Presidents’ Day Challenge 18 Open Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Presidents' Day Challenge was held this weekend in Detroit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a chance to get to see a lot of different Michigan and Canadian squads.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Through the two-day event, four teams managed to work their way to the featured games in the 18 Open/Premier Division. Here's 10 standouts from the four final teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='500663' first='Mackenzi' last='Bennett'], OH FaR Out 18 Gold</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FaR Out 18 Gold took home the 18 Open/Premier Division and Bennett (Trine) was a relentless player all over the court. She was a solid defensive presence while being able to finish from the front and back row. She dialed up a lot of aggression during long rallys to swing the momentum in her team's favor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='222360' first='Aubrey' last='Johnson'], OH FaR Out 18 Gold</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson (Cornerstone) was a big force for FaR Out as it won the 18 open. She had a lot of impact with her blocking and also came through with some timely kills on the right side during the close sets down the stretch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='184676' first='Ava' last='Ford'], L FaR Out 18 Gold</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FaR Out wouldn't have been able to make the run to the title without the steady play of Ford (Cornerstone). Ford was always very composed and delivered a smooth ball to the setter. She really shined during scrambles and gave her hitters some great out-of-system balls to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Charlotte Ross, MH Smash Raiders Velocity</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Canadian-based club squad finished second this weekend. Ross was definitely one of the top middles of the event, as she was able to showcase a lot of good footwork and athleticism to deliver a number of highlight-reel kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Myah Montesano, OH Smash Raiders Velocity</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The outside hitter took on a lot of swings for Smash Raiders, but she never slowed down with her pacing and power. She really came on late in tight sets to push her team to the win. Her competitive fire was hard to match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Kenzie Lahey, S Smash Raiders Velocity</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lahey played a very up-tempo and athletic game at the setter position. While she had her favorites, she still did a good job of mixing up locations and giving her hitters a chance to move the ball around. Lahey has a very smooth touch to get a lot of aggressive swings out of the offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482161' first='Jordyn' last='Anderson'], S Inside Out 18 Mizuno Black</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6'4” setter for Inside Out was dominant for many stretches of the weekend, helping her team reach the semifinals. Anderson (Nebraska-Omaha) can be a difference maker in all aspects. Her setting and ability to run the offense is impressive, but her blocking and decision-making are also very strong. Opponents had to be mindful of where Anderson was at all times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Maady Vaara, OH Inside Out 18 Mizuno Black</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vaara (Ferris State) already has a good connection with Anderson from their time at Ludington. That just continued this past weekend. Vaara is able to take on a lot of swings and adapt to the defense. She's a consistent finisher and plays with a lot of court awareness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Hannah Ranieri, OH SC Bandits 18-1</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ranieri took on a big workload as SC Bandits 18-1 reached the semifinals this past weekend. She didn't show any signs of slowing down throughout. In fact, Ranieri picked up her swing speed down the stretch of many matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Isabelle Hage, S SC Bandits 18-1</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hage had a good connection with Ranieri, but she also wasn't afraid to get active in the offense either. Hage made some nice plays at the net when she called her own number, and she also stayed relentless with her defensive play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->