Motor City Madness 16 Open Recap & Standouts: Michigan Elite edges FaR Out
Coming into the Motor City Madness weekend, it seemed the 16 Open was likely going to be decided between Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno and FaR Out 16 Black. Those projections proved to be true, as the two met in Sunday’s…
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Continue ReadingComing into the Motor City Madness weekend, it seemed the 16 Open was likely going to be decided between Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno and FaR Out 16 Black.
Those projections proved to be true, as the two met in Sunday’s final and played a nail-biting championship, with Michigan Elite coming out 16-14 win in the third set to claim the crown.
FaR Out got the early bragging rights for the weekend when they beat Michigan Elite in pool play on Saturday in four sets, but Michigan Elite played without outside hitter Mikayla Haut on Saturday. Haut was back on Sunday and her presence gave Michigan Elite a boost in play. They quickly disposed of MVA 16 National Black (25-9, 25-19) and Pgh Elite 16 Elite (25-14, 25-20) during tournament play to advance to the final.
“As a coach, I came into (Saturday) thinking we would be alright (without Mikayla) and it was good for me to see just how much she brings to the table,” Michigan Elite coach Vince Muscat said. “Sometimes she has a little erratic play, but she brings a calmness to the team and, when she is on, she is really tough to stop.”
Haut was on early in the final as she helped Michigan Elite get a 25-19 win in the first set. FaR Out was able to bounce back in the second, winning 25-15 behind their powerful hitters.
FaR Out led most of the third as well, pushing Michigan Elite to championship point at 14-11. However, that is when Charli Atiemo stepped up for Michigan Elite. The Farmington Hills Mercy product picked up back-to-back blocks to give MI Elite a 15-14 lead and then secured the championship-winning kill to close out the match and give 16 Mizuno a 16-14 victory.
“Charli is one of the most improved kids in our entire club,” Muscat said of Atiemo. “She’s always battling to get better. She know she is under-sized and she doesn’t care. She sees all these other kids that are committed to big schools and she believes that she can play right with them.”
Standouts
Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno: Along with Haut and Atiemo, Michigan Elite continued to get its usual strong play from setter Julia Bishop, who is as strong a court leader as you can ask for. Rachel Jennings was also very steady in the back row at libero while Kaylin Collins came up with some timely big finishes at the net.
FaR Out 16 Black: FaR Out is definitely not lacking in talent. They have great size and great power amongst their hitters. Anna Smith was called upon a lot and came out big often on the outside. Jenna Reitsma was doing much of the same and had some highlight-reel finishes this weekend. Maradith and Aubrey O’Gorman (Michigan State) were big blocks at the net and Lydia Harper showed a lot of good instincts at setter and with her defensive choices.
Unified 16-1: Unified 16-1 reached the semifinals of the Open before falling to FaR Out. Libero Avery Horejsi always leaves it all on the court and her play this weekend was solid to help Unified reach the semis. Halle Lieffers was steady at setter as well and Ainsley Guse played big in the middle to help the defense. aHa
Pgh Elite16 Elite: Outside Eden McElheny showed a lot of hustle throughout the weekend and proved her value while going up against some other great 2021 hitters. Both Elianna Seaman and Madison Tassone also played well in the back row to help Pgh stay in some crucial points throughout the weekend.