USAV Nationals Recap: Legacy makes some history, Michigan Elite leaves its mark

<p>The 2019 club volleyball season came to an end this past week in Indianapolis with the USAV Girls Junior National Championships.</p> <p>It was a tough few weeks for top programs, as they competed in the AAU finals in Orlando just the week prior, but Michigan had some standout performances in Indianapolis, including a little bit of history in the 14 Open. Here’s a recap of what went down in the USAV nationals.</p> <p><strong>17 Open</strong></p> <p><strong>Legacy 17-Elite </strong>reached the Open gold bracket quarterfinals to finish tied for fifth, as it did at the AAU Nationals. Legacy started well, winning its first three matches of the event, including a pair of three-set battles. Some tough losses in the days to come wouldn’t keep it out of the gold bracket, where it was topped by <strong>TAV 17 Black</strong> in the quarterfinals, 26-24, 25-10. TAV would go on to win the national championship. Setter <strong>Alexa Rousseau </strong>earned Open All-Tournament honors for her play. The future Northwestern Wildcat has had a strong prep and club career thus far and got a chance to showcase her skills on the biggest stage for all to see. She enters the fall as one of Michigan’s top 2020 players. <strong>Ellie Ruprich</strong>, <strong>Kendall Murray </strong>and <strong>Kennedy Dolmage</strong> also had standout performances for Legacy during the week.</p> <p>In the 17 USA division, <strong>MVA 17 National Black </strong>reached the gold bracket quarterfinals. MVA was 4-5 for the week in Indy.</p> <p><strong>16 Open</strong></p> <p>After reaching the quarterfinals of the AAU Nationals Open gold bracket, <strong>Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno</strong> finished 18^th in the USAV Nationals 16 Open this week. A stacked field saw Michigan Elite go 4-6 during the event, with two losses coming in three-set battles. An 0-3 start put Michigan Elite in a hole early, but it would find its stride in the later days and finished runner-up in the bronze bracket after a loss to <strong>Premier Nebraska 16 Golf</strong>, 25-21, 25-19. <strong>Julia Bishop </strong>and <strong>Charlie Atiemo</strong> had great showings once again. Bishop is the top setter in Michigan’s 2021 class while Atiemo has really established herself as a top middle in the class over the last year. <strong>Olivia Kowalkowski</strong> also was a standout for Michigan Elite this week as a DS. The Notre Dame Prep product has always been steady with her serve receive and digs and has plenty of big-match experience already.</p> <p>In the 16 Patriot Division, <strong>Unified 16-2</strong> finished third overall with an 8-3 record for the week.</p> <p><strong>14 Open</strong></p> <p>The young Legacy 14-Elite squad followed up their fifth-place finish at the AAU Nationals by finishing tied for third in Indy last week. After opening the 14 Open with a loss, Legacy would go on to win eight straight matches, including a gold bracket quarterfinal against Alamo 14 Premier. In the semis, Legacy lost a highly competitive match to Tstreet 14-Carson, the eventual national champion. The two played three sets, with Tstreet getting the 25-27, 25-19, 18-16 victory. The third-place medal is the first USAV Nationals medal for any team from Michigan in the Open since 2003. <strong>Harper Murray </strong>had another fantastic week. The 6-1 outside has definitely established herself as one of the top incoming freshmen around the country. <strong>Erin Kline</strong>, the setter, also continued to shine and kept Legacy’s attack running smoothly throughout. <strong>Rebecca Apsey</strong> helped in that as well, establishing herself on the right as a great compliment to Murray.</p>