Motor City Madness 15 Open Recap & Standouts: TI Elite edges Michigan Elite
Making the trip from Indiana to Pontiac proved to be worthwhile for TI Elite 151 this weekend, as the Indiana-based squad came home with the 15 Open championship at Motor City Madness, topping Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno in Sunday’s tournament…
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Continue ReadingMaking the trip from Indiana to Pontiac proved to be worthwhile for TI Elite 151 this weekend, as the Indiana-based squad came home with the 15 Open championship at Motor City Madness, topping Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno in Sunday’s tournament final.
The two met on Saturday night and Michigan Elite picked up a 20-25, 30-28, 15-8 victory. In Sunday’s final, Michigan Elite took the first set, 25-22. However, TI Elite 151 bounced back with a 25-18 win in the second set and a 15-13 win in the third.
“We just had to deal with the ups and downs of the game. We didn’t do what we needed to do in the first set and (Michigan Elite) took advantage of that,” TI coach Milton Crespo said. “We made some adjustments in the second set and got into a good rhythm from there. The girls work really hard, so I was happy to see them come out on top.”
Emma Halter was phenomenal for TI Elite throughout the weekend and she really shined in the final at libero. Dealing with a minor injury, Halter played through the pain and managed to keep TI Elite in some key rallies.
In Sunday’s semifinal, TI Elite bested MVA 15 National Black, 25-17, 25-13.
Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno reached the final by besting FaR Out 15 Black in the semifinal, 25-19, 25-21. Michigan Elite didn’t have middle Sarah Sylvester available for the final, which certainly didn’t help their cause, but they were right with TI Elite in each set.
Standouts
TI Elite 151: Halter was certainly the leader for the team in the back row and outside hitter Ava Vickers was really causing opponents problems with her serve in Sunday’s tournament. Naija Gadis was steady at setter and Sydney Murray showed a lot of impressive athleticism on the outside. Sarah Lezon also had a lot of impact at the net on both offense and defense.
Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno: Michigan Elite had some really strong play at the net from outside Ava Brizard and middle Serena Nyambio. Brizard continues to prove she’s one of the top 2022 players in the state and Nyambio is right there as well. She provided some huge blocks and powerful finishes. Sarah Vellucci was getting a lot of swings as well and didn’t tire a bit during the final. Jaina Macaulay and Caris Cross were on point in setting up all the big hitters as well.
MVA 15 National Black: Setter Alyssa DeVries played very well this weekend and was really all over the court trying to make plays for her squad. When it came to hitting, outside Evelyn Doezma had a number of big finishes on her attacks while middle Brooklyn Conner was a handful to get past at the net.
FaR Out 15 Black: Libero Carlina Bender was strong and flying all over the court this weekend. She was taking on some big attacks and receiving at a high level. Setter Anna Leigh Alford had plenty of options to feed and she kept opponents guessing with her sets and decisions. When it came to hitting, Emma Mirabelli, Emmalee Murphy and Taylor Humphrey all stood out with some potent attacks and all-around ability.