2022 Beast Of The East Recap: Northville Bests Marian

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took over 12 hours, but Northville managed to navigate the rough waters of Beast of the East and come away with the 2022 championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs finished off the event Saturday in Pontiac by handing Marian its first loss of the season, 25-23, 25-15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“That feels awesome,” Northville coach Sarah Lindstrom said of winning the event. “We knew it was going to be a long day, so we really used a lot of different lineups and rotated a lot to try and keep everyone as fresh as we could. We run really deep and that worked out well for us today. Being able to take your starters out and not be nervous about it is a good feeling to have.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville had quite a road to the title. It started with wins over Notre Dame Prep, Jenison and Stoney Creek in pool play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It then bested Lakeland (25-21, 25-15) in the opening round of bracket play before crossing paths with KLAA rival Novi in the quarterfinals for a razor-thin victory (25-23, 31-29).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the semifinals, it won an anticipated matchup with Forest Hills Northern by scores of 25-21, 25-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That set up the finals matchup with Marian, where Northville had overcame an early 9-4 deficit in the first set, as well as a 23-21 deficit. The Mustangs of Northville scored the final four points of the first to claim the set and then ran away with the second.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We struggled responding at times during the day, so it felt great to see us do it so well against a team like Marian,” Lindstrom said. “I know they had a couple of people out, but the name on the back of that jersey still carries a lot of weight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian did have injuries to Miss Volleyball finalist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66330' first='Ella' last='Schomer']</strong>, as well as senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66329' first='Reagan' last='Sass']</strong> on the day that kept them out of bracket play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, Northville was pretty consistent throughout the day. Led by <strong>Abby Reck</strong>, the Mustangs had a great balance of offensive firepower and scrappy defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156293' first='Ella' last='Craggs'] </strong>spread the ball out well. When Abby Reck wasn't up front, Craggs got finishes from the likes of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='230898' first='Lauren' last='MacKellar']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110315' first='Avry' last='Nelson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156325' first='Molly' last='Reck']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156326' first='Mallory' last='Reck']. [player_tooltip player_id='108714' first='Taryn' last='Rice'] </strong>led a strong defensive effort throughout the day as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the wins over the likes of FH Northern and Marian, Northville has to be feeling like it can indeed win the state championship in 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I hope this just keeps them hungry,” Lindstrom said. “What we did today was really cool, but we have to keep repeating this level of play. This says we have a chance, and we can be that team, but we have to keep grinding and keep getting better.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Beast of the East Results</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool Play Finishing Order</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool A: </strong>1. Marian, 2. Lakeland, 3. Brighton, 4. Mt. Pleasant</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool B: </strong>1. Northville, 2. Notre Dame Prep, 3. Jenison, 4. Stoney Creek.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool C: </strong>1. Forest Hills Northern, 2. Utica Eisenhower, 3. Grand Blanc, 4. Saline</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool D: </strong>1. Skyline, 2. Lakewood, 3. Imlay City, 4. Grandville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool E: </strong>1. North Branch, 2, SMCC, 3. Grand Haven, 4. Oxford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool F: </strong>1. Mercy, 2. Coopersville, 3. Marshall, 4. Birch Run</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool G: </strong>1. Clarkston, 2. GR Christian, 3. Mattawan, 4. Plymouth Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool H: </strong>1. Dakota, 2. Novi, 3. Bloomfield Hills, 4. Portage Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gold Bracket First Round</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian over Notre Dame Prep 25-22, 25-18</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dakota over GR Christian 13-25, 25-17, 15-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Branch over Coopersville 25-17, 25-17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Skyline over Eisenhower 21-25, 25-15, 15-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FH Northern over Lakewood 20-25, 25-20, 15-7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mercy over SMCC 27-25, 28-26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Novi over Clarkston 25-23, 23-25, 15-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville over Lakeland 25-21, 25-15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gold Bracket Quarterfinals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian over Dakota 27-25, 25-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Branch over Skyline 25-14, 26-24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FH Northern over Mercy 25-23, 25-18</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville over Novi 25-23, 31-29</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Golden Bracket Semifinals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marian over North Branch 23-25, 25-17, 15-9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville over FH Northern 25-21, 25-20</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gold Bracket Final</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northville over Marian 25-23, 25-15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Silver Bracket Champion: </strong>Grand Haven</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bronze Bracket Champion: </strong>Saline</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->