Motor City Madness 18 Open Recap & Standouts: FaR Out 18 Black cruises to title
The FaR Out 18 Black volleyball team has been looking for a chance to show its real potential and that opportunity came this weekend in Pontiac. Playing some of the most consistent ball it has all club season, FaR Out…
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Continue ReadingThe FaR Out 18 Black volleyball team has been looking for a chance to show its real potential and that opportunity came this weekend in Pontiac.
Playing some of the most consistent ball it has all club season, FaR Out cruised through the 18 Open field, winning the gold bracket on Sunday with a sweep of Impact VBC Smack 18 Open in the finals to complete a 6-0 weekend where it didn’t drop a single set.
Making the victories all the more impressive is that FaR Out wasn’t at 100 percent, playing without some key contributors.
“The kids really played well,” FaR Out coach Joe Steenhuysen said. “We have three starters that are out and I am proud of how the kids stepped up and played. We are starting to understand the process that we are trying to do as we lead up to nationals.”
Sunday’s bracket play opened with a 25-16, 25-16 win over Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold, one of the top teams coming into the field this weekend. That was followed by a 25-12, 25-16 win over a talented Michigan Elite 18 Mizuno squad in the semifinals.
In the championship, FaR Out led Impact VBC throughout, taking the first set 25-20 before rolling to a 25-19 win in the second set.
Standouts
FaR Out 18 Black: FaR Out had some great play from their outsides, Lindsay Taylor (Miami Ohio) and Andelyn Simkins (Western Michigan). Both were all over the court and Taylor was finishing strong from the back row often. Libero Alli Wiese (Hillsdale College) was also consistent, allowing the team to stay in system. Middles Molly Mirabelli (Miami Ohio) and Natalie Foster (Wichita State) were also a real force at the net on the attack and the block. Jordyn Gates (Arkansas) had plenty of options to feed at setter and she was on her game this weekend, making FaR Out incredibly difficult to slow down.
Impact VBC Smack 18 Open: It didn’t take long to see that Madison Rene Schermerhorn is a real talent for Impact. She delivers attacks with a lot of power and plays all over the court. She made opponents pay for trying to dig out her attacks. Maggie Rose Castleman was another impressive hitter to compliment Schermerhorn. Libero Anna Burkhardt also gave a lot of effort and her play was a big reason why Impact reached the finals.
Michigan Elite 18 Mizuno: Michigan Elite has a load of talented hitters, led by Madeline Chinn (Purdue). Natalie Risi (Ball State) is her teammate in club and at Notre Dame Prep and the two just feed off each other very well. Wren Macaulay (New Hampshire) is one of the hardest-working setters in the Class of 2019.
Unified 18-1: It was a nice weekend for Unified, who also picked up a win over Milwaukee Sting during pool play on Saturday. Samantha Palazzolo (Wayne State) worked very hard in the back row all weekend and was up to facing some big hitters. Kelsie Vanivelt (Southern Indiana) was consistent with her setting and a great leader on the floor.