its potential. Both teams have standout sophomores in Mercy's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156295' first='Campbell' last='Flynn']</strong> and Saline's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156313' first='Marie' last='Laurio']</strong>. It would be a great display athleticism on both sides of the net, and also perhaps provide a look into next year's Division 1 race.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Notre Dame Prep (No. 3 D2) vs. Lakewood (No. 6 D2)</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two very proud Division 2 programs could potentially meet up on Saturday, both of which came into the season with a lot of question marks. The Irish, the defending D2 state champs, graduated a very potent senior class, while Lakewood had to start the post-O'Gorman era. Both are still very much in the mix in the D2 picture this year, so it will be interesting to see the new faces stepping up for both programs. <strong>Grace Wenaas </strong>has had a huge year for NDP, hitting over .500 with over 350 kills. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66295' first='Allison' last='Berent']</strong> has been a workhorse defensively to keep the Irish in some very close matches as well. Lakewood has been excellent defensively as well behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110318' first='Carley' last='Piercefield'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='173622' first='Alli' last='Pickard']</strong>. I imagine some incredibly long rallies if this one takes place.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Clarkston (No. 5 D1) vs. Lakeland (No. 11 D1)</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wolves have picked up some great wins in the 2022 season and look to be playing their best right now. I'm sure they'd love a shot at Lakeland on Saturday. The Eagles ended Clarkston's season last year in a four-set district final. Both teams have a lot of depth to work with and players that can take over a game. A matchup of Clarkston hitters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66303' first='Paige' last='Giehtbrock'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110288' first='Cayla' last='Cogan']</strong> against Lakeland's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='108719' first='Eve' last='Martin'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='140494' first='Rachel' last='Zurek']</strong> would be a great chess match. Defensively, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='173603' first='Kennedy' last='Hudson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110299' first='Kiley' last='Gallagher']</strong> are two that definitely leave it all on the floor and can help their team steal a point. I would expect a very back-and-forth matchup if these two cross paths on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Skyline (No. 8 D1) vs. Dakota (No. 10 D1)</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two met in the D1 semifinal last year and Skyline picked up a sweep of the Cougars. This time around, it will be interesting to see if Dakota will be able to find a way to slow down <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66319' first='Harper' last='Murray']</strong>. She put down 23 kills in the semifinal for Skyline and nobody has been able to stop her in 2022. Murray's racked up over 650 kills on the year. The Cougars have a big wall up front to try and get some hands on her attacks. It's a big Dakota front with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='108718' first='Erin' last='Madigan']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66302' first='Olivia' last='Gardner']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110328' first='Johanna' last='Tillman']. </strong>Not only will they have to be active, but they will also have to finish offensively to keep Murray from getting multiple opportunities to finish points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->