Lake Orion Tournament standouts and notes
WATERFORD – The Lake Orion Tournament was a great look at some of the top teams in the state of Michigan on Saturday and there were some interesting developments from the day. Here’s some notes and standouts from the action.…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWATERFORD – The Lake Orion Tournament was a great look at some of the top teams in the state of Michigan on Saturday and there were some interesting developments from the day. Here’s some notes and standouts from the action.
Jess MruzikMercy definitely a top team: The Marlins left little doubt that they deserve a No. 1 ranking in Division 1 right now. Mercy only dropped one set throughout six matches and their loaded talent was on full display. Jess Mruzik (Michigan) and Julia Bishop (Michigan State) looked in midseason form and the continued development of Charli Atiemo really makes her standout as one of the best in the 2021 class. Atiemo showed great all-around skill on Saturday with an impressive serve and back-row play to go along with her powerful striking and blocking. Ellie Tisko is another great option in the middle that has tremendous length. I think we will see Atiemo, Tisko and Genevieve Sale really step up with Mruzik stepping away to play for the U.S. National Youth Team in Egypt.
RELATED: Mercy bests Saline to win Lake Orion Tournament
Saline not going away: Despite losing a big senior class, the Hornets proved they can still contend with the best teams in the state on Saturday. Not the biggest team, Saline showed a great defense, led by Hannah Blaney, Kendal Robison and Sofie Peppard. Their back-row play was outstanding on Saturday. Kaija Sydlowski was the solid outside for the Hornets as well while Julia Blaney is a steady and consistent setter that will keep the Saline offense improving throughout the year.
Grand Blanc with a total team effort: Grand Blanc had some impressive victories on Saturday and reached the gold bracket semifinals before losing to Saline. The Bobcats have a veteran team with eight seniors. The coaching staff couldn’t pinpoint standouts, citing a “total team effort” on Saturday. Senior outside Hannah Carnell had some impressive moments, as she went toe-to-toe with great hitters throughout the day. Senior middle Emily Walter is someone that brings a lot of length to the net and something the Bobcats will need to utilize this season.
Celia CullenBrighton more than Cullen: Celia Cullen (Michigan State) is one of the best players in the state and had a tremendous club season, but the multi-skilled setter/hitter is not all the Bulldogs have. While she shined on Saturday, Brighton’s other captain Elaine Halonen really stepped up on the outside. She had some stretches where she couldn’t be stopped and had a great connection with Cullen and second setter Ashley L’Esperance, who is a junior that showed she can handle the setting load if Brighton wants to use Cullen as an outside.
Bloomfield Hills taking the next step?: The Bloomfield Hills program has been on the cusp of breaking out, but not been able to take that next step in recent year. It seems like 2019 could be that year. The Black Hawks earned a win over Lake Orion and split with Saline on the day as some of their top performances. Alexa Rousseau (Northwestern) remains one of the best setters in the state and is just a top-level athlete. Sophomore Ava Petrucci also was a standout on Saturday. Just 5-foot-7, Petrucci plays well above her size as an outside, but also has the great skills in the back row. Coach Larry Wyatt knows that if his team can stay in system, it will be very hard to beat them.
Oxford with lots of potential: Perhaps the team that opened the most eyes on Saturday was Oxford. The Wildcats have a lot of length to work with and that length gave Mercy a lot of problems. Oxford was able to get its hands on a lot of Mercy’s powerful attacks and pushed the Marlins to a three-set battle in the quarterfinals. Molly Miller was a go-to on the outside for Oxford while Emma Labarge and Julia Blair were a wall in the middle. Madelyn Weiss was also impressive at libero. She really left it all on the court, especially against Mercy.
Adams solid under new coach: Making the move from Walled Lake Northern, Terry Baughman is taking over the Rochester Adams program this year and the Highlanders got off to a nice start on Saturday. Adams won its pool over the likes of Lapeer, St. Catherine Academy and Plymouth Christian and then bested Traverse City Central in the first round of bracket play in three sets. Without some top players due to tests, Adams saw some different looks on Saturday. Elizabeth Blaine moved from outside to middle and really shined for the Highlanders. She was very aggressive at the net. Rea Marfatia also was aggressive at the net against some strong blocks. Baughman liked the way his team stuck to the details in tough sets and didn’t get too high or low throughout the day.
Country Day hurt by waiting game: The Detroit Country Day volleyball team won the lone three-team pool on Saturday, but playing one less game eventually led to a four-hour layoff for the Jackets and they looked rusty in a quarterfinal loss to Saline. Our preseason No. 5 team in Division 2 still picked up a win over Lake Orion on the day and showed why it could be a state contender despite a roster of just three seniors. The Jackets can hit with anyone as Serena Nyambio is as powerful a hitter as they come and Morgan Lockhart is also a load at the net. Nyla Muskovin is a hitting and setting option for Country Day to go along with Paige Elliott. DCD will have no problem finishing points, but the key to it winning a title this year will be on defense and passing.
Lake Orion, Northville to regroup: Saturday was a tough day for defending D1 champ Lake Orion and 2018 D1 semifinalist Northville. Both failed to win their pools and then lost in their opening match of bracket play. The Dragons had a big loss of graduating talent from last year and then saw outside Sydney Smith move out of state during the summer. Lake Orion is going to have some bumps in the road early on while they gain experience at key positions. Northville is working with a new coach in Rick VanDerVeer. The Mustangs still have a lot of potential, but have to work in new starters at libero and setter. Like Lake Orion, Northville will need a few weeks to gel, but the Mustangs should still be a threat on the state level.