Breaking down Michigan’s teams at the 2019 Triple Crown NIT

<p>Only a few times a year can you find the best collection of prep volleyball talent in once place. This weekend will be one of them as the <strong>2019 Triple Crown Volleyball NIT </strong>takes place from the Kansas City Convention Center from Saturday-Monday. Michigan will be sending its elite programs to Kansas City, looking to make a big splash on the national stage. Here’s a closer look at what the state will be up against this weekend.</p> <p><strong>18 Open</strong></p> <p><strong>Legacy 18-Elite</strong> looks to continue its tremendous start to the 2019 club season this weekend in Kansas City. Legacy has already won the Music City Qualifier, the Central Zone Invitational and the OVR National Qualifier. Ranked ninth by PrepVolleyball.com last month, Legacy is certainly making a case to move up the rankings. However, it will definitely have its hands full, as the 18 Open this weekend includes top-ranked <strong>Munciana Samurai </strong>(Indiana), second-ranked <strong>Asics KIVA 18 Red </strong>(Kentucky), third-ranked <strong>Texas Image 18 Asics Black</strong> (Texas), fourth-ranked <strong>Arizona Storm Elite 18 Thunder</strong> (Arizona), fifth-ranked <strong>Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1 </strong>(Minnesota), sixth-ranked <strong>Top Select 18Elite-Blake</strong> (Florida) and seventh-ranked <strong>Texas Advantage 18 Black </strong>(Texas). Six of those seven teams join Legacy in Power Pool A. Individually, this weekend will be a great showcase for all of Legacy, especially setter <strong>Celia Cullen</strong>, libero <strong>Hannah Grant</strong>, and outsides <strong>Jess Mruzik </strong>and <strong>Jess Robinson</strong>. Those four have stood out in recent weeks. <strong>FaR Out 18 Black</strong>, <strong>Michigan Elite 18 Mizuno</strong> and <strong>Legacy 18-National </strong>will also be part of Challenge pools this weekend, as they get their chance to prove they should be among the top-ranked 18 Clubs in the country. FaR Out was ranked 23^rd last month while Michigan Elite was 41^st.</p> <p><strong>17 Open</strong></p> <p><strong>Legacy 17-Elite </strong>finds itself in Power Pool B for the Open. Ranked 18^th in the latest PrepVolleyball.com poll, Legacy will need to pull off some upsets this weekend to win it all, but the squad certainly has the potential. Closing out the tight matches has been an issue at times this year, and Legacy will definitely see some tight matches this weekend. Power Pool B includes eighth-ranked <strong>Triangle 17 Black </strong>(North Carolina), 10^th-ranked <strong>Arizona Storm Elite 17 Thunder </strong>(Arizona), 11^th-ranked <strong>Academy Volleyball Cleveland 17 Meredith </strong>(Ohio), 12^th-ranked <strong>WAVE 17 Kevin</strong> and more. Most of the Legacy roster played in high-profile matches last club season as part of 16-Elite. <strong>Alexa Rousseau </strong>is a setter that can hold her own on the national stage while hitters <strong>Kendall Murray </strong>and <strong>Ellie Ruprich </strong>have been hitting at incredible percentages thus far in 2019. <strong>Michigan Elite 17 Mizuno</strong> and <strong>Legacy 17-National </strong>are both part of the Challenge pools, hoping to crack their way into the national rankings with a strong showing.</p> <p><strong>16 Open</strong></p> <p>A very deep field in this division has led to four Power Pools, one of which is D, which includes both <strong>FaR Out 16 Black </strong>and <strong>Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno</strong>. FaR Out is ranked 20^th in the latest PrepVolleyball.com 16’s national poll while Michigan Elite stands 25^th. Both have shown flashes of being better than their current rankings, earning wins over prominent national programs. This weekend, both teams will be in pool play with teams like <strong>Sky High Adidas 16 Black</strong>, <strong>TI Elite 161</strong>, <strong>OT 16 O.Roberto </strong>and more. FaR Out has had tremendous defensive play in 2019 thanks to <strong>Abby Boyle</strong>. The squad has plenty of hitting as well behind <strong>Maradith </strong>and <strong>Aubrey O’Gorman</strong>, along with <strong>Anna Smith. </strong>Michigan Elite has setter <strong>Julia Bishop</strong>, who is already one of the best nationally for her age group. Libero <strong>Rachel Jennings </strong>has looked create in the early stages of 2019 as well while outsides <strong>Kaylin Collins</strong> and <strong>Mikayla Haut </strong>have been very strong at the net. <strong>Legacy 16-Elite </strong>and <strong>Legacy 16-National </strong>will take part in Challenge pools.</p> <p><strong>15 Open</strong></p> <p>The 15 Open features three Power Pools. <strong>Legacy 15-Elite </strong>will be part of Power Pool B while <strong>Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno </strong>will be part of Power Pool C. Legacy was ranked 17^th in the latest PrepVolleyball.com national rankings while Michigan Elite sits 28^th. Legacy will be paired up with the likes of ninth-ranked <strong>Academy Volleyball Cleveland 15-1 Tom</strong>, 12^th-ranked <strong>Boomers 15 Black,</strong> 14^th-ranked <strong>A5 Mizuno 15 Bob </strong>and more. Defense has been the story for Legacy so far in 2019 as both <strong>Josie Bloom </strong>and<strong> Livvy Setla </strong>are playing at a high level. <strong>Aly Borellis </strong>is proving to be a reliable hitter at the net while setter <strong>Karlee Stoll </strong>is spreading the ball around well at setter. Michigan Elite will be up against opponents like 19^th-ranked <strong>KC Power 15-1</strong>, 20^th-ranked <strong>Absolute Black 15-1</strong>, 21^st-ranked <strong>Coast 15-1</strong> and more. This weekend will be a great opportunity for middles <strong>Serena Nyambio </strong>and <strong>Kimani Johnson </strong>to build on their strong starts to 2019. <strong>Ava Brizard </strong>has also been a bright spot on the outside for Mizuno 15 while <strong>Sarah Sylvester </strong>has been able to play both sides of the net successfully.</p>