AAU 17 Open Recap: Legacy 17-Elite reaches quarterfinals; National wins Club

<p>It was another successful tournament for Legacy Volleyball Club in the 17U portion of the AAU Junior National Championships this past weekend in Orlando.</p> <p>The <strong>Legacy 17-Elite </strong>squad reached the quarterfinals of the gold bracket in the Open division while <strong>Legacy 17-National </strong>won a national championship by claiming the Club division title.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/2YcAvyv">RELATED: AAU 14 OPEN RECAP</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/2X3m520">RELATED: AAU 15 OPEN RECAP</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/2NmgAfl">RELATED: AAU 16 OPEN RECAP</a></strong></p> <p>In the Open division, 17-Elite established itself as one of the top teams right away, claiming two-set sweeps over their first five matches. They would go on to post a 9-0 record entering gold bracket play, but suffered their first and only loss of the weekend on Monday in a 25-19, 15-25, 15-11 defeat at the hands of <strong>Asics KIVA 17 Red</strong>. In the end, <strong>Mintonette Sports m.71 </strong>would claim the national title with an 11-0 record.</p> <p><strong>Ellie Ruprich</strong>, the 6-3 standout middle that is headed to South Carolina in 2020, was the leader for Legacy throughout the week. She was named a 17 Open All-American for her efforts. Ruprich is a multi-sport star that has great athleticism and court awareness for her size.</p> <p>The same can be said for 17-Elite’s setter, <strong>Alexa Rousseau</strong>, the 6-3 left-handed setter that is committed to Northwestern. Rousseau has smoothly run the offense for this group for years and is one of the top players in the Class of 2020. <strong>Kendall Murray</strong>, a future Michigan Wolverine, was the outside hitting force the team utilized to compliment Ruprich in the middle, while <strong>Kennedy Dolmage </strong>was the steady rock in the back row at libero. She is committed to Oakland University.</p> <p>Both <strong>TeamD 17-Red </strong>and <strong>Michigan Elite 17 Mizuno </strong>competed in the Open as well. TeamD landed in the amethyst bracket and lost in the quarterfinals while Michigan Elite was runner up in the crystal bracket.</p> <p>In the Club division, Legacy 17-National went 13-1 for the weekend and won a thrilling championship match over <strong>Mizuno Northern Lights 17-Black. </strong>Legacy dropped the first set by a score of 20-25 before bouncing back with a 25-20 win of its own in the second. The final set was a 15-9 victory that ended on a kill from middle <strong>Emanuela Gjokaj</strong>, a Rochester Adams product.</p> <p>17-National’s setter, <strong>Natalie Thom</strong>, was named MVP for the Club division. She had a phenomenal weekend and kept Legacy running smoothly throughout. The 5-9 setter out of Okemos has really had a great club year to become a top name in the Lansing area.</p> <p><strong>Khloee Stoll </strong>and <strong>Emily Van Dyke</strong> were named All-Stars for Club. Stoll is the team’s libero out of Anchor Bay. She was key on the serve receive and facing some strong hitters over the weekend. Van Dyke is the 5-11 outside hitter from Southfield Christian that was the consistent go-to at the net. She is part of a young Eagles prep squad that should be a force again in 2019 after reaching the state semifinals in 2018. Van Dyke has committed to Abilene Christian.</p>